IHOP, Applebee’s Plan Purchasing Co-Op By Year’s End

The Wall Street Journal:

Applebee’s and IHOP operators could soon be flexing a combined $1.7 billion in purchasing muscle, giving the brands greater bargaining power to counter rising food costs.

DineEquity Inc. (DIN), owner of the brands, is working with franchisees to create the centralized purchasing cooperative that will negotiate prices of food ingredients and soft goods like napkins and straws for participating restaurants across the 3,300-unit casual-dining company.

“When you combine what Applebee’s is buying with what IHOP is buying, we are a very big customer,” DineEquity spokesman Patrick Lenow told Dow Jones Newswires.

It will also help streamline negotiations,…