Mr. Wilkins: AFC Enterprises is a 2.5 billion company in terms of system sales that owns, operates and franchises about 3,700 restaurants, bakeries and caf‚s in 30 countries around the world. The company brands include Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, Church's Chicken, Cinnabon, Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia. So we compete in the quick service restaurant, bakery and specialty coffee categories. That's sort of a thumbnail sketch of AFC.
TWST: Is there a common theme with your operations, other than quick
service and coffee?
Mr. Wilkins: I think the common theme is our concepts serve 'crave'
foods and we basically grow all of our concepts primarily through
franchising. While a lot of companies do franchising, that is the basis
upon which the company was founded and it is why when the company was
founded it trademarked and established its vision to be the Franchisor
of Choice. It trademarked that term because our whole way of being, our
whole approach to running the business is geared toward becoming the
Franchisor of Choice'. That includes providing great investment
opportunities, if you will, to franchisees, and providing them with
great service and support and various products and programs that will
grow not only their top line, but also their bottom line and their
return on investment. Because at the end of the day what franchisees
want is a great return on their investment.
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