Tim Hortons needs to focus more on nutritional options, launch bigger selection of premium items that differentiate it from other restaurants, CEO says
Nevin Barich
TORONTO
,
May 8, 2014
(Canadian Press)
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Tim Hortons wants customers to come back after their morning coffee for lunch.
CEO Marc Caira said Thursday that Tim Hortons needs to focus more on nutritional options and launch a bigger selection of premium items that differentiate it from other restaurants.
Caira said the national coffee and doughnut chain needs to move faster to test and launch food items as it faces off against aggressive competitors.
"You will notice continued changes at Tim Hortons," Caira said at the company's annual meeting in Toronto on Thursday.
"You will notice a heightened sense of urgency," he said.
Caira outlined some of his general plans as part of a presentation to shareholders that emphasized the company will enter "a new era" as it nears it's 50th anniversary later this month.
"What has led to our success in the past may not necessarily result in the same success in the future," he said.
Caira said lunch time will get more attention from the company in an effort to get customers back into its stores more than once a day.
"We will win at lunch," he said.
Tim Hortons has faced an onslaught of competition from both high-end coffee shops like Starbucks, and fast food chain McDonald's, which entered the coffee market several years ago.
On Wednesday, Tim Hortons reported a 5.5 per cent bump in net profit in the first quarter to $90.9 million, results that fell short of analyst expectations. The profit amounted to 66 cents per diluted share, compared with $86.2 million or 56 cents in the same period last year.
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