From Food Business News:
Though the 500 largest brands in the United States drove a 4% increase in cumulative sales growth to an estimated $274.4 billion in 2014, according to a new report from Technomic, Inc., such giants as McDonald’s and Subway reported overall sales declines for the year as focused-menu concepts and emerging fast-casual chains gained ground.
The 500 biggest chains improved their sales growth from a 3.4% increase to a collective $264.4 billion in sales in 2013. These brands also grew overall unit count by 2.2% in 2014 to more than 220,000 locations.
But four of the five leaders struggled during the year. Subway had an estimated sales decline of 2.2%, slipping down the ranking as Starbucks claimed Subway’s previously held No. 2 spot with an 8.2% increase in sales to $12.7 billion for the year. McDonald’s sales fell 1.1%, Wendy’s posted a 0.4% decrease, and Burger King logged a modest gain of 1.6% for the year.
Within the full-service segment, which grew 3.5% to annual sales of $74 billion for the year, steak chains sizzled with a 5.5% increase in sales, led by Texas Roadhouse, LongHorn Steakhouse and Fogo de Chao. The varied menu segment recorded a 4.7% uptick in sales, with help from such wing houses as Buffalo Wild Wings (up 17%), Twin Peaks (45%) and The Tilted Kilt (19%).
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The fastest growing chains by sales percentage were Pieology Pizzeria (230%), PDQ (119%), BurgerFi (111%), Del Frisco’s Grille (58%) and The Habit Burger Grill (46%).
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Direct to Top 10 Chain Restaurants by Sales, 2014
See Also: Additional Data via Technomic