" .. RBI, controlled by Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital, is quick to adopt its cost-cutting strategies at its acquired targets."

It's a strategy that will work when acquiring a company with a lot of accumulated inefficiencies. In the case of Tim Horton's previous management had already squeezed everything they could out of it. Remember the miserable trucked-in frozen doughnuts go back quite a few years as do the ubiquitous TFWs (at least in Toronto and probably the other cities as well). When you start to squeeze such an operation you are leading your trade onto thin ice and it may well break through it and disappear.