The Kalibrate retail round-up: September 2023

7-Eleven adds limited-time wings flavor

We’re always impressed by our clients’ capacity to innovate and try something new. And we’re looking forward to trying 7-Eleven’s limited time offer on a new wing recipe. The Korean BBQ boneless wings will be available until 9 Jan 2024.

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Aldi posts ‘record sales’ as it gains a million customers in the UK

Cost of living pressure has seen Aldi gain more than a million customers in the UK. Annual sales rose by nearly £2bn to £15.5bn. Meanwhile, margins are squeezed to an 11-year low of 0.4%. Aldi opened its 1,000^th store earlier this month as it raises its UK store target to 1,500 total.

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Nontraditional site competition heats up in fast food

QSR Magazine has created a decent write-up of Chester’s Chicken’s diversification into different types of locations and a ramp-up of competition for the best spaces. There are some great ‘nuggets’ in this piece.

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Walmart leans into pet care with first Pet Services Center

We’ve seen a boom in pet ownership in recent years and Walmart is keen to get in on the act with the launch of its Pet Services Center – firstly in Dallas, Georgia. The new center will offer a range of pet-care, with added veterinary services by PetIQ, and joins an existing 65 in-store vet clinics at Walmarts across the US.

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And finally… Got weeds? This franchise will bring in the hungry goats

Many of our clients operate franchises so we like to keep up with the latest news in the space. During our browsing of Franchise Times, we caught a novel franchise we’d love to work with – a goat rental business. Taking an ecological approach to keeping the vegetation at bay, Rent-A-Ruminant is based out of Vashon Island in Washington.

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