When beef prices climb, a restaurant like Chili’s or Applebee’s can advertise chicken specials and find ways to entice customers to order more affordable proteins. But when a chain focuses on one specific protein as part of its brand identity, its options become limited. Buffalo Wild Wings advertises boneless wing specials when bone-in prices rise,
Comcast, which owns Xfinity, is betting big on a slate of generous offers to deter customers from ditching its internet services. In the second quarter of 2026, Comcast lost 167,000 U.S. broadband customers, and revenue in this segment declined by 5.5% year over year, according to its latest earnings report. The losses come as the
With the challenges around booking flight tickets, hotels and other aspects of a trip mostly eliminated by technology, most travel agencies operating in 2026 either serve niche markets or organize travel for larger groups. Many companies selling organized travel have also not been able to survive in a shifting market and rising operational costs. In
A decline in public consumption of alcoholic drinks since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a major factor in declining revenue in the beer, wine, and spirits sectors leading certain companies to file for bankruptcy protection. 128-year-old beer, wine, and spirits distributor Republic National Distributing Company was a major company affected as it
Rising gas prices force Americans to make cuts to other parts of their budget. “Over three-fifths (61%) of drivers said rising gas prices have moderately or significantly impacted their household’s ability to afford other expenses in the past month,” according to Numerator’s Consumers React to Rising Gas Prices. People are also cutting back on discretionary
After closing more than two dozen restaurants over the past year, Panera Bread is overhauling its business with menu innovation, restaurant upgrades, and new marketing partnerships as café chains across the industry compete to attract increasingly value-conscious consumers. The company’s latest moves reflect a broader shift taking place across the fast-casual sector. As consumers become
When a retailer sells a product people no longer want or need at the same level they once did, it becomes challenging for that retailer to operate. Yes, you can cut expenses and close stores, but if customers aren’t buying, no amount of frugality will keep the doors open. That’s a challenge facing any chain
McDonald’s revolutionized fast-food breakfast with the creation of the Egg McMuffin in 1971 and the item’s national rollout in 1975. Herb Peterson, a McDonald’s franchisee in Southern California, created the breakfast sandwich, which was meant to be a portable version of Eggs Benedict. “It was breakfast in a sack, and just the kind of finger-food
Rising traffic in the fried chicken dining sector, which rose 3% industrywide in 2025 according to Circana, wasn’t enough to prevent Popeyes franchisee Sailormen’s financial distress and bankruptcy filing in January 2026. Sailormen’s economic issues prompted it to divest of all of its restaurant locations. Bankrupt Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchisee Sailormen Inc., which operated 136 fried chicken locations when
Maybe you’ve heard the joke about Dollar Tree. In my neck of the woods, people like to call it “No-Longer-a-Dollar Tree.” There’s a reason for that. Dollar Tree has spent the past few years transforming itself from a true single-price retailer into a chain with merchandise spanning multiple price points. The strategy has helped the