TIM HORTONS HITS 50-YEAR MILESTONE.
TORONTO — As the candles burn out on Tim Hortons’ 50th Anniversary celebration this weekend, the iconic Canadian brand is looking to avoid a mid-life crisis.
Saturday marks the official half-century birthday of the original “Tim Horton Donuts” restaurant in Hamilton, Ont., which opened on May 17, 1964, after it was renovated from an auto repair garage.
Starting from its modest roots, the company, which took its name from Toronto Maple Leafs player and founder Tim Horton, has found a home in seemingly every Canadian neighbourhood.
With more than 3,600 locations across the country, Tim Hortons is at a crossroads between maintaining its steadfast reputation and staying relevant in an increasingly competitive quick-service business where coffee is just another menu item.
“Tim Hortons has done an impeccable job of managing their brand experience to date,” said Axle Davids, a brand strategist at Distility Branding in Toronto.
“It’s not splashy or cutting— the name Tim Hortons and the brand are simply containers for all of the hard work and loyalty they’ve built up over time.”
A study from marketing research firm Ipsos Reid found that Tim Hortons ranked as the sixth most influential brand in the country last year.
Recently, the company launched a social media campaign where customers could pick which discontinued menu item they’d like to see back in its restaurants. The chocolate eclair won the popularity contest.
And last week Tim Hortons did what few other companies could when it opened a replica of its first restaurant for a single day of celebration. The event, held in the heart of downtown Toronto, included shelves stacked with decades of memorabilia like retro Timbits boxes and desserts that once graced the menu.
While nostalgia runs through the veins of Tim Hortons, staying true to the company’s famous image won’t be enough to keep it relevant as the $4.6-billion business of Canadian coffee evolves, and competitors vie for a bigger chunk of the market.
Starbucks has spent years focused on an aggressive rollout across most of the country, while, more recently, McDonalds began to lure more cost-conscious customers with a cheaper brew and free giveaways.
Somewhere in the hustle, Tim Hortons lost some focus as it dabbled in alternative food and drink items to mixed success.
The company launched smoothies and frozen lemonade drinks and while they still remain on the menu, a foray into larger submarinesized sandwiches didn’t last long before it was yanked from the offerings.
Despite some failed launches, chief executive Marc Caira believes there’s potential to get more customers thinking about Tim Hortons during their lunch breaks.
He recently unveiled a five-year strategic road map for Tim Hortons’ future growth, which positions the company as a coffee spot foremost, but also the home of various other items, like the Extreme Italian sandwich and the crispy chicken sandwich.
While Tim Hortons continues the fight for market share in Canada, the company is also looking abroad for further growth.
In February, Tim Hortons announced plans to open 300 new U.S. locations by 2018, which will add to the 870 restaurants already operating south of the border. In the Persian Gulf the company wants to boost the number of locations from 44 to 200.
The wider rollout will take some patience and experimentation, Caira said.
“I’m not going to be evaluated one month at a time — this is a journey,” he said.
“We need to make (financial targets) every month, we need to make (them) every year, but we need to build.”