An open letter to Tim Hortons
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008Dear Mr. Paul D. House
Tim Hortons is my favourite fast food restaurant. It is open 24 hours, it has a variety of food: donuts, sandwiches, soups, bagels, different pastries, yogurts, and there seems to be a TimHorton’s location everywhere. I even used to be a shareholder. (bought Aug-7-2006 at $24.34 and sold Sep-19-2007 at $34.74) The company’s stock closed today at $35.49.
So, while I obviously think TH is great, there is some room for improvement. Donuts are great, they are sin food. However they are a thing of the past. Today’s population is health conscious more than ever. I see it all the time people want to get a Boston Cream but instead they settle on something more healthy.
My suggestion to TH is to add more healthy items to your menu. Salads seem like a no-brainer, you already have the veggies for your sandwiches in stores, why not use them to make salads. There is a movement away from bread, even whole wheat. More and more people are discovering the goodness of fresh vegetables. Even if we forget the health issues, adding salads to the menu offers yet another alternative. Which in turn should bring more people in the stores.
Going even further ahead I would suggest adding Sushi to your offerings. I realize that is is a long shot, but the sushi trend is here to stay for at least a decade. Why not capitalize on it. Furthermore in my province of British Columbia there are no chains offering Sushi. This would place TH in a competitive advantage. Imagine being able to get the same sushi wherever you go. I am sure that McDonald’s is exploring the sushi idea, especially after trying out successfully I may add the Feng Shui theme in some of their California restaurants. Just something to ponder…