WEBVTT - Restaurant Brands International CEO Josh Kobza Talks Pricing

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<v Speaker 1>We welcome in Josh Cobbs at the CEO of Restaurant

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<v Speaker 1>Brands International, to talk a little bit about what's going

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<v Speaker 1>on under the hood. And you look across the brands

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<v Speaker 1>here and there are some very striking moments here, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>with Burger King coming in less than expected at same

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<v Speaker 1>source sales comps. What do you think here, Josh, this

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<v Speaker 1>really means is this a matter of price pressures that

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<v Speaker 1>consumers are still feeling, or is this a matter of

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<v Speaker 1>some change in consumer preference that's layered on top of

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<v Speaker 1>this as well?

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<v Speaker 2>Hi Sinelli, Matt, thanks so much for having me. Good morning,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's a pleasure to be on the show. So

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<v Speaker 2>we are seeing some softness in the consumer, especially in

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<v Speaker 2>some of our home markets, and you see that play

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<v Speaker 2>through in some of the data across the industry. That said,

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<v Speaker 2>we're really focused on having amazing value offerings for our

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<v Speaker 2>guests in each of the businesses, and I think we're

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<v Speaker 2>doing a pretty good job at that. At Burger Think King.

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<v Speaker 2>For the quarter, we had some incredible value offerings. We

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<v Speaker 2>had our five dollars year away meal, and we did

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<v Speaker 2>manage to outperform some of the largest players and the sector.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think we've got the right value for the customer,

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<v Speaker 2>and clearly they're looking for it. We're seeing a great

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<v Speaker 2>response to what we have out there, and one of

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<v Speaker 2>the things that we just shared this morning is we're

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<v Speaker 2>going to extend some of those value offerings, specifically our five.

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<v Speaker 3>Dollars year away meal now into October.

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<v Speaker 2>So we have the right value offerings, we think they're

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<v Speaker 2>working for the consumer, and we're going to keep those

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<v Speaker 2>going through later in the year.

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<v Speaker 4>But the key here, Josh, is that the consumer needs

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<v Speaker 4>cheaper products. Right. I've seen five dollars value offerings pop

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<v Speaker 4>up at a number of competing chains. Is this consumer

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<v Speaker 4>really under pressure? Can you see that in your sales?

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<v Speaker 2>So I think what the consumer wants is they want

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<v Speaker 2>all the basics of the industry. They want the quality products,

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<v Speaker 2>great service, and convenient modern locations.

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<v Speaker 3>Add a good value.

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<v Speaker 2>And what we always have to keep our eyes on

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<v Speaker 2>is doing all those things together. So we're focusing on

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<v Speaker 2>having the fundamentals right and in this environment, making sure

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<v Speaker 2>that we have the right value offerings, and we are

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<v Speaker 2>seeing a reaction to those value offerings. So some of

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<v Speaker 2>the things we've had out there, like the five dollars

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<v Speaker 2>walk Virginior duos or our five dollars year wave meal.

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<v Speaker 2>They're getting a lot of traction for caper customers. So

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<v Speaker 2>we do see that guests are looking for things that

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<v Speaker 2>they can do to get great.

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<v Speaker 3>Value out of our sector.

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<v Speaker 2>They're reacting to what we have out there, and we

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<v Speaker 2>feel like we have the right offerings out there for

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<v Speaker 2>that right.

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<v Speaker 4>I understand you know that you are doing a good

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<v Speaker 4>job of giving the consumer what he or he wants.

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<v Speaker 4>But what I'm asking you is, from your vantage point

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<v Speaker 4>as the CEO of these brands that are so widely

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<v Speaker 4>accessed by the consumer, how does the consumer's financial health

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<v Speaker 4>look to you?

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<v Speaker 2>So we do see some pressure on the consumers. On

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<v Speaker 2>consumers overall financials, I think there are some things that

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<v Speaker 2>are putting pressure. So there are some things that are

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<v Speaker 2>going up in their budget, things like rents or insurance

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<v Speaker 2>payments are putting some pressure and that's causing consumers to

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<v Speaker 2>be more choiceful. And so how we see that is

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<v Speaker 2>we see consumers are choosing some of those value offerings

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<v Speaker 2>and in some cases they're attaching less sides. So those

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<v Speaker 2>are the behaviors that we see. We think that environment

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<v Speaker 2>is likely to continue through the rest of the year

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<v Speaker 2>and across each of our businesses, we're trying to make

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<v Speaker 2>sure that we have the right value offerings that cater

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<v Speaker 2>to the customer in that environmentetitive.

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<v Speaker 1>How competitive is it out there now, particularly in this

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<v Speaker 1>kind of value sector of food right now? If you

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<v Speaker 1>think about it, five dollars seems to be the sticking point.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, Taco Bell also had a five dollars deal

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<v Speaker 1>as well. Wendy's had a three dollar breakfast deal. When

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<v Speaker 1>you think about this five dollars BurgerKing deal that you

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<v Speaker 1>now are extending as you announced this morning, how important

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<v Speaker 1>is that price point right now and how competitive is

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<v Speaker 1>it among other brands.

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<v Speaker 2>So I do think that five dollars price point is

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<v Speaker 2>relevant to the consumers, and we see that in the

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<v Speaker 2>reaction that we're getting to it. And now you're seeing

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<v Speaker 2>more of our competitors bring that price point as well.

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<v Speaker 2>In fact, we've had great offerings at the five dollar

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<v Speaker 2>price point for a long time.

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<v Speaker 3>Now you've seen more of our competitors getting into the game.

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<v Speaker 2>Some of the other big competitors launched five dollars meals recently.

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<v Speaker 2>What's really interesting that we're seeing is that we think

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<v Speaker 2>that might actually be helpful to the sector overall as

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<v Speaker 2>you have more players bringing great value back to the consumers.

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<v Speaker 2>I think as a sector overall, we're starting to improve

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<v Speaker 2>the value impression of the restaurant sector with consumers.

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<v Speaker 3>And it's been really interesting.

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<v Speaker 2>Even as we've gone through the last month or two

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<v Speaker 2>and you've seen more of our competitors start to bring

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<v Speaker 2>into market and promote some of some more five dollars offerings,

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<v Speaker 2>we actually haven't seen any impact to our business. So

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<v Speaker 2>we've actually seen increasing adoption of those meals in our

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<v Speaker 2>business doing pretty well with them. So I think there

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<v Speaker 2>are some positive aspects of the amount of competition and

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<v Speaker 2>the amount of value that the sectors bring to the guests,

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<v Speaker 2>which they really seem to like you have.

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<v Speaker 3>A great vantage point.

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<v Speaker 4>Also to comment on the labor market, Josh, how do

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<v Speaker 4>you see the labor market right now in terms of supply.

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<v Speaker 4>We've seen the unemployment rate rise and economists are telling

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<v Speaker 4>us that's because there are more people in the labor

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<v Speaker 4>market at least that's part of the reason. Do you

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<v Speaker 4>see that or do your franchise e see that as well?

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<v Speaker 2>So I would say we've seen labor market condistionions be

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit warm benign today versus where we were

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<v Speaker 2>two years ago, and when we were in the height

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<v Speaker 2>of COVID, things were a little bit more challenging, and

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<v Speaker 2>that's eased a bit. So we've had more interest in

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<v Speaker 2>jobs in our sector, so that's made life a little

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<v Speaker 2>bit easier for our franchise ease. It's allowing us to

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<v Speaker 2>staff the restaurants better and to provide better service to

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<v Speaker 2>our guests, and I think those are all things that

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<v Speaker 2>help us a lot.

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<v Speaker 3>And that's mostly in the US.

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<v Speaker 2>Up in Canada, there has been a little bit more

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<v Speaker 2>pressure on unemployment, so the unemployment rates ticked up in

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit bigger way up up here in Canada.

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<v Speaker 2>But our business up here has been doing great. I'm

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<v Speaker 2>here in Toronto today in our Tim Horton's test kitchen,

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<v Speaker 2>and we just reported almost five percent same store sales

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<v Speaker 2>in our Tim Wharton's business, which is tremendous even in

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<v Speaker 2>a challenging environment.

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<v Speaker 3>So Canada's a little bit different.

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<v Speaker 2>But in the US, less change and unemployment recently, Josh.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, my colleague here, Matt Miller, really wants to

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<v Speaker 1>start using wagabi or ozambag and he talks about it daily. Actually,

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<v Speaker 1>these days. You know, when you look at these weight

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<v Speaker 1>loss drugs that are entering the market at more and

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<v Speaker 1>more scale, how do you think that's going to impact

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<v Speaker 1>your brands moving forward?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, we haven't seen any impact so far. I know

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<v Speaker 2>there's been a lot of talk about it in the

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<v Speaker 2>press and the investor world, but we really haven't seen

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<v Speaker 2>any impact from any.

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<v Speaker 3>Of the weight lift laws drugs so far.

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<v Speaker 2>I'd say we're much more focused on getting the basics

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<v Speaker 2>right and bringing the right value to our customers, even

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<v Speaker 2>in terms of the offerings.

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<v Speaker 4>Because we had a great big take story today on

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<v Speaker 4>you know, the weight loss drug use in Bowling Green,

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<v Speaker 4>and one of the protagonists in the story was saying,

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<v Speaker 4>I just want more chicken because you need to get

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<v Speaker 4>more protein. Right. So do you not see people choosing

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<v Speaker 4>the higher protein items on your menu as a result

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<v Speaker 4>of using these drugs.

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<v Speaker 2>I think just because of where the adoption rates are,

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<v Speaker 2>and I think there's still low in the overall population

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<v Speaker 2>so far, we don't see it playing out in our

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<v Speaker 2>aggregate data in the way that we.

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<v Speaker 3>Can see yet.

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<v Speaker 4>All Right, Josh, thanks so much for joining us. Josh

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<v Speaker 4>cobbsa there of Restaurant Brands International,