Analyst Sits Down With DineEquity CEO, Talks Future Of IHOP And Applebee's

TheStreet analyst Brian Sozzi joined CEO of

, Julia Stewart, at the world's largest Applebee's in New York City to talk about the future of the restaurant chain. The CEO expressed her enthusiasm around National Pancake Day, which was a resounding success for IHOP, saying that she wished it was National Pancake Day every day! The day is expected to raise $3.5 million for Children's Miracle Network and other local charities. The fourth quarter was good "for a couple of reasons," Ms Stewart said. It was largely benefited by advertising, with franchisees voluntarily adding money into the National Advertising Fund. The funds mostly went into television, while a part of it went into social and digital. The quarter was also benefited by a mix shift, with some of the products on the new menu. The chain experienced "the largest increase in over a decade," the CEO said. The analyst enquired whether the menu of IHOP would evolve and here is what can be expected from the IHOP menu very shortly. It would be a lot about new food. The second change would be in the design, making it "simpler to navigate and easy to read". This would be combined with "fresh graphics and a new modern approach." IHOP also has a new restaurant design, which encompasses a "major remodel, both from the exterior and the interior to bring this new IHOP to life - the new, modern IHOP," Ms Steward said. She added that there would also be "a few surprises." The analyst asked about Applebee's plans of moving aggressively to open up internationally. "The international side of the business is small but it's a huge opportunity for us in terms of growth and we've found some wonderful partners…mainly in Asia and the Middle East," the CEO commented. She added, however, that the notion of keeping the same footprint everywhere does not work internationally. For instance, one would find Applebee's in a mall in the Middle East. The company wants to "open different prototypes that work anywhere in the world and brand it to what works in that part of the world." Ms Stewart mentioned that the company had "a lot of initial success and we're doing more of the same."