Tag: KFC

Latest Headlines May 13, 2016June 10, 2016

Report: Brown-Forman considers Finlandia sale, and Ford says 6,500 applied to buy new supercar

A news summary focused on big employers; updated 11:28 a.m.

BROWN-FORMAN is reportedly considering a sale of Finlandia vodka amid a broader effort to focus on its whiskey business; the company spent $200 million to assemble the vodka business from 2000 to 2004. Brown-Forman declined to comment on the report (Bloomberg). Last month, the company said it would spend $413 million to buy Scottish single-malt distiller BenRiach Distillery Co.

FORD said 6,506 people applied worldwide to buy the new EcoBoost-powered, carbon-fiber GT supercar; hundreds included videos to bolster their chances to buy the first 500. The $400,000 car will be available the end of the year (press release). Also, total vehicle sales in Ford’s 20 traditional European markets last month were the best since April 2009, with passenger car sales at their highest level since 2010 (press release).

KFC: A barrel of Montana oil fell so low this winter, it was cheaper than a big bucket of KFC: $22.16 for the oil vs. $24.99 for a 16-piece meal (Billings Gazette).

HUMANA: Aetna has spent at least $119 million for lawyers, investment advisors and other services in connection with its planned $37-billion purchase of Humana (Modern Healthcare).

GE: Negotiators for GE Appliances and a local union are trying to improve warehouse efficiency to prevent 217 jobs from being outsourced (Insider Louisville).

In other news, Al J. Schneider heirs have settled a feud that would allow for the sale of the Galt House and the late real estate moguls other holdings (Courier-Journal). The Bernard A. Dahlem family has donated $500,000 to the Catholic Education Foundation so more students can attend Archdiocese of Louisville schools (Courier-Journal). The new owners plan to demolish a Highlands house possibly dating to the 1830s to make way for a new, custom-built home; they paid $605,000 for the property last fall (Courier-Journal).

Latest Headlines May 12, 2016June 10, 2016

Papa crooks nab 600-lb. store safe, and Schnatter’s chopper noise ticks off neighbors

A news summary focused on big employers; updated 8:33 a.m.

PAPA JOHN’S: Two super-strong thieves were caught on video dragging a 600-pound safe with $1,300 from a Papa John’s in Edinburgh on Monday, leaving police baffled (Mirror). CEO John Schnatter‘s frequent helicopter trips to and from his property in tony Anchorage have caused enough noise for some neighbors to write complaint letters to the city (WDRB). (Terrific story, BTW!)

AMAZON: Walmart is testing a two-day shipping subscription service and building a regional delivery network as the retail giant takes on Amazon (Wall Street Journal).

KFC launches program in India to fight childhood hunger (Times of India).

GE has signed a three-year contract to be exclusive appliance provider for developer Perry Homes of Houston (Business First).

HUMANA: Aetna doesn’t have any plans to leave Obamacare exchanges in 15 states — and may, in fact, expand; Aetna has agreed to buy Humana for $37 billion (Wall Street Journal).

In other news: Walmart and its charitable arm have donated more than $22 million to Kentucky non-profits in the past fiscal year (WDRB). A candy store will open May 23 in the former Why Louisville space on Bardstown Road (WDRB, too).

With revenue down, CafePress’ CEO has a turnaround plan; shares closed yesterday at $3.13, dead even, but down 33% from a year ago (Business First). U.S. stock futures were poised to open up as oil prices traded near 2016 highs (CNBC).

Latest Headlines May 11, 2016May 29, 2016

Hut delivers real pie-in-the sky; Churchill: no ‘Panama Papers’ tie, and Taco kindness rules

A news summary, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated 11:34 a.m.

PIZZA HUT set a new Guinness World Record for highest-altitude pizza delivery when it successfully carried a pie to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro on Sunday, a stunt marking the company’s expansion today into its 100th country: Tanazania. Over four days, the Yum division used an airplane, a motor vehicle, professional hikers and a backpack to deliver the pepperoni with extra cheese to the summit of Africa’s highest mountain (CNN).

CHURCHILL DOWNS says there’s no connection between the company and an entity with a similar-sounding name among more than 320,000 offshore accounts and trusts unveiled in a “Panama Papers” database Monday (WFPL). What happens when you bet $24 at the Derby without checking the odds again (The Billfold).

TACO BELL: Police in Santa Ana, Calif., bought a 31-year-old employee with cerebral palsy a new $500 adult-size tricycle to get to work after thieves stole his previous one last week; watch the video (KABC). In Ohio, video of a Taco Bell employee’s act of kindness — using sign language to help a customer — is rolling across the Web (WEWS).

KFC remains optimistic about India, despite slower sales (Business Standard). Chick-fil-A’s average sales per restaurant in 2014 were $3.1 million. Rival KFC sold $960,000 per restaurant that year (Business Insider); full rankings (QSR Magazine).

FORD thinks the driverless cars of tomorrow could come with their own drones (Detroit News).

In other news, Staples and Office Depot have called off their merger over anti-trust concerns; Staples has five stores in Louisville, and Office Depot has two (MarketWatch). An atheists group wants to spend $10,000 on billboards protesting a northern Kentucky Noah’s Ark theme park set to open in July, but can’t find anyone to take its business (Courier-Journal).

Vietnamese street food restaurant Pho Ba Luu is headed for Market Street in NuLu (Broken Sidewalk). Food Network star Guy Fieri is planning a new restaurant chain, Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse, with the first to open Sept. 9 at Fourth Street Live (Courier-Journal). Kroger needs to fill 14,000 open jobs nationwide (WDRB).

Latest Headlines May 4, 2016June 10, 2016

Kindred’s Q1 results beat forecasts; Papa shares surge 8% at the close, and a Yum operator just got way bigger

Latest news, with a special focus on big Louisville employers; updated at 4:48 p.m.

KINDRED just reported first-quarter earnings per share of 25 cents, down 27% from a year ago, but better than analysts’ expectations. Revenue rose nearly 10% to $1.84 billion, in line with forecasts (press release). In late trading, shares surged 3.4% to $14.98.

PAPA JOHN’S stock soared 8% to $60.16 a share at the close today, after the company reported first-quarter results late yesterday that beat forecasts on earnings, but missed on revenue (Reuters). The company is charging into a record number of foreign markets this year: “Our international business is on fire,” CEO John Schnatter told analysts during a conference call today (Insider Louisville).

HUMANA said first-quarter profit dove 28% to $1.86 per share, but that was higher than management’s earlier forecast of $1.80, excluding items (press release and The Wall Street Journal). Shares closed moments ago at $175.70, down less than 1%.

YUM: One of Yum Brands’ biggest operators has added 91 more KFC and Taco Bell outlets in five states: Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida. The deal gives KBP Foods of Overland Park, Kan., 361 locations in 14 states (Nation’s Restaurant News); overall, Yum has nearly 43,000 restaurants worldwide. Taco Bell is permanently bringing back Diablo Sauce, according to USA Today (which now apparently has some sort of sponsored content agreement with the Yum unit). Pizza Hut has bacon-stuffed crust pies again (Daily Meal). KFC has opened a high-tech concept store in Shanghai (Manila Bulletin). Also, a Florida woman told police she found something seriously gross in a chicken sandwich (Smoking Gun).

TEXAS ROADHOUSE continues to tinker with its Bubba’s 33 pizza-and-burger concept stores (Insider Louisville and Business First). Also, the chain will open its latest Texas Roadhouse restaurant, in Virginia’s Roanoke County, June 20; the chain is now looking to hire 160 people for the location (WDBJ). The company already has more than 460 restaurants in 49 states, plus five locations in the Middle East.

KROGER: The operator of a huge Kroger distribution center in Colorado is moving to replace employees who’ve been on strike nearly a week (Gazette).

And in other news, Norton Hospital in downtown Louisville is the fourth-most profitable hospital in the country, according to a new academic study — a study the hospital disputes (WDRB). Louisville tobacco company Turning Point Brands is exploring an IPO (Business First).

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