CHAPTER 6

Top 5 Retailers Based on SuperZips Study

In early 2014, our consulting group Beitz and Daigh Geographics teamed up with data provider AggData to study retail locations were most prevalent in the United States Super Zips. Author and social historian Charles Murray first coined the term Super Zips in his analysis of the nation’s zip codes in relation to their percentile ranks in college education and in income. The zip code’s ranking is a number between 0 and 99 representing the average of its percentile ranks in college education and in income. Using 2013 income and population data from Esri, the 1,097 zip codes with rankings of 95 and higher are identified as Super Zips.

By taking AggData’s database of nationwide restaurants and overlaying them using Geographic Information System (GIS) on the Super Zips, this gives an interesting look into which restaurant chains have the highest penetration into this elite demographic. This study focuses on 294 restaurant chains with 50 or more locations in the United States and looks at the chains that have the highest percent of inclusion in the Super Zips.

Here are the results of the study:

1. Pret A Manger—75 percent of Pret’s locations fall within a Super Zip. Pret started in London in 1986 and its first location in America opened near the New York Stock Exchange in 2000. This restaurant concept is known as a “cross between a good restaurant, an Italian coffee bar and a bullet train.”
2. Cozi—59.34 percent of Cozi’s locations within a Super Zip. Cosi started in 1996 with one restaurant based on a small Parisian Café. Today Cosi is a place with a “comfortable, urbane and contemporary atmosphere … A place where all elements combine to stimulate the senses and create a lasting impression.”
3. Jerry’s Subs & Pizza—-46.77 percent of Jerry’s Subs & Pizza’s locations fall within a Super Zip. Jerry’s Subs & Pizza’s is an American fast casual sandwich and pizza restaurant chain based in the ­Washington, DC metropolitan area. First store opened in 1954 outside of ­Washington, DC. Self-described as “more than a sandwich shop. It is more than a pizza shop. It is America’s two hottest franchise concepts rolled into one. In addition to our signature line of specialty cheese steaks, our menu features a variety of overstuffed subs, pizza, and related food items that are both delicious and unique.”
4. Zpizza—45.24 percent of Zpizza’s locations fall within a Super Zip. Founded in Laguna Beach, California and in business over 25 years, Zpizza falls into the category of “better-for-you pizza … the largest gourmet pizza franchise in the world that features fresh, organic ingredients.”
5. Corner Bakery Café—40.37 percent of Corner Bakery Cafe’s locations fall within a Super Zip. Opened 1991 in Chicago, IL. This restaurant is a place “with real kitchens in place of assembly lines; over 40 types of fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables; a real panini grill; and ovens that work all day long to deliver freshly baked breads and desserts.”

Keep in mind that this analysis is done at the zip code level. Zip codes can have large disparities in income and education levels based on specific locations within the zip code. This Super Zips analysis of income and education could be performed at the block group level of geography to increase accuracy. Also, for a different way to view the data, this analysis can even be performed with drive times and custom trade areas around portfolios of stores and/or shopping centers. By using this analysis, real estate professionals can learn more about their own properties or the properties of retailers that they are targeting for potential deals.