Dine Brands is one of the world’s largest full-service dining companies and franchisor of iconic American brands, including Applebee’s, IHOP, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.
This company has kept America’s most nostalgic restaurants running for years, creating memories and putting smiles on families’ faces.
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However, consumers have become more conscious of their spending habits, scaling back on unnecessary spending due to inflation and the unpredictable economy. This is especially true regarding dining out, which has financially hurt the restaurant industry.
These iconic American restaurant chains are not what they used to be. They now lack consistency in operations, services, portion sizes, and food quality, which were all factors they were once praised for.
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According to Dine Brands’ fourth-quarter earnings report for 2024, Applebee’s domestic same-restaurant sales declined 4.7% compared to the year prior, with IHOP’s down by 2.8%.
An Applebee’s restaurant.
Dine Brands announces a new program to revamp Applebee’s and boost sales
On Mar. 5, Dine Brands (DIN)  announced the launch of “Lookin’ Good,” a multi-year reimagining program to revamp multiple Applebee’s locations so they can better meet customers’ expectations physically and quality-wise.Â
Dine Brands will start with 47Â Applebee’s restaurants to kickstart this program, which the company took over from franchisees last November.
From those units, 30 will be remodeled this year, and the remaining five will be transformed into Applebee’s/IHOP locations to expand the dual-branded concept domestically. Once the renovations are complete, those units will then be re-franchised.
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“We’re doing this by focusing on elevating the guest experience through improving operations in Applebee’s reimaging program, enhancing our menu and value offerings by focusing on the core of our brands, and better communicating the value that our brands offer to our guests through dynamic marketing,” said Dine Brands CEO John Peyton during an earnings call. “These three areas will be our priority for the coming year as we work to deepen the connection between our guests and the core of our brands, leaning into our strengths to best position us for growth,” he added.
The new prototype for the “Lookin’ Good” program has a modern design that focuses on optimizing Applebee’s’ off-premise business since it accounted for nearly 22% of sales, as stated in the company’s latest earnings report.Â
Dine Brands merges Applebee’s and IHOP to cut costs while expanding its footprint
With this new reimagining program, Dine Brands hopes to get back into customers’ good graces after both brands have struggled with continuous sales declines over the last few years, which has led to multiple store closures.
Last year, Dine Brands introduced its dual-branded restaurants in the U.S. as they had proven successful internationally, propelling huge growth for the sector.
“On average, we’ve seen these locations achieve 1.5 to 2 times the revenue compared to a single brand restaurant,” said Peyton.
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This year, Dine Brands plans to open around 12 to 14 dual-branded restaurants across the U.S. to expand brand recognition and reach more markets.
Companies tend to do these brand combinations to kill two birds with one stone, allowing them to expand their brands while spending half the money on rent and staff.Â
This dual-brand restaurant concept is also beneficial and efficient for consumers because it saves them time by only going to one location and gives them more food options.
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