2015 Top 100: 5 key sales growth takeaways

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers

First-time Top 100 qualifier Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, ranked No. 4 here, joined the largest chains by posting Latest and Preceding Year growth in sales of 23.5-percent and 22.6-percent, respectively. New unit development drove the greatest portions of those gains, but Raising Cane’s was also credited with moderate growth in Latest-Year estimated sales per unit of about 3.6 percent.

Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar

Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar, ranked No. 10 here with a Latest Year increase of 16.3 percent, was bested in the Top 100 Casual-Dining category by Yard House, which booked a sales increase of 21 percent. However, Buffalo Wild Wings bettered all Casual-Dining rivals when it comes to total sales dollars collected, tacking on $454.1 million in the Latest Year to tip the chain over the $3 billion mark in U.S. systemwide sales. Runner-up LongHorn Steakhouse collected a far-off $164 million in additional sales in the Latest Year.

Qdoba Mexican Grill

Qdoba Mexican Grill saw the largest jump in sales growth rankings, climbing 53 rungs from No. 70 in the Preceding Year, with a 1.4-percent increase, to No. 17 in the Latest Year, with a 12.8-percent surge. It did that by combining a 12.2-percent increase in estimated sales per unit and a 3.4-percent increase in total number of units. Despite that improvement, Qdoba still ranked behind Limited-Service/Mexican segment peers Chipotle Mexican Grill and Moe’s Southwest Grill, which booked a 27.3-percent and a 14.7-percent jump in sales, respectively.

O’Charley’s

Its No. 69 growth ranking aside, O’Charley’s Latest Year 2.9-percent increase in sales represented an important achievement for the casual-dining chain, as it marked the end of seven years of declining sales. O’Charley’s number of restaurants fell from 237 in 2006, to 213 in 2013, before it added a net new location, to reach 214 units in 2014. The chain’s Latest-Year average unit volume climbed by 2.5 percent, to about $2.4 million.

McDonald’s

Given the maturity and size of McDonald’s, it has rarely been a fastest-growing chain and is ranked at No. 93 in the Latest Year. But its 1.1-percent decline in U.S. sales shook the foundation of the iconic quick-service brand. McDonald’s has said that decrease was driven by a 4.1-percent decline in same-store traffic. The development marked McDonald’s first backwards step in domestic performance in at least 30 years. The results led to the retirement of CEO Don Thompson, who was succeeded by McDonald’s Europe veteran Steve Easterbrook. As the chain’s comparable sales continue to decline in 2015, Easterbrook has said the streamlining of operations will be his first priority.