SHOWDOWN AT CRACKER BARREL
FOREWARD
The perspective that will be adopted for the purpose of this case analysis will be that of an institutional shareholder of Cracker Barrel. The final recommendations of this report will focus on the anticipated vote to determine whether or not Sardar Biglari should be allowed to acquire a seat on the board of directors.
CURRENT SITUATION
The aggressive board challenges by Biglari have resulted in defensive moves by the current directors. Biglari has been vocal in his attempt to leverage his 10% stake in the company and desire to join the board of directors. In reaction to this move the board of directors has appointed additional like-minded directors to help move the company forward into an
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Cochran then quickly announced a six-point plan aimed at improving sales and profits and updating their pricing strategy. The market responded favorably to this strategy as the stock price began to rebound from an 18-month low before this announcement. Cracker Barrel’s stock has subsequently increased by over 25% between September and December 2011.
PEER GROUP PERFORMANCE
In determining the investment value of Cracker Barrel, a peer group comparative analysis was completed. Biglari’s comparison of Cracker Barrel to the S&P 500 restaurant index is inaccurate and misleading. The following criteria was used in developing a more accurate peer group for Cracker Barrel:
Only small and mid-cap companies were considered. Cracker barrel is a small-cap restaurant chain with approximately 600 locations, all located within the United States. The S&P 500 Index primarily includes restaurant chains with an international presence, franchised business model, and several thousand locations.
Quick service or fast food restaurants were excluded. Note that although CEC Entertainment and Red Robin were labeled as ‘Quick service’ in the case, we consider these restaurants to be in the ‘casual dining’ and ‘family restaurant’ category and consider them to be quite similar to Cracker Barrel. As such they were included in the peer group.
Small and mid-cap restaurants that were heavily franchised (less than 25% of stores owned by the
The Cracker Barrel program continues to be smooth sailing. Many of the attendees have departed today however majority will be leaving tomorrow. Vicki Saunders and her team has had an amazing stay with us and continues to express their appreciation for all of our staff’s efforts throughout their program. In addition, Carfax has begun their Satellite Registration in salon five with their arrivals arriving through the Port Cochere. Tonight, Cracke4r Barrel will be on their own for dinner so please expect traffic throughout the outlet and Carfax will be dinning off property.
Furthermore, industry awareness will create a position within the fast casual segment of the restaurant industry where it can favorably influence the market (Hitt et al., 2015). The restaurant industry consists of a variety of segments. The three largest segments in the restaurant industry include: (a) full-service, (b) quick service, and (c) fast casual (Subramanian, 2013). CMG is included in the third largest segment of fast casual, which happens to be the fastest growing segment with an 11 percent growth rate between 2007 and 2011 (Subramanian,
Franchising is a business model that allows companies to rapidly expand their market share. According to Franchise.com (2015), there are three types of franchises: distributorships, trademark licensing, and business format franchises. When two organizations enter into a distributorship, the originating company provides the rights another company to sell their products. An example of a distributorship is when an auto manufacturing company grants rights to a dealership to sell their vehicles (Franchise.com, 2015). Trademark licensing is when one company allows another company to use their trademark (Franchise.com, 2015). The business format franchise authorizes franchisees to sell the parent company’s products and/or services as well as utilize their business model. This type of franchising is the most common and is the type needed to obtain to open a new Cold Stone Creamery.
The quick service restaurant (QSR) industry, also known as the fast food industry, consists of a large variety of restaurant types, including but not limited to ice cream parlors, fast food restaurants, pizza parlors, coffee shops. With all of these different types of eateries, the QSR industry makes up a massive section of small businesses in America. This means that the market size is large, and that there are not restrictive barriers to entry. Some of the giants in the fast food industry are McDonald’s (MCD), Starbucks (SBUX), and Yum Brands (YUM). While McDonald’s and Starbucks operate under only one brand name, Yum Brands consists of multiple fast food restaurant brands such as KFC, Taco Bell,
“Kenny Boy” did not serve as a useful foil or overseer of his own CEO actions, as a good independent Chair of the Board should. The inherent conflict of interest in being CEO and Chair has led to increasing separation of these functions as a measure of good governance, and some jurisdictions are requiring it. For example, Lay’s handling of the Sherron Watkins whistle-blowing letter showed either brilliance or evidence of incompetence on conflict of interest matters. He asked the lawyers who advised on the creation of the SPEs if what they had done was all right.
As a result of SKM’s efforts, John Fruehwirth, a principal at Allied Capital, was considering an injection of $20 million worth of mezzanine debt/growth capital in E-bar. Fruehwirth was aware of the fact that a restaurant with significant growth opportunity like E-bar could either be the next Cheesecake Factory, or flop and take the debt injection along with it. E-bar has shown initial success in California, but Allied’s investment committee needed to evaluate if this continued success can be applied outside the state. Areas of main concern included if the E-bar concept was sufficiently strong to visit and be a nationwide brand or if it had been merely a “California concept.” And in the case of success, would Allied Capital be able to meet is underwriting standards? Based upon the Black-Scholes formula and the financial information provided in this case, it is recommended that a current stock price of $6.18 be used and the warrant agreement be increased to 3.9% of total shares outstanding to yield an IRR of 18%. This report will support and examine E-bar’s ability in generating the required return on invested capital from Allied Capital and conclude by providing a recommendation on the deal alterations based on Allied Capital’s needs. The next section examines AC’s due diligence on E-bar’s growth potentials and the industry it operates in.
Only UK and Ireland’s business model is different with less than 30% franchised restaurants and the rest is obviously mainly owned by the corporation.
Data that is found from the research will be analyzed in different food franchise around the South Dakota area, focusing on smaller towns. Based on what we find, we will provide recommendations dealing with the financial and legal process, and other obstacles, along with suggestions where the food franchise should be established.
It is clear that Red Lobster should target these individuals because per customer Experientials spend around $52 more than the current Indulgent targets per year (Exhibit 15). In addition, by targeting these individuals and making small tweaks to the restaurants as they are renovated, Eclectics (the second highest grossing average spent per year per customer) may also be drawn to the new changes because of the similarities between these two parties. This is a perfect example of market segmentation without having to radically change the scope of the company from the target Experiential group.
The restaurant industry's major products are the meals that it sells. These meals are similar in all types of "family restaurants" but different in comparison to "fast food" or "fine dining" meals. Also the atmosphere that is established in a "family restaurant" cannot be found
Three of the most popular Mexican restaurants for today’s modern consumers are Chipotle Mexican Grill, Moe’s Southwest Grill, and Barberitos Southwestern Grille and Cantina. There are large franchises that have grown to become successful and the leaders in there industries. Comparing their financial status, financial performance in the last 5 years, current market share, business and marketing strategies, current leadership, and the history behind each franchises is the only way to have a clear understand of who is the leader and who’s following behind in the industry. According to franchises direct, the retail food market share is 7.85% of the total franchise industry. There are approximately 70,722 total retail food establishments in the US.
By August 2003, Fortune magazine was calling Krispy Kreme the "hottest brand in the America", and KKD was trading almost at $50. But after the company failed to file its financial reports on the very beginning of the year 2005, KKD was trading less than $10. It seems to be the ideal time for share repurchase program, and this can also help to signal to the market that the stock is perceived as undervalued, so it can somehow boost up the demand of the stock. However, even though the company has only small amount of the excess cash but still the stock repurchase is way more attractive and right thing to do than repurchase underperforming franchisee’s
healthy and reproducible bottom line margins. US franchises in China thus have high potential to succeed. I Second- and third-tier cities are open to franchising. First-tier cities offer developed infrastructure, businessfriendly governments, and a multitude of services and internationally standard amenities. These cities are generally “easy” for newcomers to enter, but labor and real estate prices have risen and competition has intensified in recent years. Second-tier cities have millions of potential consumers and often have lower labor and real estate costs and local governments that encourage the creation of new businesses (see the CBR, November–December 2010, p.12). In addition, US food franchisors are increasingly allowing small companies to own franchises—a trend that KFC and Papa John’s started in second- and third-tier cities in the last few years.
Unlike starting a new business from scratch, many new business owners decide to buy a franchise. They get a proven business model, the buying power of a large chain and consumer awareness of a large brand.
| Leading consumer product companies, selected companies covered in S&P 500 Beverage, Food and Restaurant IndicesDefinition is narrow: limits competitive space to consumer product companies, with emphasis on food and beverage