Austrian Economics

Does Chick-fil-A Really Lose $1 Billion a Year in Sales by Closing on Sunday?

The headline in Business Insider was, “Chick-fil-A Loses Out on More than $1 Billion in Sales Every Year by Closing on Sunday.”

According to Wall Street sources, the chicken chain earned $10.46 billion in American system-wide sales in 2018, despite being closed every Sunday.

Missing out on 14% of possible open business days likely cost the chain more than $1 billion. Although McDonald’s does not disclose traffic by day, there is evidence that the weekends are particularly busy. This means that it may post 15% of its sales on Sunday.

If Chick-fil-A has a similar traffic pattern, Sundays could bring in sales of at least $1.2 billion.

Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy is a devout Christian who does not believe in working on Sunday.

“Closing our business on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, is our way of honoring God and showing our loyalty to Him,” Cathy said.

He continued, “My brother Ben and I closed our first restaurant on the first Sunday after we opened in 1946, and my children have committed to closing our restaurants on Sundays long after I’m gone. I believe God honors our decision and sets before us unexpected opportunities to do greater work for Him because of our loyalty.”

But wait! The restaurant chain may actually benefit from the unique policy.

John Hamburger, the president of Franchise Times (yes, that’s his real name), concluded that the company’s policy encourages higher sales during the week.

“Being open six days a week provides benefits to both the operators and the customers,” Hamburger said. “The owner-operator gets the time off. Being closed on Sunday conveys a sense of caring and community to the customers. Being private means they can do the right thing, not the expedient Wall Street way of doing things.”

Additionally, for customers, the knowledge that they can’t get Chick-fil-A on Sundays helps drive them to visit the chain when it is open.

God works in mysterious ways. The success of Chick-fil-A, despite staying closed on Sundays, could be one of them.

Mark Skousen

Mark Skousen, Ph. D., is a professional economist, investment expert, university professor, and author of more than 25 books. He earned his Ph. D. in monetary economics at George Washington University in 1977. He has taught economics and finance at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, Grantham University, Barnard College, Mercy College, Rollins College, and is a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University. He also has been a consultant to IBM, Hutchinson Technology, and other Fortune 500 companies. Since 1980, Skousen has been editor in chief of Forecasts & Strategies, a popular award-winning investment newsletter. He also is editor of four trading services, Skousen TNT Trader, Skousen Five Star Trader, Skousen Home Run Trader, and Skousen Fast Money Alert. He is a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, a columnist to Forbes magazine (1997-2001), and past president of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in New York. He has written articles for The Wall Street Journal, Liberty, Reason, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Christian Science Monitor, and The Journal of Economic Perspectives. He has appeared on ABC News, CNBC Power Lunch, CNN, Fox News, and C-SPAN Book TV. In 2008-09, he was a regular contributor to Larry Kudlow & Co. on CNBC. His economic bestsellers include “Economics on Trial” (Irwin, 1991), “Puzzles and Paradoxes on Economics” (Edward Elgar, 1997), “The Making of Modern Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2001, 2009), “The Big Three in Economics” (M. E. Sharpe, 2007), “EconoPower” (Wiley, 2008), and “Economic Logic” (2000, 2010). In 2009, “The Making of Modern Economics” won the Choice Book Award for Outstanding Academic Title. His financial bestsellers include “The Complete Guide to Financial Privacy” (Simon & Schuster, 1983), “High Finance on a Low Budget” (Bantam, 1981), co-authored with his wife Jo Ann, “Scrooge Investing” (Little Brown, 1995; McGraw Hill, 1999), and “Investing in One Lesson” (Regnery, 2007). In honor of his work in economics, finance, and management, Grantham University renamed its business school “The Mark Skousen School of Business.” Dr. Skousen has lived in eight nations, and has traveled and lectured throughout the United States and 70 countries. He grew up in Portland, Ore. He and his wife, Jo Ann, and five children have lived in Washington, D.C.; Nassau, the Bahamas; London, England; Orlando, Fla.; and New York. For more information about Mark’s services, go to http://www.markskousen.com/