Sonic Corp. operates and franchises the largest chain of drive-in restaurants (“Sonic Drive-Ins”) in the United States.
The Sonic Drive-In restaurant chain began in the early 1950’s. Sonic Corp. was incorporated in the State of Delaware in 1990 in connection with its 1991 public offering of common stock. Our principal executive offices are located at 300 Johnny Bench Drive, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104. Our telephone number is (405) 225-5000.
The Sonic Brand
At a standard Sonic Drive-In restaurant, a customer drives into one of 20 to 36 covered drive-in spaces, orders through an intercom speaker system, and has the food delivered by a carhop. Many Sonic Drive-Ins also include a drive-thru lane and patio seating.
Sonic Drive-Ins feature Sonic signature items, such as specialty drinks including cherry limeades and slushes, frozen desserts, made-to-order sandwiches and hamburgers, extra-long chili cheese coneys, hand-battered onion rings, tater tots, salads, and wraps. Sonic Drive-Ins also offer breakfast items that include sausage or bacon with egg and cheese Breakfast Toaster® or CroisSONICTM Breakfast Sandwiches, and sausage and egg burritos. Sonic Drive-Ins serve the full menu all day.
Business Strategy
Our objective is to maintain our position as or to become a leading restaurant operator in all of our markets. We have developed and implemented a strategy designed to build the Sonic brand and to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction and repeat business. The key elements of that strategy are: (1) a unique drive-in concept focusing on a distinctive menu of quality made-to-order food products including several signature items; (2) a commitment to customer service featuring the quick delivery of food by carhops; (3) the expansion of Sonic Drive-Ins within the continental United States; (4) an owner/operator philosophy, in which managers have an equity interest in their restaurants, thereby providing an incentive for managers to operate restaurants profitably and efficiently; and (5) a commitment to strong franchisee relationships.
Expansion
During fiscal year 2009, we opened 141 Sonic Drive-Ins, which consisted of 11 Partner Drive-Ins and 130 Franchise Drive-Ins. Expansion plans for fiscal year 2010 involve the opening of multiple Sonic Drive-Ins under area development agreements, as well as single-store development by long-standing franchisees. We believe that our existing as well as newly opened markets offer significant growth opportunities for both Partner Drive-In and Franchise Drive-In expansion. The ability of Sonic and its franchisees to open the anticipated number of Sonic Drive-Ins during fiscal year 2010 necessarily will depend on various factors, including those discussed in this Form 10-K under Item 1A. Risk Factors – Failure to successfully implement our growth strategy could reduce, or reduce the growth of, our revenue and net income.
Restaurant Design and Construction
The typical Sonic Drive-In consists of a kitchen housed in a one-story building flanked by canopy-covered rows of 20 to 36 parking spaces, with each space having its own payment terminal, intercom speaker system and menu board. In addition, since 1995, most new Sonic Drive-Ins have incorporated a drive-thru service and patio seating area.
Marketing
We have designed our marketing program to differentiate Sonic Drive-Ins from our competitors by emphasizing five key areas of customer satisfaction: (1) wide variety of distinctive made-to-order menu items, (2) personal delivery of service by carhops, (3) speed of service, (4) quality, and (5) value. The marketing plan includes promotions for use throughout the Sonic chain. We support those promotions with television, radio, interactive media, point-of-sale materials, and other media as appropriate. Those promotions generally center on products which highlight limited time new product introductions or signature menu items of Sonic Drive-Ins.
Each year Sonic develops a marketing plan with the involvement of the Sonic Franchise Advisory Council. Funding for our marketing plan is comprised of the System Marketing Fund, the Sonic Brand Fund and local advertising expenditures.
The System Marketing Fund focuses on purchasing advertising on national cable and broadcast networks and other national media, sponsorship and brand enhancement opportunities. The Sonic Brand Fund is our national media production fund. Our franchise agreements require advertising contributions to these funds by franchisees. Franchisees are also required to spend additional amounts on local advertising, typically through participation in the local advertising cooperative.
The total amount spent on media (principally television) was approximately $184 million for fiscal year 2009, and we expect media expenditures to exceed $178 million for fiscal 2010.
Purchasing
We negotiate with suppliers for our primary food products and packaging supplies to ensure adequate quantities of food and supplies and to obtain competitive prices. We seek competitive bids from suppliers on many of our food products. We approve suppliers of those products and require them to adhere to our established product and food safety specifications. Suppliers manufacture several key products for Sonic under private label and sell them to authorized distributors for resale to Sonic Drive-Ins. We require all Sonic Drive-Ins to purchase from approved distribution centers.
Food Safety and Quality Assurance
To ensure the consistent delivery of safe, high-quality food, we created a food safety and quality assurance program. Sonic’s food safety program promotes the quality and safety of all products and procedures utilized by all Sonic Drive-Ins, and provides certain requirements that must be adhered to by all suppliers, distributors, and Sonic Drive-Ins. We also have a comprehensive, restaurant-based food safety program called Sonic Safe. Sonic Safe is a risk-based system that utilizes Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles for managing food safety and quality. Our food safety system includes employee training, supplier product testing, unannounced drive-in food safety auditing by independent third-parties, and other detailed components that monitor the safety and quality of Sonic’s products and procedures at every stage of the food preparation and production cycle. Employee food safety training is covered under our Sonic Drive-In training program, referred to as the STAR Training Program. This program includes specific training information and requirements for every station in the drive-in. We also require our drive-in managers and assistant managers to pass the ServSafe training program. ServSafe is the most recognized food safety training certification in the restaurant industry.
Company Operations
Restaurant Personnel. A typical Partner Drive-In is operated by a manager, two to four assistant managers, and approximately 25 hourly employees, many of whom work part-time. The manager has responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Partner Drive-In. Each supervisor has the responsibility of overseeing an average of four to seven Partner Drive-Ins. Sonic Restaurants, Inc. (“SRI”), Sonic’s operating subsidiary, oversees the operations and development of and provides administrative services to all Partner Drive-Ins.
Ownership Program. Our philosophy stresses an ownership relationship with supervisors and managers. As part of the ownership program, either a limited liability company or a general partnership is formed to own and operate each individual Partner Drive-In. SRI owns a majority interest, typically at least 60%, in each of these limited liability companies and partnerships. Generally, the supervisors and managers own a minority interest in the limited liability company or partnership. The amount of ownership percentage is separately negotiated for each Partner Drive-In. Supervisors and managers are not employees of Sonic or of the limited liability companies or partnerships in which they have an ownership interest. As owners, they share in the cash flow and are responsible for their share of any losses incurred by their Partner Drive-Ins. We believe that our ownership structure provides a substantial incentive for Partner Drive-In supervisors and managers to operate their restaurants profitably and efficiently.
Sonic records the interests of supervisors and managers as “minority interest in earnings of Partner Drive-Ins” under costs and expenses on its financial statements. We estimate that the average percentage interest of a supervisor was 17% and the average percentage interest of a manager in a Partner Drive-In was 21% in fiscal year 2009. Each Partner Drive-In distributes its available cash flow to its supervisors and managers and to Sonic on a monthly basis pursuant to the terms of the operating agreement or partnership agreement for that restaurant. Sonic has the right, but not the obligation, to purchase the minority interest of the supervisor or manager in the restaurant. The amounts of the buy-in and the buy-out are generally based on the Partner Drive-In’s sales during the preceding 12 months and approximate the fair market value of a minority interest in that restaurant. Most supervisors and managers finance the buy-in with a loan from a third-party financial institution.
Each Partner Drive-In usually purchases equipment with funds borrowed from Sonic at competitive rates. In most cases, Sonic also owns or leases the land and building and guarantees any third-party lease entered into for the site.
Franchise Program
General. As of August 31, 2009, we had 3,069 Franchise Drive-Ins in operation. A large number of successful multi-unit franchisee groups have developed during the Sonic system’s 56 years of operation. Those franchisees continue to develop new Franchise Drive-Ins in their franchise territories either through area development agreements or single-site development. Our franchisees opened 130 Franchise Drive-Ins during fiscal year 2009. We consider our franchisees a vital part of our continued growth and believe our relationship with our franchisees is good.
Franchise Agreements. For traditional drive-ins, the current franchise agreement provides for an initial franchise fee of $45,000 per drive-in, a royalty fee of up to 5% of gross sales on a graduated percentage basis, advertising fees of up to 5.9% of gross sales, and a 20-year term. For fiscal year 2009, Sonic’s average royalty rate was equal to 3.87 %.
Area Development Agreements. We use area development agreements to facilitate the planned expansion of the Sonic Drive-In restaurant chain through multiple unit development. While many existing franchisees continue to expand on a single drive-in basis, approximately 88% of the new Franchise Drive-Ins opened during fiscal year 2009 occurred as a result of then-existing area development agreements. Each area development agreement gives a developer the exclusive right to construct, own, and operate Sonic Drive-Ins within a defined area. In exchange, each developer agrees to open a minimum number of Sonic Drive-Ins in the area within a prescribed time period.
During fiscal year 2009, we entered into nine new area development agreements calling for the opening of 104 Franchise Drive-Ins and amended seven existing area development agreements calling for the opening of an additional 37 Franchise Drive-Ins, all during the next seven years. We currently have more than 150 area development agreements in effect, calling for the development of approximately 970 Sonic Drive-Ins during the next seven years. We cannot give any assurance that our franchisees will achieve that number of new Franchise Drive-Ins during the next seven years. Of the 196 Franchise Drive-Ins scheduled to open during fiscal year 2009 under area development agreements in place at the beginning of that fiscal year, 115 or 59% opened during the period. During fiscal year 2009, we terminated 14 of the 170 area development agreements existing at the beginning of the fiscal year. The terminated area development agreements called for the opening of 41 Franchise Drive-Ins in fiscal year 2009 and an additional 24 Franchise Drive-Ins in the next seven fiscal years. All of these terminations were as a result of the franchisee failing to meet the development schedule under the area development agreement.
In addition to the area development agreement commitments, during fiscal 2007, existing franchisees purchased options to develop drive-ins, which allow them to open new drive-ins under an older form of license agreement with a lower franchise fee and royalty rate, rather than the current form of license agreement. As of August 31, 2009, 264 options remained outstanding. The development options and area development agreements together reflect a total development pipeline of 1,234 drive-ins in the next seven fiscal years.
Beginning in fiscal 2010, we have also offered development incentives to our franchisees. These incentives include (i) a reduced franchise fee for the second drive-in and waiver of the franchise fee for subsequent drive-ins opened by the franchisee in fiscal 2010; and (ii) for all drive-ins opened in “developing markets” before March 31, 2011, waiver of the franchise fee, waiver of the royalty fees during the first five years of operation and payment of an additional advertising contribution during the fourth and fifth years of operation. “Developing markets” are those markets where the penetration of Sonic Drive-Ins (as measured by population per restaurant, advertising level and share of restaurant spending) has not yet reached the level of market maturity established by management.
Franchise Drive-In Development. We assist each franchisee in selecting sites and developing Sonic Drive-Ins. Each franchisee has responsibility for selecting the franchisee’s drive-in location but must obtain our approval of each Sonic Drive-In design and each location based on accessibility and visibility of the site and targeted demographic factors, including population density, income, age, and traffic. We provide our franchisees with the physical specifications for the typical Sonic Drive-In.
Franchisee Financing. Other than the agreements described below, we do not generally provide financing to franchisees or guarantee loans to franchisees made by third-parties.
We had an agreement with GE Capital Franchise Finance Corporation (“GEC”) pursuant to which GEC made loans to existing Sonic franchisees who met certain underwriting criteria set by GEC. Under the terms of the agreement with GEC, Sonic provided a guaranty of 10% of the outstanding balance of a loan from GEC to the Sonic franchisee. The portions of loans made by GEC to Sonic franchisees that are guaranteed by the Company total $13.0 million as of August 31, 2009. We ceased guaranteeing new loans made under the program during fiscal year 2002 and have not been required to make any payments under our agreement with GEC.
We have an agreement with Irwin Franchise Capital Corporation (“IFCC”) pursuant to which IFCC has agreed to make loans to existing Sonic franchisees who meet certain underwriting criteria set by IFCC to finance the equipment and improvements for our retrofit program in which significant trade dress modifications are being made to Sonic Drive-Ins. Under the terms of the agreement with IFCC, we will provide a guaranty to IFCC of the greater of (i) 5% of the outstanding balance of a loan from IFCC to the Sonic franchisee or (ii) $250,000, provided that in no event will our maximum liability to IFCC exceed $3.75 million in the aggregate. As of August 31, 2009, the total amount guaranteed under the IFCC agreement was $1.3 million.
Franchise Advisory Council. Our Franchise Advisory Council provides advice, counsel, and input to Sonic on important issues impacting the business, such as marketing and promotions, operations, purchasing, building design, human resources, technology, and new products. The Franchise Advisory Council currently consists of 20 members selected by Sonic. We have six executive committee members who are selected at large, 12 regional members representing four defined regions of the country, and two at large members representing new franchisees and smaller operators. We have four Franchise Advisory Council task groups comprised of approximately 50 members who serve three-year terms and lend support on individual key priorities.