Despite the struggling economy, Chick-fil-A enjoyed an unprecedented year of sales growth in 2008. The Atlanta-based restaurant chain today reported 2008 system-wide sales of $2,962,253,976, representing a 12.17 percent increase over the chain’s 2007 overall sales performance and a strong same-store sales increase of 4.59 percent.
Chick-fil-A’s record sales performance marked the chain’s 41st consecutive year of system-wide sales gains — a streak that the chain has sustained since its inception in 1967 — and its 16th straight year of double-digit sales growth.
“Of all of our years of sales growth, we are truly grateful for our customers’ support as reflected in our 2008 sales,” says Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Dan T. Cathy. “Chick-fil-A was able to endure a number of challenges that could have been detrimental to any other chain, including targeted product competition among our quick-service rivals and a challenging economic environment, but our restaurant operators and team members remained committed to excellence which resulted in another solid sales year.
Chick-fil-A will continue its steady restaurant growth with 76 new locations planned for 2009, including 64 stand-alone restaurants, two mall/retail locations and 10 licensed outlets. The chain also will renovate 65 restaurants throughout the year in a reinvestment effort to extend the life cycle of each location and introduce new efficiencies that will help Chick-fil-A’s franchise Operators attract and accommodate greater sales volumes.
