Siddiqui takes charge of QSR brand at its pinnacle
Sami Siddiqui is the new president of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen for the Americas, announced parent company Restaurant Brands International (RBI). He replaces Felipe Athayde, who held the role for nearly two years and is departing for a new opportunity outside of the QSR segment.
In his former role as RBI president of Asia-Pacific, Siddiqui supported the growth of RBI’s brands—Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons—in that region. He also launched the Popeyes brand in China and the Philippines.
September will see the two executives—Siddiqui and Athayde—work together to ensure a smooth transition. “Felipe has all our best wishes for his next endeavor,” said Jose Cil, chief executive of RBI.
He added, “I’m very proud to announce that Sami will be leading Popeyes through our exciting next phase of growth across the Americas. Popeyes is a brand with a well-known heritage and more recently has demonstrated unprecedented growth through exceptional menu innovation in our iconic Chicken Sandwich. Sami has an excellent track record working with our franchisees to drive our brand and restaurant expansion.”
Popeyes’ incredible sales growth has outpaced most large-scale QSR chains during the pandemic with the exception of players in the pizza category. Popeyes reported a 24.8-percent year-over-year comp(arable) sales growth during its second quarter this year. And average unit volumes had surged to $1.7M. What’s more, the chicken chain embarked on a brand refresh in May as part of a “Popeyes Renaissance.”
Photo credit: Popeyes (featured preview image)
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