The multi-brand restaurant operator has posted strong first quarter results, with Starbucks stores achieving 36% like-for-like sales growth across Europe and Latin America
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Alsea operates 1,673 Starbucks stores across 11 countries | Photo credit: lingchor
Mexico’s Alsea has reported robust first quarter revenues and like-for-like sales growth across its global portfolio of fast-casual hospitality brands.
The Starbucks, Domino’s Pizza, TGI Friday’s and Burger King operator posted a 16% sales increase across the group to 17.5bn pesos ($969.1m) for the three months ended 31 March 2023.
Group like-for-like sales grew 23.5% compared to the same period in 2022, with Alsea’s licensed Starbucks business, which operates across 11 countries, posting 36% like-for-like sales growth.
Alsea attributed the strong results to a recovery in consumer demand globally alongside the implementation of new e-commerce and loyalty strategies, with digital sales growing 25% year-on-year to reach 5bn pesos ($276.9bn).
It also opened 20 new corporate and eight sub-franchised outlets during the period, predominantly among its Starbucks and Domino’s Pizza brands.
Mexico City-based Alsea currently operates 1,673 licensed Starbucks stores around the world, including 785 outlets in Mexico, 221 in France, 154 in Spain and Chile, 131 in Argentina, 98 in the Netherlands, 57 in Colombia, 34 in Belgium, 23 in Portugal, 12 in Uruguay, and four in Luxembourg.
By region, Starbucks achieved like-for-like sales growth of 32.5% in Mexico, 27.2% in Europe and 28% in South America.
In September 2022, Alsea announced
plans to invest $225m in 200 new Starbucks stores in Mexico, where just over half of group sales are earned, by 2026. The operator is also poised to open the
first Starbucks store in Paraguay in May 2023 as part of plans to reach 2,000 licensed Starbucks stores globally by the end of 2025.
“I am pleased to share our solid results for the first quarter of 2023. Total sales in the period increased 16% year-over-year, to 17.5bn pesos, demonstrating significant growth in all our regions,” said Armando Torrado, General Director, Alsea.
“Regarding our expansion strategy, during the quarter we added 20 new corporate restaurants and 8 franchises, mainly Starbucks and Domino's Pizza. We carefully evaluate each possible new opening to capitalize on market opportunities in all our regions, always prioritising profitability,” Torrado added.
Founded in 1990 after acquiring the master-franchise rights to Domino’s Pizza in Mexico, Alsea operates 4,550 fast-casual outlets in 11 countries. It licenses 20 prominent fast-casual brands, including Burger King, TGI Friday’s, The Cheesecake Factory, chili’s and P.F. Chang’s.