Pie Five Pizza Co. same-store sales fell 12 percent in the fourth quarter, leading to wider losses for parent Rave Restaurant Group Inc., the company said Friday.
However, same-store sales rose 0.3 percent at Rave’s legacy Pizza Inn buffet brand, the Dallas-based operator said.
Rave’s net loss in the fourth quarter ended June 26 widened to $2.3 million, or 21 cents a share, from $604,000, or 6 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. The loss included $900,000 in impairment charges for closed restaurants. Fourth-quarter revenue increased 13.3 percent, to $15.7 million, from $13.9 million the previous year.
“Sales trends in the fourth quarter were very challenging for the Pie Five system, as was the case in much of the fast-casual segment,” said Clinton Coleman, Rave’s interim CEO. Coleman was appointed in July to succeed Randy Gier, who stepped down after nearly four years in the position.
“Comparable-store sales in our Dallas-Fort Worth market declined following two years of strongly positive trends, and the newer restaurants that recently entered the comparable store base also experienced a decline in sales compared to their initial year,” Coleman said in a statement.
While the performance of company-owned units was disappointing, Coleman said the operator was pleased with the growth of the Pie Five franchise system and the average initial sales in new franchised units.
“We recently added several experienced leaders to the Rave management team, and we are fully engaged in addressing these trends at Pie Five,” he said.
Coleman said the Pie Five team was focused on increasing restaurant traffic. Pie Five same-store sales for the full year decreased 5.1 percent, the company said.
Rave added 34 new Pie Five restaurants during the full fiscal year, bringing the total unit count to 88 at year’s end for the fast-casual brand.
“Meanwhile, I am pleased with the recent stability of the Pizza Inn system and its renewed growth potential,” Coleman added.
Rave ended the fiscal year with 222 owned and franchised Pizza Inn units.
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