Popeyes' Luther to exit chain for Allied Domecq: takes CEO spot, seeks to strengthen brands

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 23, 2002 by Jack Hayes

ATLANTA -- Following a six-year stint leading Atlanta-based Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits to double-digit growth in unit counts, revenue and average-store sales, contract and quick-service veteran Jon Luther is joining Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants as chief executive, effective Jan. 8.

He will succeed 30-year veteran Jack Shafer, who is slated to retire as ADQSR's CEO at the end of 2002. Luther will assume leadership of the Randolph, Mass.-based company and its $3.2 billion-a-year U.S. system of 3,500 Dunkin' Donuts units, 2,400 Baskin-Robbins locations, more than 400 Togo's sandwich shops and the three brands' expansive international operations.

In total, Luther's new role will encompass roughly four times the scale of Popeyes, a flagship chain of Atlanta-based AFC Enterprises, where he oversaw 1,373 U.S. locations and another 306 international units.

Luther also is a contract-feeding veteran whose management resume includes tenures with Aramark, Marriott, CA One Services and Benchmark Services, an independent corporate-dining group he launched in the mid-1980s.

Already forming plans for the intended direction of Allied Domecq's chains, Luther said he would key in on building momentum to continue growth of the three ADQSR brands nationally and internationally.

"The principals of leadership are the same regardless of size," Luther said. "It comes down to identifying great people and finding the best elements of the brands in order to reinvigorate and reenergize. It doesn't matter if the system is 1,000 or 10,000" outlets.

Luther said he would apply the same principles to strengthening franchise support across the Allied system.

"There are a number of people at Allied who know how to make it happen," he said. "Hopefully, I can carry on the great tradition set there and build momentum."

For the Baskin-Robbins brand, Luther sees his goal as keying logically on the nation's growing appetite for quality ice cream. At Dunkin' Donuts he expects to find opportunity to develop greater regional penetration. And he would look for ways to position Togo's to take greater advantage of the booming interest in higher-quality, fast-casual sandwich concepts.

"The dual-branding thing is also in its infancy, and Allied has been engineering back-of-the-house changes as part of its game strategy to roll out the 'trombo' concept," Luther said, referring to the code name for the company's triple-brand bundling of its three concepts at single sites.

"I'm familiar with how to put brands together," Luther said. "I was doing that with CA One in airports years ago."

Luther said he would miss both his Popeyes team and the AFC leadership, including AFC president and chief operating officer Dick Holbrook, who brought him into the group.

"The people at Popeyes and AFC offered me a lot of growth and opportunity," Luther said. Last month Luther confirmed reports that an AFC team reporting to him was poised to debut Tib's Grill -- a Cajun-theme casual-dining brand that would mark the quick-service company's first full-service foray -- in Atlanta's Buckhead district by year-end.

"We're sad to see him go, but he's definitely got an opportunity at Allied," said Holbrook, who has assumed day-to-day responsibility at Popeyes while AFC conducts a search for Luther's successor, beginning internally.

"It's also a great opportunity for the next Popeyes president," Holbrook said. "Jon has set up his successor to reap good fortune. He's done a fabulous job for the brand through his leadership. Popeyes has had six record years during his tenure."

When Luther joined AFC in February 1997, Popeyes operated more than a third of its then-900 U.S. restaurants in Louisiana and Texas. His challenge was to create a vision for powering the multiregional chain, known for its cult following, into a mainstream brand.

Luther's answer was to build on Popeyes' distinctive Louisiana heritage by aligning it as a "flavor-seeker" brand with "the best menu in quick-service restaurants." He also rebuilt training and operating systems to support the existing franchise network and attract new operators to the Popeyes system.

Popeyes, which is celebrating its 30th birthday this year, has grown to 1,679 locations, including the 306 international units, making it still the second-largest chicken brand behind KFC.

Unit-sales growth has been one of the brand's outstanding achievements.

"We've gone from average [annual] unit volumes of $750,000 to nearly $1 million," Luther said. "Plus, our international group grew at a phenomenal rate [adding 144 units over five years]. It's a nice story to tell."

Luther gave his former management team full credit for Popeyes' record performance.

"Ten of the 12 officers that are here now were here when I came" Luther said. "I had great people, and all I did was rally them around a larger vision. I couldn't be prouder of this team. Never have I been associated with better people than this."

In July Popeyes said it was targeting 15 key markets for U.S. expansion, namely, Albuquerque, N.M.; Charlotte, N.C.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio; Denver; Greensboro, N.C.; Indianapolis; Knoxville, Tenn.; Las Vegas; Orlando, Fla.; Raleigh and Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Va.; and Tulsa, Okla. Founded by quick-service chicken pioneer Alvin Copeland in New Orleans in 1972, the Popeyes system expanded into 38 states under his leadership, which ended following a prolonged battle in bankruptcy court in 1992.