Wingstop CEO: 'Our Model Is Completely Different' From Buffalo Wild Wings

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Shares of Wingstop Inc. WING jumped more than 55 percent on its debut on Nasdaq on Friday as investors seemed to be lapping up the company’s shared in droves.


Wingstop CEO, Charles Morrison, was on CNBC post the debut to discuss the company’s business outlook and why Buffalo Wild Wings BWLD is not a competition.


A Differentiated Brand


“We operate in the fast-casual segment of the restaurant industry,” Morrison said. “Our model is completely different. We have about a 1,700 sq. foot restaurant; it’s 75 percent carry out. And really we are focussed on wings, fries and sides and that’s our core product and we really we don’t serve a lot of alcohol or anything like that. We are not married to the sports occasion, so, really a differentiated brand overall.”


No More Alcohol


Morrison was asked if the company plans to sell more alcohol overtime as that can lead to higher margins. He replied, “Not really because 75 percent of our business is carry-out. Really our customers are coming to us to grab the wings, take them home, share them on a great occasion or maybe with their families. So, alcohol really isn’t the big driver for our concept. Again it’s all about the wings, sides and fries for us and we like to keep our business model very simple, very simple. That creates great returns for our franchisees.”


Rising Costs


On how the company is dealing with the rising costs of chicken wings, Morrison said, “Certainly wings can be volatile in terms of the price of the commodity. But we have really built a model that allows for our brand to deal with the volatility in the product by creating [at a] very simple and efficient model.”

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Posted In: CNBCMedia
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