Shakey’s says customers had no negative reaction to price increase

Higher prices on the Shakey's menu did not result in a negative reaction from customers, the casual-dining restaurant chain said Tuesday. 

Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (SPAVI) said it had to raise prices amid high inflation and rising input costs. 

At a virtual press briefing following the company’s stockholders’ meeting, SPAVI president and CEO Vicente Gregorio said the restaurant chain raised prices by “3% to 5% at most.”

“Retailers have started to really pass on some of the prices. The prices have gone up and it can no longer be withheld… Everybody has this sort of price increase, we have done the same,” Gregorio said.

“In fact we have done so last May and we monitored it and there was no negative reaction whatsoever,” he said.

Inflation has been trending down for four straight months as of May as it slowed down to 6.1% from 6.6% in April. 

The year-to-date average of 7.5%, however, is still above the government’s target ceiling of 2% to 4%.

“We are always careful not to overdo it. At the end of the day, what we are after  is making sure we provide superior value to our consumers. That has been the reason our brands have remained strong through the years because people get attracted to brands that are providing value, superior value for their peso. We will continue to play that game as we pass on some of the prices to them,” Gregorio said.

“For our brands Shakey’s and Peri-Peri, it helps that the target, the primary target markets are consumers in the middle range of the socioeconomic ladder and they have more capacity to absorb a few percentage increase,” he said.

As of the first quarter of 2023, SPAVI booked a net income of P874 million on the back of systemwide sales of P14.1 billion, which exceeded pre-pandemic 2019 levels by 36%.

The company is the exclusive franchise holder of the Shakey’s Pizza Restaurants business in the Philippines, licensed to develop company-owned Shakey’s outlets and sub-license the Shakey’s brand to other entities in the country.

Its brands include Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar, R&B Milk Tea, Project Pie, and Potato Corner.

The firm ended 2022 with a global store network of 1,772 — 68 Peri-Peri stores, 268 Shakey’s outlets, and Potato Corner with 1,425 stores. There were 153 new Potato Corner store openings, covering markets such as China, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. —VAL, GMA Integrated News