The parent company of Applebee’s restaurants told investors Thursday it plans to close between 105 and 135 locations.
The company announced it plans to also close an estimated 20 to 25 IHOP restaurants. PReviously the company had planned to close approximately 18 restaurants.
The company’s executives made the announcement while sharing plans to develop between 100 and 125 new locations internationally between the two brands.
Prior to Thursday’s announcement, the company had planned to close between 40 to 60 Applebee’s restaurants.
Richard J. Dahl, Chairman and interim Chief Executive Officer of DineEquity, Inc. was quoted in a company news release as saying 2017 will be a transitional year for Applebee’s.
“We are making the necessary investments for overall long-term brand health and expect to see improvement over the next year," said Dahl.
The closures will be determined on franchisee profitability, operational results and brand quality standards, the company’s website said.
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There are six Applebee’s locations in Connecticut and eight IHOP locations in the state. No word on if any of those locations are among the sites that will be closed.
Applebee’s saw a 6.2 percent decline in sales for the second quarter of 2017.
Dahl said IHOP remains in a stronger position than Applebee's. "IHOP remains on solid ground, despite soft sales this quarter," said Dahl in a company release. "I am optimistic about the growth in both effective franchise restaurants and system-wide sales. IHOP is currently rolling out initiatives to address the convenience needs of our guests, which are inclusive of online ordering as well as accelerating tests for delivery and development of an IHOP mobile application. We believe these will create enhanced revenue channels."
Domestically, IHOP saw same restaurant sales decline 2.6 percent in the second quarter of 2017.
