Chain Leader

David Farkas

Exchange Policy
January 17, 2007

Pizza Patron launched a promotion on Jan. 8—a smart and successful promotion, at that. CEO Antonio Swad, according to newspaper reports, claims same-store sales are up.

The deal: The Dallas-based company’s 59 outposts are accepting Mexican pesos until the end of February, which makes perfect sense. All of the branches are in Hispanic communities. Some customers carry pesos because they’ve just entered the United States as workers or as tourists returning home. Why not give them an opportunity to spend them—particularly if taking them to a bank is a hassle?

No good deed goes unpunished, as they say. The company has been the target of hundreds of critical e-mails, according to press reports. The complainers are upset not because the pizza-for-pesos exchange rate is slightly higher than local banks’, a legitimate beef, I would think. It’s because Pizza Patron, they charge, is encouraging illegal immigration, if only symbolically.

It’s a fairy ridiculous accusation, particularly in light of business on both sides of the Texas-Mexican border that have long accepted U.S. dollars and Mexican pesos. And it’s even dumber because no matter how you feel about illegal workers, Hispanics overall are an important part of the country’s economic picture. Tempting them to buy a product conveniently strikes me as a clever way of recognizing their purchasing power.

Meanwhile, word up to U.S. pizza chains that appeal to Canadians…

Posted by David Farkas on January 17, 2007 | Comments (0)