Long John Silver's, a seafood-focused fast food chain, reported its fifth consecutive quarter of sales growth in the United States, and announced further expansion of its international business to Indonesia.
The private company is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and operates nearly 700 American restaurants. It did not provide more details on its 2021 sales, but LJS CEO Blain Shortreed (Blain Shortreed) In a press release, the company has recovered from the worst impact of the COVID-19 crisis, which has caused its sales to fall by 30% to 40%.
Shortreed stated that LJS will focus on growth in Asia in 2022 and plans to add 54 restaurants in Indonesia. LJS already operates 21 locations in Singapore, and Shortreed said that the growing seafood demand and high per capita consumption in Asia make it an attractive market.
"Our continued success in 2021 has convinced us that our international influence can grow and reach new heights for the brand," Shortreed said. "We have the infrastructure to support global franchisees, and we are happy to provide our unique seafood experience to more customers around the world."
LJS Chief Marketing Officer Stephanie Mattingly said the company is expanding into Asia, seeking to respect the cultural norms of the region, and "understands that some adjustments are needed due to regional and local sourcing-such as halal certification," Mattingly said. But she said that LJS thinks its products in the region are very suitable.
"Seafood and poultry are the two most consumed proteins in the world. In the past decade, both have grown faster than other protein options such as beef, pork or lamb," Mattingley said. "This makes us successful because we work with international partners and supply chains to maintain our core menu products in our expanded areas."
To support its international development, LJS hired Seamus MacTreinfhir, who recently served as the chief development officer of YUM! Served as Senior Director of Brand Development in Dubai.
Despite the positive sales performance, Long John Silver's has been struggling in recent years. According to data from EatThis, its total number of stores has fallen from an all-time high of about 1,500 in 1989, and it has dropped from about 66% of the fast-service seafood market to about 33%. According to Technomic's estimates, its sales in the United States in 2020 were 319 million U.S. dollars (275.4 million euros), a decrease of 17% year-on-year, and 6% of restaurants closed in 2020. LJS executives declined to disclose how many stores the chain has opened and closed so far in 2021.
In response to this decline, LJS is planning to carry out additional renovations and new promotions for its American restaurants. LJS has renovated 21 restaurants this year and plans to renovate 20 more in 2022. According to the company, the new market in Virginia will be the first to experience the new design and footprint of the chain. LJS will also add a nautical-themed food truck this fall to "bring high-quality seafood from the sea to the streets," the company said.
LJS stated that Long John Silver's also plans to reinvest in "the most important key things for brand consumers: speed and accuracy, convenience and taste." It said it launched an order acceleration plan this year and achieved gratifying results.
“Among the restaurants participating in the speed program, the average drive-thru speed increased by 90 seconds, and restaurants that focused on improving drive-thru showed a stronger correlation with the improvement in sales growth,” LJS said.
After launching a third-party delivery service in almost every restaurant last year, LJS began to provide online ordering services in 2021. The company plans to offer online ordering services in all its restaurants when it launches the LJS loyalty app in the late fall.
"Now, in more than 300 restaurants, local online ordering has proven to be a profitable sales tier, with higher average guest checks and lower processing costs," LJS said.
LJS is also trialing Good Catch plant-based fish simulation sandwiches in specific locations. Mattingly previously told SeafoodSource JLS that plant-based seafood "will be the next big wave, after seeing the initial success of plant-based burgers and chicken."
"Plant-based seafood selection is part of our work this year to revitalize and expand Long John Silver’s unique seafood experience. The LJS leadership team is optimistic about the success of this trial run, and you can look forward to it in the coming months See more exciting news from us," Mattingley said.
In addition to testing plant-based seafood sandwiches, LJS also provides customers with new menu add-ons, including the option to add $10.00 (8.63 euros) Sea-Shares grilled shrimp and "two $6.00 (5.18 euros) mix and match". Deal. This fall, LJS also launched Lobster Bites, which features Norwegian lobster tails in buttery breadcrumbs.
Photo courtesy of Long John Silver
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