McD’s flat Dec. sales, dip in traffic raise recession fears

McD’s flat Dec. sales, dip in traffic raise recession fears

OAK BROOK ILL McDonald’s Corp.’s disclosure last week of flat December same-store sales ended its string of positive monthly sales reports and caused Wall Street analysts to warn that the worst may still be coming for restaurant chains girding for a feared U.S. recession. —

For November the bellwether chain posted a U.S. same-store sales gain of 4.4 percent over the same month of 2006. But McDonald’s said December was beset by “softer consumer spending.” —

With the chain’s menu prices up 3.5 percent for the month versus a year earlier, its U.S. same-store traffic turned negative, securities analyst John Ivankoe of JP Morgan said. That slippage led analysts to speculate that softer results would soon come from Starbucks Corp., whose latest quarterly results were being reported after press time last week. —

As McDonald’s share price was falling by as much as 8 percent in midday trading last Monday, its senior executives were acknowledging that the company was not recession-proof, though they said it is recession-resistant and would weather any continuing economic downturn. Chief executive Jim Skinner forecast a 1.5-percent rise in U.S. same-store sales for January. The company reported net income of $1.27 billion, or $1.06 a share, on revenues of $5.75 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 31. The chain’s global same-store sales rose 6.7 percent for the full quarter as U.S. same-store sales increased 3.3 percent. —

Starbucks tests $1 ‘short’ brewed coffee, free refills

SEATTLE Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s, Starbucks Coffee is testing a $1 “short” brewed coffee and free refills at an unspecified number of its coffeehouses here, according to published reports. —Undercutting even low-end coffee offerings at such chains as

The 8-ounce short is regularly a $1.50, off-menu item available on request. —Undercutting even low-end coffee offerings at such chains as

A spokeswoman for the Seattle-based chain was quoted as saying that the test was not “indicative of any new business strategy” and reflected only Starbucks’ constant search “for new ways to connect with the customer and provide the best Starbucks experience.” She said the chain would “not comment on any specifics until a final decision is made.” —Undercutting even low-end coffee offerings at such chains as

The coffee giant is seeking to reverse recent same-store traffic slowdowns as McDonald’s rolls out a line of espresso-based drinks whose prices will be less than those of comparable Starbucks items. —Undercutting even low-end coffee offerings at such chains as

Pizza Hut: Red-hot results for ‘Total Mobile’ ordering —Undercutting even low-end coffee offerings at such chains as

DALLAS —Pizza Hut said its order-processing computers were the busiest they’d been in nearly a decade following the launch of a “Total Mobile Access” service allowing orders to be placed through cell phone text messages or Internet-ready mobile devices.

About 6,200 of Pizza Hut’s nearly 7,500 U.S. outlets are participating in the multi-order-channel initiative, said Chris Fuller, a spokesman for the Dallas-based division of Yum! Brands Inc. The only branches not taking part are the chain’s express-style or kiosk outlets and those in other nontraditional venues, he indicated. —Pizza Hut said its order-processing computers were the busiest they’d been in nearly a decade following the launch of a “Total Mobile Access” service allowing orders to be placed through cell phone text messages or Internet-ready mobile devices.

Fuller declined to reveal what percentage of Pizza Hut’s total sales was being derived from online, text message and mobile-device orders. However, he said, “Our [computer] servers [one week last month] were the busiest they’ve been in eight years, and we think that is due in large part to the interest in Total Mobile Access.” —Pizza Hut said its order-processing computers were the busiest they’d been in nearly a decade following the launch of a “Total Mobile Access” service allowing orders to be placed through cell phone text messages or Internet-ready mobile devices.

The percentage of sales tied to those three channels was “increasing” and is expected to reach 50 percent of the total sales mix within the foreseeable future, he added. —Pizza Hut said its order-processing computers were the busiest they’d been in nearly a decade following the launch of a “Total Mobile Access” service allowing orders to be placed through cell phone text messages or Internet-ready mobile devices.

Customers first must log on to www.pizzahut.com to create a “pizza playlist” of up to four of their favorite orders, which then can be placed by phone using a text code or through Pizza Hut’s mobile-device website, which is automatically resized to fit a phone’s screen. A multimedia tutorial on the website walks users through the steps needed to register their devices. —Pizza Hut said its order-processing computers were the busiest they’d been in nearly a decade following the launch of a “Total Mobile Access” service allowing orders to be placed through cell phone text messages or Internet-ready mobile devices.

Though Pizza Hut was the last of the big-three pizza chains to offer text or mobile-device Internet ordering, the chain boasts more ordering access points than rivals Domino’s and Papa John’s, said chief marketing officer Brian Niccol. “We’re the first to offer both [mobile and text ordering] nationally,” he said. —Pizza Hut said its order-processing computers were the busiest they’d been in nearly a decade following the launch of a “Total Mobile Access” service allowing orders to be placed through cell phone text messages or Internet-ready mobile devices.