Closed one day a week might not seem like a lot to your average person, but if you’re one of the biggest and most popular fast-food chains…it tends to add up.
Just last year, Chick-Fil-A earned more than $10 billion in sales across the United States, even though all of its locations are closed every single Sunday.
One analyst told Business Insider that while McDonald’s does not disclose hard traffic numbers for day-to-day operations, there is a significant amount of evidence that estimates about 15% of annual sales are taken in just on Sundays.
“Closing our business on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is our way of honoring God and showing our loyalty to Him,” the founder, Truett Cathy, wrote in his book Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People.
“My brother Ben and I closed our first restaurant on the first Sunday after we opened in 1946, and my children have committed to closing our restaurants on Sundays long after I’m gone. I believe God honors our decision and sets before us unexpected opportunities to do greater work for Him because of our loyalty.”
For this massive restaurant chain, the cost of being closed just one day of each week totals to be more than $19,230,769 – each Sunday.
This means that every single year, Chick-fil-A takes a loss of more than $1 billion from the closures.
But, there’s a very specific reason this is paying off – big time – for the fast-food chain…
Maintaining their family-focused values and keeping true to their mission is something that boosts the brand’s reputation and keeps people coming back. Especially those who share the same values.
As author Adam Chandler told Business Insider: “If there’s one thing that everybody knows about Chick-fil-A, it is that it is closed on Sundays.”
President of Franchise Times, John Hamburger, says that “being open six days a week provides benefits to both operators and the customers…the owner-operator gets the time off. ‘Closed on Sunday’ conveys a sense of caring and community to the customers.”
For patrons, just knowing that they won’t be able to get their craving satisfied on a Sunday pushes them to make sure they visit during the week – which, in turn, increases sales.
Check out this video below about their Sunday closures and let us know what you think of Chick-fil-A losing $1 billion being closed one day a week!