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Denny’s Corporation (NASDAQ: DENN) told investors it is closing another 30 restaurants, for a total of 180 closures combined in 2024 and 2025, while reporting fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday. (It had previously said it would close a total of 150 locations.) The move is part of the restaurant chain’s plan to jumpstart its waning growth. Denny’s, like many fast-food and casual-dining chains, has been struggling in recent years due to inflation, changing customer habits, and skyrocketing food prices. It’s just one of many major chains to announce store closures recently, a list that includes TGI Fridays, Shake Shack, and Wendy’s as well. But Denny’s told Fast Company that, regarding the restaurants that will be closing, it is “unable to provide specific location information at this time.” Shares of Denny’s were down nearly 2% in midday trading Thursday and closed nearly 25% lower yesterday after it missed earnings expectations. Denny’s reported operating revenue of $114.7 million, down from $115.4 million last quarter; $52.4 million in sales, down from $54.0 million last quarter, and a net income of $6.8 million. Overall, Denny’s stock is down about 50% since a year ago. In its fourth-quarter-earnings release, the Spartanburg, South Carolina-based company said it closed 88 locations in 2024 and will shut another 70 to 90 locations in 2025. According to the company, many of the locations marked for closure are less profitable, have leases that are expiring, or are too old to be remodeled. However, some good news: Denny’s opened 14 franchised restaurants and renovated 23 locations last year. “We have made significant progress in our strategy to enhance the overall health of our flagship brand by accelerating the closure of lower-volume restaurants and completing 23 remodels, and also opened a record number of Kekes Cafes while expanding into six new states,” CEO Kelli Valade said in an earnings statement. “Looking ahead to 2025, there is still work to be done within our brands, particularly as we navigate near-term-consumer sentiment that has been affected by macroeconomic factors.
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E-Commerce
If any husbands or boyfriends mess up Valentine’s Day this week, it’s not because of a shortage of flowers. In the run up to Feb. 14, agricultural specialists at Miami International Airport have processed about 940 million stems of cut flowers, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Around 90% of the fresh cut flowers being sold for Valentine’s Day in the United States come through Miami, while the other 10% pass through Los Angeles. Roses, carnations, pompons, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums and gypsophila arrive on hundreds of flights, mostly from Colombia and Ecuador, to Miami on their journey to florists and supermarkets across the U.S. and Canada. Miami’s largest flower importer is Avianca Cargo, based in Medellín, Colombia. In the past three weeks, the company has transported about 18,000 tons of flowers on 300 full cargo flights, senior vice president Diogo Elias said during a news conference last week in Miami. We transport flowers all year round, but specifically during the Valentines season, we more than double our capacity because theres more than double the demand, Elias said. Flowers continue to make up one of the airport’s largest imports, Miami-Dade chief operation officer Jimmy Morales said. The airport received more than 3 million tons of cargo last year, with flowers accounting for nearly 400,000 tons, worth more than $1.6 billion. With 1,500 tons of flowers arriving daily, that equals 90,000 tons of flower imports worth $450 million just in January and February, Morales said. It’s a big job for CBP agriculture specialists, who check the bundles of flowers for potentially harmful plant, pest and foreign animal diseases from entering the country, MIA port director Daniel Alonso said. “Invasive species have caused $120 billion in annual economic and environmental losses to the United States, including the yield and quality losses for the American agriculture industry,” Alonso said. Colombia’s flower industry was recently looking at a possible 25% tariff, as President Donald Trump quarreled with the South American country’s leadership over accepting flights carrying deported immigrants. But the trade dispute came to a halt in late January, after Colombia agreed to allow the flights to land. Colombian President Gustavo Petro had previously rejected two Colombia-bound U.S. military aircrafts carrying migrants. Petro accused Trump of not treating immigrants with dignity during deportation and threatened to retaliate against the U.S. by slapping a 25% increase in Colombian tariffs on U.S. goods. Officials at Friday’s news conference declined to answer any questions about politics or tariffs. David Fischer, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Several channels owned by Paramount Global, including CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and MTV, could go dark on YouTube TV this week if a contract renewal cannot be reached between the two companies. YouTube TV, a subsidiary of Google, announced in a statement that it is working hard to reach a fair agreement that allows it to keep Paramount channels without raising prices for subscribers. It had not yet been successful in good-faith negotiations. What will happen if a new contract isn’t reached? After February 13, all Paramount content, including CBS and CBS Sports, will be removed from YouTube TV. Subscribers will also not be able to access previous recordings from these channels or add-on services, including Paramount+ with Showtime and BET+, according to the statement from YouTube. The company also announced that if an agreement is not reached, it will offer subscribers an $8 credit. Were still in active conversations with Paramount and are hopeful we can come to an agreement to keep their content available on YouTube TV, said the YouTube team. What has Paramount said about this? Paramount said on a special webpage that it had made a series of offers that were good for all customers, though YouTube TV could not agree on the terms. YouTube TV is attempting to pressure Paramount to agree to unfavorable and one-sided terms, said Paramount on the webpage. YouTube TV is prioritizing their own interests over a fair agreement. The deal that Paramount proposed would continue the relationship between the companies, enabling them to give streamers access to its networks at a fair price, according to Paramount. This dispute comes a month after YouTube TV raised the prices of its basic package to $82.99 per month. The service has around eight million subscribers and is the most popular internet-based pay-TV service, surpassing competitors like DirecTV Stream and Fubo, according to CNN. Sports fans who use YouTube TV could be especially affected, as access to CBS would be cut just as March Madness is soon to begin. Selection Sunday is March 16, and the NCAA tournament starts March 20. Why does this sound familiar? Carriage disputes have long plagued the pay-TV business, with traditional cable subscribers often experiencing service disruptions as media companies and distributors squabble over costs. As streaming services have moved to replicate the cable bundle in recent years, they have sometimes found themselves in the same boat. YouTube previously clashed with Disney in 2021 when it was time for a contract renewal. The problem was caused after Disney thought YouTube wasnt paying enough for its content. Disneys channels disappeared on the service for two days before a contract renewal was reached. How can I find out which channels are in jeopardy? If a contract cannot be reached by Thursday, Paramount has provided this list of channels, based on zip code, that subscribers could potentially lose.
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E-Commerce
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