Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc 's

The fast-casual, quick-service and casual dining segments of the restaurant industry are highly competitive with respect to, among other things, taste, price, food quality and presentation, service, location and the ambience and condition of each restaurant. Our competition includes a variety of restaurants in each of these segments, including locally owned restaurants and national and regional chains. Many of our competitors offer dine-in, carry-out and delivery services. Among our main competitors are a number of multi-unit, multi-market Mexican food or burrito restaurant concepts, some of which are expanding nationally. Unlike us, a number of our competitors grow through franchising.

Several of our competitors compete by offering menu items that are specifically identified as low in carbohydrates, better for customers or otherwise targeted at particular consumer preferences. Many of our competitors in the fast-casual and quick-service segments of the restaurant industry also emphasize lower-cost, “value meal” menu options, a strategy we do not currently pursue.

Moreover, we may also compete with companies outside the fast casual and quick service and casual dining segments of the restaurant industry. For example, competitive pressures can come from deli sections and in-store cafés of several major grocery store chains, including those targeted at customers who want higher-quality food, as well as from convenience stores and casual dining outlets. These competitors may have, among other things, a more diverse menu, lower operating costs, better locations, better facilities, better management, more effective marketing and more efficient operations than we have.
We believe we are well-positioned to continue to grow our market position in existing and new markets given current consumer trends, including increasing awareness and concern among consumers about what they eat and how it is prepared and the increasing prevalence of the fast-casual segment. Some of our competitors have formats that might resemble ours, but we believe that Chipotle has become one of the most recognized fast-casual restaurants and that we are known for our focus on having teams of top-performing employees prepare food using a variety of fresh ingredients in an open restaurant kitchen to create delicious food, as well as our commitment to “Food With Integrity”, which we think adds up to a high quality customer experience in our restaurants. We believe these elements represent significant competitive advantages in the segment in which we operate.