Challenge the Pros: Inside info from those in the know

Barb Moran
CEO, Moran Industries

During tough economic times, one of the first areas that a consumer cuts expenditures in is non-essential repairs and maintenance of their vehicles.

Because of this trend, we anticipated the impact of the economic downturn back in the end of second quarter 2007 and began developing our strategy to minimize the impact through preemptive efforts.

These efforts were in the areas of cost reduction, corporate restructure, strengthening our national account development, additional investments into B2B marketing, providing cost-efficient local lead generation programs, and marketing programs to implement at the grassroots level.

We began in 2007 with the restructuring our corporate staff to offer more efficient support to our franchisees, and we invested in technology allowing us to streamline our staffing needs, improve communication, and reduce overall expenses.

Over the past year we have invested additional funds and resources into our national account programs, allowing our franchisees to see an overall increase in their fleet revenue.

We have invested in the development of cost-efficient local store marketing programs and are providing additional marketing leadership to our franchisees. This has allowed our franchisees to strengthen their B2B efforts and increase their exposure within their community and at a local store level.

Because of the anticipation of the downward trend in the economy and the strategies implemented to counter the trend, we have been able to minimize the impact within our system.

Scott Haner
VP of Franchise Development, YUM! Brands

We're focused on providing an economic solution for consumers who are managing through rising fuel and other costs.

We believe the best way to accomplish that is by getting new value layers of business into our restaurants and to market them aggressively. Our goal is to offer the best value in the category. Taco Bell is providing its "79-89-99 Why Pay More" menu. At Pizza Hut, we have an everyday value pizza called Pizza Mia that sells for $5 each when you buy three. At KFC, which has traditionally been more of a dinner and high-end purchase destination, we are developing more lunch and snack products such as the 99-cent Snacker sandwich.

The development of new product layers has given consumers more choice and has certainly helped Yum!'s restaurants grow their business this year. Our franchisees have committed to add up to 3,000 WingStreets (a brand created specifically for the Pizza Hut system) within the next few years, which will allow us to nationally advertise WingStreet. At Taco Bell, we have launched a new Frutista line of frozen drinks, and at KFC we see a very close-in opportunity on desserts, including a line of shakes that we are testing along with individual desserts for lunch.

We also provide business coaching to our franchisees to assist them in operating their restaurants most effectively and efficiently. We have established Yum! University programs that focus on operations excellence and financial management. During challenging economic times, these programs draw increased interest.

We are committed to working with our franchisees to address all the challenges of the marketplace. Our franchisees love the vision for sales layers and are committed to the longer-term direction we have set for the brands. We are excited for the future.