Tim Hortons Cake and Cake Shop announced on Tuesday it has a new plan to improve returns, which includes adding at least 800 restaurants in Canada and the U.S. by 2018.
Tim Hortons said it is looking to add 300 new restaurants in the U.S. in the next four years, according to CBC News. The company plans to add 500 more stores in Canada, including 160 this year. The company said in a press release that while it is experiencing difficulty in the market in both countries, the Canadian market maintains brand loyalty.
"We believe that our enviable guest loyalty . . . will present significant opportunities to grow our Canadian business over the next five years," Tim Hortons said.
Tim Hortons said in order to compete with restaurants such as McDonald's and Starbucks, the company will have to reduce capital intensity and improve on assets and returns to shareholders, Reuters reported.
Raymond James analyst Kenric Tyghe commented on Tim Hortons' approach and how it can help them meet their goals, according to Reuters.
"They certainly are addressing competitive and market dynamics head-on, which is a change, or shift, in strategy," Tyghe said. "The message going forward is they're going to (leverage) that strong brand through more deployment of an analytics-rich, loyalty program."
The coffee and donuts chain also plans for better use of technology to help bring in more Millennial customers and gain more sales from current ones, CBC News reported. The company recently took the Cold Stone Creamery brand out of its restaurants to make service faster and the experience easier for customers.
"We believe we have significant opportunities to increase items per order primarily by focusing on combination product offers and evaluating size and premium options," Tim Hortons said.
According to International Business Times, Tim Hortons has additional plans that concern the market outside North America. Tim Hortons CEO Marc Caira said the restaurant plans to build more stores in the Persian Gulf, where the company already has 38 locations.
