Denny’s Serves up $2 to $8 Value Menu (DENN, MCD, BKC, WEN, YUM, DIN, DRI, RT)

Advertisement

Denny’s (DENN) is serving up a new “$2 $4 $6 $8 Value Menu.” That positions DENN in a sweet spot as the cheapest casual dining option and a higher quality restaurant for families with only a few bucks to spend that typcially go to McDonald’s (MCD), Burger King (BKC), Wendy’s/Arby’s (WEN) or Yum! Restaurants (YUM) brands like Taco Bell and KFC. DineEquity (DIN) chain Applebees has also tried to play the low end of the price game with its Pick’N Pair lunch combos that start at $5.99.

The 16 items at Denny’s range from a la carte breakfast items like a $2 endless stack of pancakes to an $8 feast of Spicy Cowboy Chopped Steak, two sides, dinner bread and a drink.  All-you-can-eat offerings at DENN are taking a clear shot at some casual dining deals like Darden Restaurants (DRI) offers with its endless salad and breadsticks at its Olive Garden chains or Ruby Tuesday’s (RT) all-you-can-eat salad bar.

But there’s a real risk here for the company as it takes the regional testing of this value menu to the national scale. The fact is that restaurant owners everywhere are feeling the sting of slower consumer spending, and that the corporate office may risk a mutiny among franchisees by flattening out already razor-thin profit margins.

Look at a lawsuit filed against Burger King (BKC) last fall by the National Franchise Association, where franchisees protested the corporate mandate that double cheeseburgers be sold for $1 — only a few pennies above cost for certain locations. Eggs and pancake batter are pretty cheap, but some of the other items on the menu could be cutting it very close for some restaurants.

And let’s not forget that DENN stock is already shouldering a huge free breakfast giveaway in February that dished out hot meals to over 2 million people. The stunt cost the company a cool $5 million by industry estimates. Though that probably came out of a marketing budget instead of regular cash flow, what’s going to happen when that money starts coming directly out of the cash registers for individual Denny’s locations?

Of course, it’s all a volume game. If Denny’s can put enough folks in the seats with its value menu that it will more than make up for the thinner profits. And if people keep ordering the menu items that are bigger money makers, the promotion won’t break the bank. But if Denny’s is simply serving its existing customers at a smaller margin, it could mean bad news for some stores that are already hurting in this economic downturn.

Denny’s appears to be willing to make that gamble. Whatever way you slice it, the menu is a novel approach where the restaurant isn’t just pitching a single price tag like the McDonald’s (MCD) Dollar Menu. It allows Denny’s to offer cheap ala carte items like the conventional model, as well as entire meals. But it remains to be seen whether consumers will agree it’s a deal to get an $8 Denny’s Asian chicken salad and a drink instead of eight double cheeseburgers at McDonald’s or Burger King to feed the whole family.

Whatever you think about the prices or the food, Denny’s is sure to get some attention for its efforts. And in the wake of a huge free breakfast giveaway in February, it’s hard to argue that there’s a restaurant out there that’s courting the “value” label harder than Denny’s right now. Whether the label sticks with consumers and whether restaurants can afford to keep up the act is a different egg fro Denny’s to crack.

Tell us what you think here.

Related Articles:

30 Dead Dividend Stocks to Sell

Every one of these stocks carries a huge risk of cutting or even completely eliminating their cash dividends. Sell these 30 losers now — and buy the six top picks that are handing investors huge, safe dividend payments instead. Get your FREE copy of this report here!


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2010/04/dennys-value-menu-denn-stock-mcd-bkc-wen-yum-din-dri-rt/.

©2024 InvestorPlace Media, LLC