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Wendy’s: ‘Aye’ to Canada, ‘Nyet’ to Russia

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Wendy’s: ‘Aye’ to Canada, ‘Nyet’ to Russia

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Dublin, OH – Fast food giant Wendy’s has announced a major overhaul of its international operations with almost simultaneous moves to increase its Canadian footprint and reduce its presence in Russia.

On the Canadian front, Wendy’s currently operates 367 restaurants across the country, 230 of which are franchises. By early next year, the company said, the remaining stores that are company owned will also be franchise operations.

According to sources, the company is betting on Canadian franchisors having a better understanding of the Canadian fast food market with the goal of opening at least 100 additional franchises in Canada over the next six years.

Wendy’s is the third-largest burger chain in Canada, behind global mega-giant McDonald’s and A&W. The company has a joint real estate venture with Canadian donut king Tim Hortons called ‘TimWen’, that has Wendy’s leasing 42 facilities across the country for Wendy’s/Tim Hortons combo restaurants.

At the same time it announced its expansion in Canada, Wendy’s said it will close the eight burger restaurants it’s opened in Russia since 2010.

Wendy’s, which had originally planned to open 180 locations in Russia, has cited disagreements with its local partner, Wenrus, for the decision.

The Russian franchiser, the Ohio-based company said, “has not expressed interest in growing Wendy’s business in Russia, nor have they shown the resources to successfully operate the existing restaurants on a long-term basis.”

Currently, Wendy’s operates more than 6,500 Wendy’s restaurants in the US and 27 countries including Singapore, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Costa Rica, the Bahamas, Singapore, Guatemala, Japan, Argentina, Venezuela, the United Arab Emirates, the Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

08/08/2014

 

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Illinois-Based Lifeway Foods Enters Canadian Market

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Morton Grove, IL – Lifeway Foods Inc. has expanded its flagship line of probiotic kefir into Canada, where the cultured dairy beverage is now debuting in more than 1,000 stores across the country.

The company’s entry into the Canadian market marks the company’s second international expansion in 14 months, following the 2013 introduction of its frozen kefir products in the UK.

Lifeway the largest kefir manufacturer in the US with a commanding market share and a 20 percent + annual growth rate. The company said that the move into Canada and the UK “are the first steps in a plan to duplicate our success in the US in other markets around the world.”

According to the latest analysis by Transparency Market Research, global sales of probiotic products will jump from $11.6 billion in 2012 to $15.9 billion in 2019.

Probiotic dairy products accounted for almost 80 percent of all probiotic foodstuffs in 2011 and are expected to continue to command the highest market share, the analysis said.

08/01/2014

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New Six-Lane Trade Bridge to Link US, Canada

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Detroit, MI – A new US-Canadian authority will oversee the construction, operation and maintenance of a proposed six-lane bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

The Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority is a non-profit “Crown Corporation” that will report to Ottawa as it manages the project for the New International Trade Crossing.

The authority “will be in charge of preparing the sites and managing the procurement process to select a private-sector partner that will carry out the work, according to Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt.

The agency will also be responsible for setting and collecting tolls, she said.

“The new bridge is needed for growing trade and for growing traffic at Canada’s busiest US commercial border crossing,” said Raitt, adding the project is expected to create thousands of jobs in the coming years.

The next step, she said, involves securing funding for a US Customs facility, along with acquiring land on the US side.

“The project will provide an essential new alternative crossing for Canada’s Continental Gateway and trade corridor,” according to a Canadian government website.

The project, it said, includes a new six-lane bridge across the Detroit River between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan, associated border inspection plazas, and connections to the freeway systems in Ontario and Michigan.”

The bridge is scheduled to open in 2020 and is reportedly being funded by the Canadian government, which has earmarked $2 billion to the project.

According to observers, the total cost of the project could reach as much as $4 billion that would include work on freeway interchanges, Canadian and US Customs plazas, and additional infrastructure work.

The final permit for the project was issued last month after a US court rejected a request for an injunction filed by the private company that owns the existing Ambassador Bridge that links Detroit with Windsor.

Another panel, the Canada-Michigan International Authority, is also being formed to approve key steps in the public-private partnership and the purchase of the required land in Michigan, Riatt said.

07/31/2014

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US Beef Exports Up 6 Percent Overall, Says USDA

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Washington, DC – US beef exports through May 2014 are up 6 percent from a year earlier, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

Exports have strengthened to Hong Kong and Mexico, offsetting weaker shipments to Canada, Japan, and Taiwan.

Although exports to Japan had been running above year-earlier levels through April, they weakened in May. Imported beef stocks in Japan are well above year-earlier levels and consumption is stable.

Exports to Mexico have risen this year with shipments during May 48 percent higher than the previous May. Second-quarter exports were raised by 10 million pounds due to stronger demand from Hong Kong and Mexico, the FAS said.

The forecast for US beef exports in 2014 is 2.518 billion pounds, almost 3 percent lower than 2013.

Despite stronger shipments during the first 5 months of the year, exports are expected to fall during the remaining months.

Production is forecast to fall nearly 5 percent in 2014 and then 1 percent in 2015 due to reduced cattle inventories and higher heifer retention for herd rebuilding.

Prices, which have risen as a result of lower supply, the agency said, are likely to dampen export demand over the forecast period. The forecast for exports during 2015 is 2.425 billion pounds, 4 percent lower than 2014.

07/22/2014

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The Most Tax Friendly Country? Canada, Says Report

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Ontario, Canada – Canada remains the world’s most tax friendly country for global business, according to KPMG’s Competitive Alternatives 2014: Focus on Tax report.

Canada’s top international ranking, the international business consultancy said, “is mainly due to low effective corporate income tax policy combined with moderate statutory labor costs, as well as the country’s system of harmonized sales taxes.”

The United Kingdom ranked in second spot with Mexico landing in third in terms of tax competitiveness. The study also revealed there is no standard approach in setting tax policy among the countries analyzed.

Although the types of taxes used to raise government revenues are more or less similar among countries, it found that “there is a large range in how these taxes are weighted and applied.”

Some countries, it said, “have a tax policy focused on delivering a low corporate income tax rate in order to compete for more businesses. Those countries may need to rely more heavily on other taxes, such as sales or payroll taxes, to derive their tax revenues.”

Similarly, other countries “use their tax policies to attract certain types of businesses with targeted incentives for activities such as manufacturing or research and development.”

The countries were scored based on their TTI, or Total Tax Index, with the US, which ranked fifth on the list, providing the benchmark at 100.0.

For example, an overall TTI number of 51.6 means total tax costs are 48.4 percent lower in that country than in the US.

Spotlighted countries given as examples were Canada (53.6 percent); the UK (66.6 percent); Mexico (70.2 percent); The Netherlands (74.5 percent); the US ( —); Australia (112.9 percent); Germany (116.3 percent); Japan (118.6 percent); Italy (135.8 percent); and France (163.3 percent).

 

06/26/2014