Charleston, SC, Nov. 12th, 2020: Accounting technology company Ceterus announces a comprehensive look into the financial implications of COVID-19 on select Jimmy John’s franchisees with the release of the Jimmy John’s COVID-19 Financial Impact Report. This unique study offers an in-depth view of financial performance across a sample of Jimmy John’s franchisees in the U.S., and provides data-backed insights to help similar food service franchise businesses better prepare for the future.
To conduct this study, Ceterus analyzed key financial data for 140 Jimmy John’s locations who leverage Ceterus Edge, an automated accounting and benchmarked reporting dashboard built uniquely for franchise entrepreneurs. The Financial Impact Report unveils detailed year-over-year performance trends from January 1, 2019 through mid-September 2020, with particular focus on changes in key metrics impacted by COVID-19, such as Net Operating Income, Net Revenue, Cost of Goods, and Payroll.
Among other key findings, Ceterus’ Financial Impact Report reveals that, on average, Jimmy John’s franchisees experienced a 26% overall decrease in Net Operating Income in 2020 as compared to 2019. Despite a 45% decrease in Net Revenue during the intense early lockdown period (P4), these franchises saw a 3% revenue increase in August/September (P9) 2020, which shows that demand has stayed consistent YoY during the post-lockdown period. Net Income has increased steadily since P4, surpassing 2019 profits mid-summer and beyond (P7, P8, P9). Additionally, the Jimmy John’s locations included in this study held nearly four times cash on hand for the second half of 2020 than they did in 2019, largely due to government relief loans. On average, these locations received $120K in government relief.
“We are extremely proud to call a significant number of Jimmy John’s franchisees customers. With so many locations leveraging our platform, we find ourselves in a unique position to provide the Jimmy John’s franchisees who we work with relevant, timely, and actionable data,” says Ceterus CSO Derek Carter. “This study revealed that our Jimmy John’s customers have weathered COVID-19 very well. They were able to do this by acting quickly to control and reduce costs and are now well-positioned to weather whatever storms may come in the future.”
Between the complex financial changes experienced this year, the possibility of new lockdowns in the winter months, and continual uncertainty around additional government assistance, it is more important than ever for food service franchise businesses like Jimmy John’s to have accurate, automated accounting and high-quality financial data.
The newly-released COVID-19 Financial Impact Study reinforces Ceterus’ commitment to providing industry-specific metrics and real-time financial data that can help franchise entrepreneurs make critical business decisions sooner and with more clarity.
