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June 5, 2006
A&W REVENUE ROYALTIES INCOME FUND
Canadian burger icon A&W celebrates 50th anniversary with a little nostalgia and a lot of family fun
VANCOUVER, June 5 /CNW/ - Throughout the month of June, A&W Food Services
of Canada Inc. will be celebrating 50 years of serving great burgers and onion
rings and the world'''s number one selling root beer to hungry Canadians who
have literally come of age with the company. Since 1956, A&W has evolved from
a single restaurant in Winnipeg to a national organization competing with U.S.
retail giants, enjoying annual sales growth more than two times the industry
average and being named one of "Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies" for four
consecutive years.
As Canada's second largest burger chain by number of restaurants, A&W is
100% Canadian owned and operated, with over 660 restaurants - about 99% are
franchised and 20,000 employees nationwide. Over the last four years A&W has
opened over 100 new restaurants across the country. A&W's system sales growth
of 9.1% in 2005 outpaced the industry average of 3.5%. In 2005 alone, A&W
served over 80 million Canadians and achieved sales of $559 million.
According to A&W's CEO Paul Hollands, A&W has always been about people.
"Right from the time the company opened in Winnipeg 50 years ago we've known
that people are the cornerstone of our success. This summer we're thrilled to
be able to thank our customers, employees, and other business partners who
have made A&W part of their lives and helped us achieve excellence in a
rapidly evolving and highly competitive environment."
The company was born at a time when the drive-in car service restaurant
format and A&W's signature Burger Family and A&W Root Beer served in a frosty
cold mug were a perfect combination. In 1956, the car was still new to
Canadians, and it meant freedom for families and independence for teens.
Today, many boomers have cherished memories of sitting in the back seat of the
car with their brother or sister and having the carhop hook a tray of food
onto the window. Others remember Cruisin' the Dub with friends and checking
out the teens in the other cars. Customers enjoyed their burgers and root
beer, had a great time, and made memories that are still vivid today. The
chain's popularity was phenomenal, and by 1966 there were over 200 A&W
restaurants coast to coast.
The shopping mall boom of the 1970s combined with increasing competition
from the expanding U.S. retail giants posed a substantial challenge to A&W's
format. Drive-ins were on their way out as families were growing up and
becoming less enamoured with in-car dining. The boomers who once Cruisin' the
Dub now sought the comfort of indoor shopping complexes, and A&W had to
rethink their strategy.
"We had to virtually re-engineer our format in order to survive," says
A&W Vice President Graham Cooke. "We followed the boomers into the malls
across the country, making our ongoing link with their evolving lives even
stronger and making A&W a more nimble and focused company from that point
forward."
A&W moved out of drive-ins in the early 1980's, consolidating its
strength in Western Canada and launching an innovative new push into enclosed
shopping malls. In the 15 years that followed, over 250 new malls were opened
across Canada, and A&W restaurants were the top food seller in virtually all
of them.
Around the same time, A&W created what was supposed to be a temporary
marketing mascot, The Great A&W Root Bear. The 6-foot bear, coupled with his
distinctive tuba jingle delighted A&W's customers and quickly became a
Canadian cultural icon.
In the 1990s A&W continued to renew its brand with the launch of new
freestanding drive-thru restaurants architecturally designed to honour and
celebrate A&W's history in a comfortable, modern facility. The popular
Canadian chain welcomed back a generation of baby boomers who were happy to
enjoy the great taste of A&W, while still enjoying the speed and convenience
they had come to expect.
A&W reintroduced many of the much-loved menu items that boomers
remembered fondly. The Burger Family - the Papa, Mama, and Baby Burger -
returned to the menu in 2000, after a 15-year hiatus. The A&W Root Beer float,
which was first introduced to Canadians in 1956, reappeared in its original
cold, icy mug in 2004. Chubby Chicken made a huge comeback in 2001, with the
largest "new" product launch in A&W history. The Teen Burger and A&W's popular
fresh handmade onion rings - sliced fresh each day before being hand battered,
breaded and cooked to perfection - have been A&W's mainstays throughout their
history.
In 1995 A&W's management bought the company from its previous parent
company. In 2002, the A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund was listed on the
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: AW.UN) by way of an initial public offering,
proudly becoming Canada's first restaurant royalty income fund. The Fund owns
the A&W trademarks, and licenses them to A&W Food Services, which continues to
operate as a separate company.
In the time since the management buyout, A&W has been recognized as
"Franchisor of the Year" by the Canadian Franchise Association having been a
finalist in two other years, and has received the Pinnacle Award as Restaurant
Company of the Year. In addition they have been honoured in the last four
consecutive years with "Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies" award, sponsored
by Deloitte, CIBC Commercial Banking, National Post and Queen's School of
Business.
A&W celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer by hosting a contest that
promises to be a ride down memory lane. Canadians are invited to share their
favourite A&W memories. There are three ways to enter: fill out an online
entry form, fill out an entry form at any participating A&W Restaurant, or
send your entry to My Favourite Memories at 300 - 171 West Esplanade, North
Vancouver, BC, V7M 3K9. Six different entries will be selected as winners. One
grand prize and five regional prizes are available to be won. Regions are
defined as: British Columbia and Yukon; Alberta; Manitoba, Saskatchewan, NWT
and Nunavut; Ontario; and Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and
Newfoundland/Labrador. The contest deadline is 9:00 a.m. PDT on Tuesday,
August 8, 2006 and winners will be announced on September 8, 2006.
A&W will also be announcing a host of events to be held across Canada
this summer to recognize its 50th anniversary in the coming weeks. It promises
to be a joyful and, for many, a sentimental celebration. For more information
on the contest or 50th anniversary events visit http://www.aw.ca.
Other news articles from the same month
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
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