Cold weather and an outdated roll-up-the-rim-to-win promotion slowed sales at Canadian Tim Hortons locations in its most recent quarter, said the CEO of the coffee chain’s parent company, prompting Restaurant Brands International Inc. to revamp the contest for next year.
Comparable store sales at Tim Hortons fell 0.6 per cent worldwide, and 0.4 per cent in Canada.
READ MORE: Tim Hortons launches rewards program — here’s how it compares to the competition.
“I hate using weather as an excuse,” said CEO Jose Cil, who has just served his first full quarter in the top post, during a conference call with investors Monday morning.
The company estimates severe winter weather during the quarter, which ended March 31, resulted in a drag of about one per cent on comparable sales.
The weather woes started in the back half of January and lasted until the end of February, said Alex Macedo, Tim Hortons president, in an interview following the conference call, and impacted performance across Canada.
READ MORE: There’s a Tim Hottens in India, and Tim Hortons has its crullers in a knot. »