Taco Bell Sales Up 2%, Reversing Declines

Reversing two years of declines, Taco Bell Corp. said Friday that sales rose 2% last year at stores open for more than a year, thanks largely to a new advertising campaign and new products like its double-decker taco. The fast-food company, which is based in Irvine, said it regained some of the ground it lost with the increase in same-store sales--a critical industry measure of growth. Same-store sales had fallen 2% in 1995 and 4% in 1996. Dollar amounts weren’t disclosed. Overall revenue rose 2% to $4.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Dec. 27 from $4.8 billion the previous year. As a subsidiary of Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. in Louisville, Ky., Taco Bell doesn’t release net income numbers. The new ad campaign, which features pink-clad wrestlers and Chihuahua dogs, is designed to build sales among 18- to 24-year-old males, who dominate the fast-food market. Taco Bell also cut some costs by closing 455 weak-performing U.S. stores, as industry analysts had suggested. It also opened 554 new eateries, giving it a total of 6,768 stores at the end of December.