Arby’s parent company is buying Jimmy John’s Sandwiches, hoping to reverse slow sales to the chain.
Atlanta-based Inspire Brands said Wednesday that the acquisition would make it the fourth-largest restaurant company in the U.S., with annual sales of $ 14 billion and 11,200 restaurants. Inspire also owns Sonic, Buffalo Wild Wings and Rusty Taco.
Jimmy John founder and president Jimmy John Liautaud will step down and become an adviser to the Inspire board. James North, president and CEO of Jimmy John, will serve as chairman and report to Inspire CEO Paul Brown.
Like Pope John’s founder John Schnatter, who was forced to leave the presidency in 2018 due to racist comments, Liautaud has been a responsibility to Jimmy John’s in recent years. Actor Mark Hammill is among those who have called for a boycott of Jimmy John’s on Twitter after photos on social media showed Liautaud posing with an elephant and a leopard he had killed on hunting trips.
Jimmy John’s sales amounted to $ 2.25 billion in 2018. This was steady since 2017 and 1% more than in 2016, although Jimmy John’s added 156 stores in that period, according to Technomic, a restaurant data. Jimmy John’s has 2,800 locations in 43 states and 84,000 employees. The chain was founded in 1983 in Illinois.
Inspire said it can help Jimmy John’s with product development, marketing and a stronger purchasing scale. The company said Jimmy John’s also has a lot of potential for international expansion.
“We’re more interested in growing the brand and supporting Jimmy John’s system than in the past, personal hobbies of any individual,” Inspire said in an email when asked about Liautaud.
Roark Capital, the private equity firm that owns Inspire Brands, had already bought a majority stake in Jimmy John’s in 2016.
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of October. The terms were not disclosed.
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