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Ay caramba: Pizza chain makes peso policy permanent

Brandon Barker — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 17:14:00 EST

Filed under: Consumer Experience, Scandals, Personal Finance

For those still fuming over Pizza Patron's "Pizza for Pesos" program, the fun continues. The Dallas-based chain, which had drawn the ire of an untold number of currency purists, announced that its policy would become permanent.

In early January, Pizza Patron -- with 60 stores spread across Texas, Arizona and Colorado -- began a two-month trial period during which they accepted Mexican currency at 12 per U.S. dollar (the current rate being approximately 11 to 1) to honor their Hispanic patrons, which they claim account for 60% of their business.

What resulted exactly from this progressive and inclusive policy? People pretty much lost their cool.

The restaurant reported a deluge of critical e-mails, including death threats, and inadvertently threw their hat into the hostile immigration debate. "This is the United States of America, not the United States of Mexico," one critical e-mail read. "Quit catering to the damn illegal Mexicans," demanded another.

While most businesses along the Mexican and Canadian borders welcome foreign currencies as a courtesy, Pizza Patron's restaurants stretch as far away as Denver, intensifying the debate. Said Patricia Perez, a partner at L.A. public relations firm Valencia, Perez & Echeveste, "Right now there's a lot of anti-immigrant rhetoric going around that could make them a lightning rod."

From an undisclosed location, Pizza Patron founder and CEO Antonio Swad (who, incidentally, is Italian/Lebanese) said in a statement, "What the pesos for pizza program is intended to do is reinforce our brand promise - as the premier U.S. Latino brand.... We have carved this niche in the pizza industry to compete and serve an underserved market - the Latino customer, not to make any political statement."

B. Brandon Barker is the author of the novel Operation EMU.

Ay caramba: Pizza chain makes peso policy permanent originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Mar 2007 17:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Peso-accepting pizza chain receives death threats

Brandon Barker — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 10:10:00 EST

Filed under: Other Issues, Products and Services, Wal-Mart (WMT)

What started out as a simple, friendly, multi-cultural marketing ploy has drawn the ire of pizza purists all across the nation, as a medium-sized pie chain has stepped right in the middle of the somewhat hostile immigrant debate.

Dallas-based Pizza Patron, which claims a 60% Hispanic customer base, last week announced that it would begin accepting Mexican pesos at its 59 restaurants. This seems fine enough: Texas-area Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s (NYSE:WMT) and other businesses along the Rio Grande have been accepting the Mexican currency for years, while up north a similar arrangement exists with Canadian dollars. But Pizza Patron claims locations in Colorado, Arizona and Nevada -- which, last checked, is not exactly peso country -- would accept the foreign currency as well.

"This is the United States of America, not the United States of Mexico," one critical e-mail read. "Quit catering to the damn illegal Mexicans," demanded another.

Says Patricia Perez, a partner at Valencia, Perez & Echeveste in Los Angeles, "Right now there's a lot of anti-immigrant rhetoric going around that could make them a lightning rod."

Pizza Patron founder Antonio Swad (who, incidentally, is Italian/Lebanese) says the promotion will run through the end of February and then be re-evaluated. At which point they may, or may not, accept chocolate coins.

B. Brandon Barker is the author of Operation EMU

Peso-accepting pizza chain receives death threats originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Jan 2007 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pizza chain to accept Mexican pesos

Brandon Barker — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:41:00 EST

Filed under: Other Issues, Products and Services, Newspapers, Competitive Strategy, Columns, McDonald's (MCD), Chipotle Mexican Grill'A' (CMG), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Burger King Hldgs (BKC)

In some pie-crazed parts of the world -- in this case, Dallas -- the competition for business can get so fierce, some chains will do just about anything to get your money. Even if that money is, well, pesos.

On Monday, Pizza Patron (with 59 stores spread across Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada and Colorado) began a two-month trial period in which they will accept Mexican currency at 12 per U.S. dollar (the current rate being approximately 11 to 1) to honor their Hispanic patrons and to make sure that no one -- no matter who they are or what they have in their pockets -- has to go without a large 15" or half 11" pizza (which appears to be the only things they offer on their menu). Hmm.

And while the news orgs will apply such obvious tags as the "growing Hispanic influence" and the "stifling immigration problem" -- because, believe me, all the major networks are covering this -- the real issue, I think, is whether or not a reactionary fallout will occurr. Will McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) start accepting all those impossible-to-exchange Scottish pounds? Will Burger King (NYSE: BKC) take those German marks left over from your backpacking trip through Europe?

The answer is, most likely, "nein."

B. Brandon Barker is the author of Operation EMU

Pizza chain to accept Mexican pesos originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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