UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One) | |
[X] | Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended: December 31, 2012 | |
Or | |
[ ] | Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |
For the transition period from ______ to ______ | |
Commission File Number: 001-35625
BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 20-8023465 | |||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |||
2202 North West Shore Boulevard, Suite 500, Tampa, Florida 33607
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(813) 282-1225
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class | Name of exchange on which registered | |||
Common Stock, $0.01 par value | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq Global Select Market) | |||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
YES o NO ý
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. YES o NO ý
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES ý NO o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).
YES ý NO o
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ý
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer o
Non-accelerated filer ý (Do not check if smaller reporting company) Smaller reporting company o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). YES o NO ý
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting stock of the registrant held by non-affiliates of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. computed by reference to the closing price of the registrant’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market as of August 8, 2012, was approximately $235.8 million. As of June 30, 2012, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, there was no established public trading market for the registrant’s equity securities.
As of February 25, 2013, 121,529,446 shares of common stock of the registrant were outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for its Annual Meeting of Stockholders on April 24, 2013, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A not later than 120 days after December 31, 2012, are incorporated by reference into Part III, Items 10-14 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
INDEX TO ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K
For the Year Ended December 31, 2012
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PART II | |
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PART III | |
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PART IV | |
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PART I
Cautionary Statement
This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes statements that express our opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results and therefore are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “feels,” “seeks,” “forecasts,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could” or “would” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. They appear in a number of places throughout this report and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which we operate.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We believe that these risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in the “Risk Factors” section of this filing, which include, but are not limited to, the following:
(i) | The restaurant industry is a highly competitive industry with many well-established competitors; |
(ii) | Challenging economic conditions may affect our liquidity by adversely impacting numerous items that include, but are not limited to: consumer confidence and discretionary spending; the availability of credit presently arranged from our revolving credit facilities; the future cost and availability of credit; interest rates; foreign currency exchange rates; and the liquidity or operations of our third-party vendors and other service providers; |
(iii) | Our ability to expand is dependent upon various factors such as the availability of attractive sites for new restaurants; our ability to obtain appropriate real estate sites at acceptable prices; our ability to obtain all required governmental permits including zoning approvals and liquor licenses on a timely basis; the impact of government moratoriums or approval processes, which could result in significant delays; our ability to obtain all necessary contractors and subcontractors; union activities such as picketing and hand billing that could delay construction; our ability to generate or borrow funds; our ability to negotiate suitable lease terms; our ability to recruit and train skilled management and restaurant employees; and our ability to receive the premises from the landlord’s developer without any delays; |
(iv) | Our results can be impacted by changes in consumer tastes and the level of consumer acceptance of our restaurant concepts (including consumer tolerance of our prices); local, regional, national and international economic and political conditions; the seasonality of our business; demographic trends; traffic patterns and our ability to effectively respond in a timely manner to changes in traffic patterns; changes in consumer dietary habits; employee availability; the cost of advertising and media; government actions and policies; inflation or deflation; unemployment rates; interest rates; exchange rates; and increases in various costs, including construction, real estate and health insurance costs; |
(v) | Weather, natural disasters and other disasters could result in construction delays and also adversely affect the results of one or more restaurants for an indeterminate amount of time; |
(vi) | Our results can be impacted by tax and other legislation and regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate and by accounting standards or pronouncements; |
(vii) | Our results can be impacted by unanticipated changes in our tax rates, exposure to additional income tax liabilities, a change in our ability to realize deferred tax benefits or the timing and amount of a reversal of recorded deferred tax benefit valuation allowances; |
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(viii) | Minimum wage increases and mandated employee benefits could cause a significant increase in our labor costs; |
(ix) | Commodities, including but not limited to, such items as beef, chicken, shrimp, pork, seafood, dairy, produce, potatoes, onions and energy supplies, are subject to fluctuation in price and availability and price could increase or decrease more than we expect; |
(x) | Our results can be affected by consumer reaction to public health issues; |
(xi) | Our results can be affected by consumer perception of food safety; |
(xii) | We could face liabilities if we are unable to protect customer credit and debit card data or personal employee information; and |
(xiii) | Our substantial leverage and significant restrictive covenants in our various credit facilities could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to make capital expenditures to invest in new or renovate restaurants, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry, and expose us to interest rate risk in connection with our variable-rate debt. |
Although we base these forward-looking statements on assumptions that we believe are reasonable when made, we caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and industry developments may differ materially from statements made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this report. In addition, even if our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and industry developments are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this report, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.
In light of these risks and uncertainties, we caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement that we make in this report speaks only as of the date of such statement, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or to publicly announce the results of any revision to any of those statements to reflect future events or developments. Comparisons of results for current and any prior periods are not intended to express any future trends or indications of future performance, unless specifically expressed as such, and should only be viewed as historical data.
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Item 1. Business
GENERAL
Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (“Bloomin’ Brands,” the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and other similar terms mean Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. and its subsidiaries, except where the context indicates otherwise) is one of the largest casual dining restaurant companies in the world, with a portfolio of leading, differentiated restaurant concepts. We own and operate 1,268 restaurants and have 203 restaurants operating under franchise or joint venture arrangements across 48 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and 19 countries. We have five founder-inspired concepts: Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar and Roy’s. Each of our concepts maintains its unique, founder-inspired brand identity and entrepreneurial culture to provide a compelling customer experience combining great food, highly-attentive service and lively ambience at attractive prices. Our restaurants attract customers across a variety of occasions, including everyday dining, celebrations and business entertainment.
In 2010, we launched a new strategic plan and operating model, strengthened our management team and adapted practices from the consumer products and retail industries to complement our restaurant acumen and enhance our brand management, analytics and innovation. This new model keeps the customer at the center of our decision-making and focuses on continuous innovation and productivity to drive sustainable sales and profit growth. We have made these changes while preserving our entrepreneurial culture at the operating level. Our restaurant managing partners are a key element of this culture, each of whom shares in the cash flows of his or her restaurant after making a required initial cash investment.
OUR HISTORY
Our predecessor OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc., was incorporated in August 1987, and we opened our first Outback Steakhouse restaurant in 1988. We became a Delaware corporation in 1991 as part of a corporate reorganization completed in connection with our predecessor’s initial public offering. Between 1993 and 2002, we acquired or developed our other restaurant concepts, and in 1996, we began expanding the Outback Steakhouse concept internationally.
Bloomin’ Brands, formerly known as Kangaroo Holdings, Inc., was incorporated in Delaware in October 2006 by an investor group comprised of funds advised by Bain Capital Partners, LLC (“Bain Capital”) and Catterton Management Company, LLC (“Catterton”), who we collectively refer to as our “Sponsors,” and Chris T. Sullivan, Robert D. Basham and J. Timothy Gannon, whom we collectively refer to as our “Founders,” and members of our management. On June 14, 2007, we acquired OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc. by means of a merger and related transactions, referred to in this report as the “Merger.” At the time of the Merger, OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc. was converted into a Delaware limited liability company named OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC (“OSI”). In connection with the Merger, we implemented a new ownership and financing arrangement for our owned restaurant properties, pursuant to which Private Restaurant Properties, LLC (“PRP”), our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, acquired 343 restaurant properties then owned by OSI and leased them back to subsidiaries of OSI. In March 2012, we refinanced the commercial mortgage-backed securities loan (the “CMBS Loan”) that we entered into in 2007 in connection with the Merger with a new commercial mortgage-backed securities loan. Following the refinancing, OSI remains our primary operating entity and New Private Restaurant Properties, LLC, another indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of ours, continues to lease 261 of our owned restaurant properties to OSI subsidiaries. In August 2012, we completed an initial public offering of our common stock. An investor group comprised of funds advised by our Sponsors and two of our Founders continue to beneficially own a controlling interest of our common stock.
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OUR RESTAURANT CONCEPTS
As of December 31, 2012, the 1,471 full-service restaurants in our restaurant system consisted of the following, identified by concept and ownership structure:
Outback Steakhouse (domestic)(1) | Outback Steakhouse (international)(1) | Carrabba’s Italian Grill | Bonefish Grill | Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar | Roy’s | Total | ||||||||
Company-owned | 665 | 115 | 234 | 167 | 65 | 22 | 1,268 | |||||||
Development joint venture | — | 41 | — | — | — | — | 41 | |||||||
Franchise | 106 | 48 | 1 | 7 | — | — | 162 | |||||||
Total | 771 | 204 | 235 | 174 | 65 | 22 | 1,471 | |||||||
____________________
(1) | One Company-owned restaurant in Puerto Rico that was previously included in Outback Steakhouse (international) in prior filings is now included in Outback Steakhouse (domestic). |
Our core concepts are Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar. Our Roy’s concept operated as a 50/50 joint venture until October 1, 2012, when we acquired the remaining joint venture interests.
Our restaurant concepts range in price point and degree of formality from casual (Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill) to polished casual (Bonefish Grill) and fine dining (Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar and Roy’s). Polished casual seeks to deliver the design elements, food quality and knowledgeable service suggestive of fine dining restaurants, except that the atmosphere is more relaxed and the prices are lower than fine dining. We source ingredients from around the world, which we believe allows us to achieve a high degree of freshness and quality and maintain the authenticity of our recipes, while keeping costs in line with the target pricing for our concepts.
Outback Steakhouse - Domestic
Outback Steakhouse is a casual dining steakhouse featuring high quality, freshly prepared food, attentive service and Australian décor. As of December 31, 2012, we owned and operated 665 restaurants and 106 restaurants were franchised across 48 states and Puerto Rico.
The Outback Steakhouse menu offers several cuts of uniquely seasoned and seared or wood-fire grilled steaks, chops, chicken, seafood, pasta, salads and seasonal specials. We use fresh and authentic ingredients, such as USDA Choice steaks and imported Danish blue cheese, and make items such as our sauces, soups, salad dressings, and chocolate sauce from scratch. The menu also includes several specialty appetizers, including our signature “Bloomin’ Onion®,” and desserts, together with full bar service featuring Australian wine and beer. Alcoholic beverages account for approximately 11% of domestic Outback Steakhouse’s restaurant sales. The average check per person, which varies for all of our concepts based on limited-time offers, special menu items and promotions, was approximately $20 during 2012.
The décor includes a contemporary, casual atmosphere with blond woods, large booths and tables and Australian artwork. Outback Steakhouse restaurants serve dinner every day of the week and most locations are open for lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Some locations are also open for lunch Monday through Friday.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
Carrabba’s Italian Grill is an authentic Italian casual dining restaurant featuring high quality handcrafted dishes, an exhibition kitchen and a welcoming atmosphere. As of December 31, 2012, we owned and operated 234 restaurants and franchised one restaurant across 32 states.
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The Carrabba’s Italian Grill menu includes a variety of Italian pasta, chicken and seafood dishes and wood-fired pizza. Our use of a wood-fired grill, combined with our signature grill seasoning, produces Italian dishes with flavors we believe are unique to the category. Our ingredients are sourced from around the world, such as our Prince Edward Island mussels, our extra virgin olive oil imported from Catalonia, Spain, and our pasta imported from a small town outside Pompeii, to meet our quality specifications. We grate our fresh romano and parmesan cheese daily and prepare items such as soups, sauces, lasagna, mozzarella sticks, salad dressings and desserts, including the roasted cinnamon rum pecans that top our John Cole dessert, from scratch. The menu also includes specialty appetizers, desserts and coffees, together with full bar service featuring Italian wines and specialty drinks. Alcoholic beverages account for approximately 16% of Carrabba’s Italian Grill’s restaurant sales. The average check per person was approximately $21 during 2012.
The décor includes dark woods, large booths and tables and Italian memorabilia featuring Carrabba family photos and authentic Italian pottery. Our traditional Italian exhibition kitchen allows customers to watch hand-made dishes being prepared. Carrabba’s Italian Grill restaurants serve dinner every day of the week and the majority are open for lunch on Saturday and Sunday.
Bonefish Grill
Bonefish Grill is a polished casual seafood restaurant featuring market fresh grilled fish, high-end yet approachable service and a lively bar. Servers wear chef coats to underscore their knowledge and professionalism, and guide guests through a comfortable rather than stuffy dining experience. As of December 31, 2012, we owned and operated 167 and franchised seven restaurants across 29 states.
The Bonefish Grill menu is anchored by fresh fish, hand-cut and topped with freshly prepared sauces and seasonal seafood specials. These selections are based on the types of seafood then available to the restaurant to ensure a fresh and flavorful meal. In addition, Bonefish Grill offers beef, pork and chicken entrees, several specialty appetizers, including our signature “Bang Bang Shrimp®,” and desserts. Bonefish Grill’s bar provides an energetic setting for drinks, dining and socializing, with large tables, music from emerging artists and a bar menu featuring a large variety of hand crafted cocktails, a specialty martini list, wine and regional beer selections. Alcoholic beverages account for approximately 24% of Bonefish Grill’s restaurant sales. The average check per person was approximately $23 in 2012.
The décor is warm and inviting, with hardwood floors, large booths and tables and distinctive artwork inspired by regional coastal settings. Bonefish Grill restaurants typically serve dinner only, but began serving Sunday brunch in 2012 at select locations.
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar is an upscale, contemporary prime steakhouse for food and wine lovers seeking a stylish, lively and memorable dining experience. As of December 31, 2012, we owned and operated 65 Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar restaurants across 28 states.
The Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar menu features prime cuts of beef, fresh seafood, and pork, veal and chicken entrees accompanied by an extensive assortment of freshly prepared salads and side dishes available a la carte, plus several specialty appetizers and desserts. Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar steak selection features USDA Prime corn-fed beef, aged up to four weeks for flavor and texture, and a selection of sizes and cuts, all seared and broiled at 1,600 degrees to seal in the beef’s natural juices and flavors. Among national high-end steak concepts, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar offers the largest selection of wines by the glass, with 100 quality wines available, as well as specialty cocktails. Alcoholic beverages account for approximately 30% of Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar’s restaurant sales. The average check per person was approximately $67 in 2012.
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The décor features an open dining room built around an exhibition kitchen and expansive bar, with lighter woods and colors with rich cherry wood accents and high ceilings. Private dining rooms are available for private gatherings or corporate functions. Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar restaurants serve dinner only.
Roy’s
Roy’s provides an upscale dining experience featuring Pacific Rim cuisine. As of December 31, 2012, we owned and operated 22 Roy’s restaurants located across seven states. We did not have an economic interest in nine Roy’s as of December 31, 2012, including six in Hawaii and one each in the continental United States, Japan and Guam.
The Roy’s menu offers Chef Roy Yamaguchi’s “Hawaiian Fusion” cuisine, a blend of bold Asian spices, European sauces and local ingredients, and features a variety of fish and seafood, beef, short ribs, pork, lamb and chicken. The menu also includes several specialty appetizers and desserts. In addition to full bar service, Roy’s offers a large selection of highly rated wines. Alcoholic beverages account for approximately 27% of Roy’s restaurant sales. The average check per person was approximately $58 during 2012.
The décor features large dining rooms, a lounge area, an outdoor dining patio in certain locations and Roy’s signature exhibition kitchen. Private dining rooms are available for private gatherings or corporate functions. The majority of Roy’s restaurants serve dinner only.
Outback Steakhouse - International
Outback Steakhouse International is our business unit for developing and operating Outback Steakhouse restaurants outside of the U.S. In 2011, we enhanced our international organizational structure by adding a new unit president and recruiting internal and external talent from market-leading companies with the experience we believe is needed to drive international growth. We have integrated this team into our corporate headquarters to leverage enterprise-wide capabilities, including marketing, finance, consumer research and analytics, real estate development, information technology, legal, supply chain management and productivity in order to support both Company-owned and franchised locations. In addition, our Company-owned and joint venture operations in South Korea, Hong Kong, China and Brazil have cross-functional, local management staff in place to grow and support restaurants in those locations.
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Our other concepts currently do not operate outside of the U.S. As of December 31, 2012, we owned and operated 115 international Outback Steakhouse restaurants, 41 were owned and operated through a joint venture and 48 were operated under franchise arrangements across 19 countries and Guam as follows:
Country/Territory | Ownership Type | Total | |||
South Korea | Company-owned | 106 | |||
Hong Kong | Company-owned | 8 | |||
China (Mainland) | Company-owned | 1 | |||
Brazil | Joint venture | 41 | |||
Japan | Franchise | 10 | |||
Australia | Franchise | 6 | |||
Mexico | Franchise | 5 | |||
Taiwan | Franchise | 5 | |||
Canada | Franchise | 4 | |||
Indonesia | Franchise | 3 | |||
Philippines | Franchise | 3 | |||
Saudi Arabia | Franchise | 3 | |||
United Arab Emirates | Franchise | 2 | |||
Costa Rica | Franchise | 1 | |||
Dominican Republic | Franchise | 1 | |||
Egypt | Franchise | 1 | |||
Guam | Franchise | 1 | |||
Malaysia | Franchise | 1 | |||
Singapore | Franchise | 1 | |||
Thailand | Franchise | 1 | |||
Total | 204 | ||||
Financial information about geographic areas is included in this Form 10-K in Item 8, Note 2 of our Notes to consolidated financial statements. Risks associated with our international operations are included in this Form 10-K in Item 1A.
International Outback Steakhouse restaurants have substantially the same core menu items as domestic Outback Steakhouse locations, although certain side items and other menu items are local in nature. The prices that we charge in individual locations are reflective of local demographics and related local costs involved in procuring product. Most of our international locations serve lunch and dinner.
We utilize a global core menu policy to ensure consistency and quality in our menu offerings. We allow local tailoring of the menu to best address the preference of local customers in a market. Prior to the addition of an item to the core menu, we conduct customer research and it is reviewed and approved by our research and development (“R&D”) team. In South Korea, for example, we serve “lunch box sets,” offering affordable options to busy customers seeking a quick lunch at Outback Steakhouse. Similarly, in Brazil, we offer “set pricing” lunch options that provide various price point options for our lunchtime diners.
Our international Outback Steakhouse locations are similar in the look and feel of our domestic locations, although there is more diversity in certain restaurant locations, layouts and sizes.
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RESTAURANT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Site Design
We generally construct freestanding buildings on leased properties, although our leased sites are also located in strip shopping centers. Construction of a new restaurant takes approximately 90 to 180 days from the date the location is leased or under contract and fully permitted. In the future, we intend to either convert existing third-party leased retail space or construct new restaurants through leases in the majority of circumstances. We typically design the interior of our restaurants in-house, utilizing outside architects when necessary.
A typical Outback Steakhouse is approximately 6,200 square feet and features a dining room and a full-service liquor bar. The dining area of a typical Outback Steakhouse consists of 45 to 48 tables and seats approximately 220 people. The bar area consists of approximately ten tables and has seating capacity for approximately 54 people. Appetizers and complete dinners are served in the bar area.
Outback Steakhouse international restaurants range in size from 3,500 to 10,000 square feet and may be basement, ground level or upper floor locations.
A typical Carrabba’s Italian Grill is approximately 6,500 square feet and features a dining room, pasta bar seating that overlooks the exhibition kitchen and a full-service liquor bar. The dining area of a typical Carrabba’s Italian Grill consists of 40 to 45 tables and seats approximately 230 people. The liquor bar area typically includes six tables and seating capacity for approximately 60 people, and the pasta bar has seating capacity for approximately ten people. Appetizers and complete dinners are served in both the pasta bar and liquor bar areas.
A typical Bonefish Grill is approximately 5,500 square feet and features a dining room and full-service liquor bar. The dining area of a typical Bonefish Grill consists of approximately 38 tables and seats approximately 145 people. The bar area is generally in the front of the restaurant and offers community-style seating with approximately ten tables and bar seating with a capacity for approximately 72 people. Appetizers and complete dinners are served in the bar area.
A typical Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar is approximately 7,100 square feet and features a dining room, a private dining area, an exhibition kitchen and full-service liquor bar. The main dining area of a typical Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar consists of approximately 35 tables and seats approximately 170 people, while the private dining area seats approximately 30 additional people. The bar area includes approximately six tables and bar seating with a capacity for approximately 35 people. Appetizers and complete dinners are served in the bar area.
A typical Roy’s is approximately 7,100 square feet and features a dining room, a private dining area, an exhibition kitchen and full-service liquor bar. The main dining area of a typical Roy’s consists of approximately 41 tables and seats approximately 155 people, while the private dining area seats an additional 50 people. The bar area includes tables and bar seating with a capacity for approximately 35 people. Appetizers and complete dinners are served in the bar area.
Remodel / Renovation Plan
We are committed to the strategy of continuing to maintain relevance with our décor by implementing an ongoing renovation program across all of our concepts.
In 2009, we began a remodeling program at Outback Steakhouse to refresh our restaurants and modernize the look and feel of the dining experience. The Outback Steakhouse décor now features larger, more comfortable waiting areas, a brighter more upscale bar and a natural, contemporary dining area. We have remodeled 406 restaurants since the beginning of the remodeling program through December 31, 2012, including 150 in 2012. We plan to complete approximately 80 remodels in 2013 for a cumulative total of approximately 486 remodels by the end of 2013. Going
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forward, we expect to remodel approximately 10% of our locations annually. Our average remodel cost per restaurant has been approximately $225,000 in 2012.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill is currently implementing a similar renovation program, which includes the creation of a more contemporary Italian-themed décor that maintains its welcoming atmosphere and matches the high quality of our food. We recently finalized the new design format and expect to remodel between 50 and 60 locations in 2013.
Site Selection Process
We consider the location of a restaurant to be critical to its long-term success and as such, we devote significant effort to the investigation and evaluation of potential sites. We have a central team serving all of our concepts comprised of real estate development, property/lease management and design and construction personnel. We have significantly increased the resources dedicated to this team since 2009, enabling the acceleration of remodels and unit additions. Our site selection team utilizes a combination of existing field operations managers, internal development personnel and outside real estate brokers to identify and qualify potential sites. We have developed a robust analytical infrastructure, aided by site selection software customized to assist our site selection team in implementing our new restaurant growth plan. By leveraging expanded data regarding potential sites, developing success criteria and using predictive models, we are improving site selection.
We follow a phased approach to new site selection and approval, with all proposed sites reviewed and approved by the appropriate concept president, Chief Development Officer, Chief Resource Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer.
Restaurant Development
We are recommitted to new unit development after curtailing expansion from 2009 to 2011. We believe that a substantial development opportunity remains for our concepts in the U.S. and internationally. During 2012, we opened 37 new system-wide locations: 17 Bonefish Grill restaurants, four Carrabba’s Italian Grill restaurants, one Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar restaurant and 15 international Outback Steakhouse restaurants comprised of five Company-owned, seven unconsolidated joint venture and three franchise locations. We expect to open between 45 and 55 system-wide locations in 2013 and increase the pace thereafter. We expect that the mix of new units will be weighted approximately 60% to domestic opportunities in 2013, but will shift to a higher weight of international units as we continue to implement our international expansion plans.
Domestic Development
We believe we are well-equipped to accelerate new unit development with a disciplined approach focusing on achieving unit returns at target levels across each of our concepts. In 2013, we plan to open approximately 30 locations, with a primary domestic focus on opening new Bonefish Grill units. We believe we have the potential to increase the units in our Bonefish Grill concept to over 300 in the next five to seven years. Currently, the majority of Bonefish Grill restaurants are located in the southern and eastern U.S., with significant geographic expansion potential in the top 100 U.S. markets. Bonefish Grill unit growth will continue to be our top domestic development priority in 2013, with 20 or more new restaurants planned. We also see significant opportunities to expand Carrabba’s Italian Grill from an existing base of 235 units as of December 31, 2012. Currently, the majority of Carrabba’s Italian Grill restaurants are also located in the southern and eastern U.S., with significant geographic expansion potential in the top 100 U.S. markets. We recently finalized an updated restaurant design for Carrabba’s Italian Grill, which we plan to implement in new units in 2013. Following 2013, we plan to accelerate new unit development. In addition, we believe that Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar has existing geography fill-in and market expansion opportunities based on its current location mix.
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International Development
We believe we are well-positioned to continue to expand internationally and plan to approach such growth in a disciplined, prioritized manner, leveraging existing markets in South Korea, Hong Kong and Brazil while expanding in strategically selected new emerging and high growth developed markets. The system-wide sales of our international Outback Steakhouse restaurants represented approximately 15% of our total system-wide sales in 2012. We believe the international business represents a significant growth opportunity. We will continue to leverage our market position by offering our top-ranked Outback Steakhouse concept in a format adapted to local cultural preferences. For example, we believe that we can leverage existing infrastructure and expertise in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America to grow in those areas and accelerate entry into nearby countries.
As a part of the restructuring of our international business unit, we developed a prioritized growth agenda. We are focusing our existing market growth in South Korea, Hong Kong and Brazil and our new market growth in China, Mexico and South America.
Our Company-owned operations in Hong Kong and Korea, where we have 114 restaurants, provide operational expertise in running multi-unit operations, but also cultural insights and available talent to deploy into new Asian markets. In addition, our Outback Steakhouse International leadership team has significant experience in opening retail outlets in China that we can further leverage into our expansion efforts. During 2012, we opened our first Outback Steakhouse in China.
We will utilize the ownership structure and market entry strategy that best fits the need for a particular market, including Company-owned units, joint ventures and franchises. In markets where there is potential for a significant number of restaurants, we expect to focus on Company-owned and joint venture arrangements rather than franchises.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT / INNOVATION
In 2010, we added a Company-wide head of R&D to our senior management team and have increased the size of that team to approximately 25 people. We believe we have also strengthened our innovation capability by establishing a focused, collaborative process and enhancing our R&D capabilities, and expanded the scope of innovation to focus on new product development, product efficiency and core menu quality. As a result, we believe we are now better able to continuously evolve our product offerings based on consumer trends and feedback and improve productivity. We have a 12-month pipeline of new consumer-driven menu and promotional items and are able to introduce items faster than we have in the past.
Our cross-functional innovation processes leverage practices of the consumer products industry to continuously research and enhance every dimension of the customer experience. Our innovation teams collaborate across R&D, supply chain, operations, marketing, finance and market intelligence. Our goal is continuous innovation of our new menu, service and marketing initiatives to improve brand relevance, productivity and competitiveness based on evolving consumer trends and direct customer feedback on our products. For example, as the direct result of market and consumer research, we have added over 85 new menu items across our concepts since 2010, including many items under 600 calories, which have broadened the appeal of our menus. By incorporating analytics, customer testing and in-store guest and operator feedback, we are able to refine and reduce the potential risks associated with these introductions or changes. For new menu items and significant product changes, we have a meaningful testing process that includes internal testing, testing at one restaurant and testing at a group of restaurants before the roll-out is staged system-wide. Throughout this process, our customers provide direct feedback on the product as well as pricing.
We also utilize our cross-functional processes to develop limited-time offers with compelling price points and attractive margins. This requires more occasion-based testing and research to validate that the special offer was valued by customers based on the occasion. For example, Outback Steakhouse offered a four-course meal promotion (the Outback 4) in 2012, which included a soup, salad, entree and dessert for $15.00 that was not only very popular with our customers, but also met our profitability and food quality objectives.
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STRATEGY AND MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Our strategy and market intelligence (“SMI”) function was created in 2010 to identify opportunities for profitable growth based on market and consumer intelligence, and to help improve returns on the investments we make in capital and operations, through the targeted application of analytics. Our customer feedback and testing process enables rapid assessment of how new ideas and productivity initiatives perform with customers, allowing us to make improvements before they are launched nationally. Our marketing mix models guide reallocation of our marketing investments to more efficient and effective programs and have prompted increased marketing investments in Bonefish Grill and Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
Our customer research techniques provide a greater perspective into customer behavior. We deploy a variety of qualitative approaches ranging from basic focus groups to techniques designed to capture deeper consumer insights based on emotional responses. On the quantitative side, we develop, execute and analyze consumer research related to menu items, restaurant design, consumer communication, brand positioning and casual dining segment health.
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Beginning in 2010, we added significant resources that focused on building our competencies in human resources, information technology and real estate, design and construction, including the completion of standardized Point of Sale (“POS”) systems across our core concepts, the implementation of a Human Resources Information System (“HRIS”), uniform and comprehensive training programs, expanded data warehousing capability, and increased resources and tools to accelerate renovations and new unit site selection.
In late 2010, we hired a new Chief Information Officer and developed a multi-year information technology strategy to further transform information technology into a growth enabling function by focusing on building infrastructure, increasing technical staff, creating a technology platform to support sales growth and enabling productivity improvements.
Restaurant level financial and accounting controls are handled through the POS system and network in each restaurant that communicates with our corporate headquarters. The POS system is also used to authorize and transmit credit card sales transactions and to manage the business and control costs, such as labor. Our Company-owned restaurants are connected through data centers and a portal to provide our corporate employees and regional partners with access to business information and tools that allow them to collaborate, communicate, train and share information between restaurants and the corporate office. During 2012, we upgraded our wireless access points in all of our restaurants. This provided enhanced capability to pilot and roll out new mobile technology devices within our restaurants to enhance our operational capability. During 2013, we expect to enhance our corporate office and restaurant information system infrastructure for continued improvements to our operational capability.
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING
Our marketing strategy is designed to drive comparable restaurant sales growth by increasing the frequency of and occasions for visits by our current customers as well as attracting new customers.
To maintain customer interest and relevance, each concept leverages limited-time offers featuring seasonal specials, ingredients and flavors that are consistent with the concept’s offerings, but provide something new to discover on the menu. We have increased the frequency of these promotions so that Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill generally have five to seven promotion periods each year. The nature of the message regarding these promotions has also changed to encourage prompt action, rather than just promote brand awareness, resulting in more immediate increases in traffic. For example, for the past few years, Outback Steakhouse has leveraged a “Back By Popular Demand” steak and lobster entree for $14.99. This offer reinforces the high quality food at affordable prices available at Outback Steakhouse. We promoted the limited time offer through extensive television, social media, public relations local marketing outreach and in-restaurant materials.
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We promote our Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill restaurants through national and spot television and/or radio media and our Bonefish Grill restaurants through radio advertising. We advertise on television selectively when we have a sufficient number of restaurants in a market to make the media purchase efficient (generally three to 10 restaurants in a market, depending on the media cost in that market). Each of our concepts has an active public relations program and relies on word-of-mouth customer experience, site visibility, marketing in local venues, direct mail, on-line/digital advertising and billboards. We also create point-of-sale materials to communicate and promote key brand initiatives to our guests while they are dining in our restaurants. We have local marketing personnel who customize these programs to optimize them for their target market.
We also use the openings of new restaurants as an opportunity to employ a comprehensive marketing strategy. We reach out to various media outlets as well as the local community to obtain appearances on radio and television, establish relationships with local charities and gain coverage in local newspapers and magazines. The managing partner in each restaurant is the visible face of the concept and, with local involvement, reinforces our role as a concerned, active member of the community.
We have increased our use of e-marketing tools, which enable us to reach a significant number of people in a timely and targeted fashion at a fraction of the cost of traditional media. We believe that our customers are frequent internet users and will explore e-applications to make dining decisions or to share dining experiences. We have set up pages and advertise on various social media and other websites.
These methods of advertising promote and maintain brand image and generate consumer awareness of new menu offerings, such as new items added to appeal to value-conscious consumers. We also strive to increase sales through excellence in execution. Our marketing strategy of enticing customers to visit frequently and also recommending our restaurants to others complements our goal of providing a compelling dining experience. Additionally, we engage in a variety of promotional activities, such as contributing goods, time and money to charitable, civic and cultural programs, in order to give back to the communities we serve and increase public awareness of our restaurants.
RESTAURANT OPERATIONS
We believe the success of our restaurants depends on our service-oriented employees and consistent execution of our menu items in a well-managed restaurant.
Management and Employees
The management staff of a typical Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill or Bonefish Grill consists of one managing partner, one assistant manager and one kitchen manager. The management staff of a typical Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar or Roy’s consists of one managing partner, a chef partner and two assistant managers. Each restaurant also employs approximately 50 to 95 hourly employees, many of whom work part-time. The managing partner of each restaurant has primary responsibility for the day-to-day operation of his or her restaurant and is required to abide by Company-established operating standards. Area operating partners are responsible for overseeing the operations of typically six to 14 restaurants and managing partners in a specific region.
Area Operating, Managing and Chef Partner Programs
We have established a compensation structure for our area operating, managing and chef partners that we believe encourages high quality restaurant operations, fosters long-term employee commitment and generally results in profitable restaurants.
Historically, the managing partner of each Company-owned domestic restaurant and the chef partner of each Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar and Roy’s restaurant were required, as a condition of employment, to sign a five-year employment agreement and to purchase a non-transferable ownership interest in a partnership (“Management Partnership”) that provided management and supervisory services to his or her restaurant. The purchase price for a managing partner’s ownership interest was fixed at $25,000, and the purchase price for a chef partner’s ownership
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interest ranged from $10,000 to $15,000. Managing and chef partners had the right to receive monthly distributions from the Management Partnership based on a percentage of their restaurant’s monthly cash flows for the duration of the agreement, which varied by concept from 6% to 10% for managing partners and 2% to 5% for chef partners. Further, managing and chef partners were eligible to participate in the Partner Equity Plan (“PEP”), a deferred compensation program, upon completion of their five-year employment agreement.
In April 2011, we modified our managing and chef partner compensation structure to provide greater incentives for sales and profit growth. Under the revised program, managing and chef partners continue to sign five-year employment agreements and receive monthly distributions of the same percentage of their restaurant’s cash flow as under the prior program. However, under the revised program, in lieu of participation in the PEP, managing partners and chef partners are eligible to receive deferred compensation payments under our Partner Ownership Account Plan (the “POA”). The POA places greater emphasis on year-over-year growth in cash flow than the PEP. Managing and chef partners receive a greater value under the POA than they would have received under the PEP if certain levels of year-over-year cash flow growth are achieved and a lesser value than under the PEP if these levels are not achieved.
The POA requires managing and chef partners to make an initial deposit of up to $10,000 into their “Partner Investment Account,” and we make a bookkeeping contribution to each partner’s “Company Contributions Account” no later than the end of February of each year following the completion of each year (or partial year where applicable) under the partner’s employment agreement. The value of each of our contributions is equal to a percentage of the partner’s restaurant’s cash flow plus, if the restaurant has been open at least 18 calendar months, a percentage of the year-over-year increase in the restaurant’s cash flow.
The POA also provides an annual bonus known as the President’s Club, paid in addition to the monthly distributions of cash flow, designed to reward increases in a restaurant’s annual sales above the concept sales plan with a required flow-through percentage of the incremental sales to cash flow as defined in the plan. Managing and chef partners whose restaurants achieve certain annual sales targets above the concept’s sales plan (and the required flow-through percentage) receive a bonus equal to a percentage of the incremental sales, such percentage determined by the sales target achieved.
All managing and chef partners who execute new employment agreements after May 1, 2011 are required to participate in the revised partner program, including the POA (see “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Deferred Compensation Plans” included in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”).
Many of Outback Steakhouse international restaurant managing partners enter into employment agreements and purchase participation interests in the cash distributions from the restaurants they manage. The amount and terms vary by country. This interest gives the managing partner the right to receive a percentage of his or her restaurant’s annual cash flows for the duration of the agreement. Additionally, each new unaffiliated franchisee is required to provide the same opportunity to the managing partner of each new restaurant opened by that franchisee.
Historically, an area operating partner was required, as a condition of employment and within 30 days of the opening of his or her first restaurant, to make an initial investment of $50,000 in a Management Partnership that provides supervisory services to the restaurants that the area operating partner oversees. This interest gave the area operating partner the right to distributions from the Management Partnership based on a percentage of his or her restaurants’ monthly cash flows for the duration of the agreement, typically ranging from 4% to 9%. We have the option to purchase an area operating partner’s interest in the Management Partnership after the restaurant has been open for a five-year period on the terms specified in the agreement. For restaurants opened between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2011, the area operating partner’s percentage of cash distributions and buyout percentage was calculated based on the associated restaurant’s return on investment compared to our targeted return on investment and may range from 3.0% to 12.0% depending on the concept.
In 2011, we also began a version of the President’s Club annual bonus described above for area operating partners to provide additional rewards for achieving sales targets with a required flow-through of the incremental sales to cash flow as defined in the plan.
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In April 2012, we revised our area operating partner program for restaurants opened on or after January 1, 2012. For these restaurants, an area operating partner is required, as a condition of employment, to make a deposit of $10,000 within 30 days of the opening of each new restaurant that he or she oversees, up to a maximum deposit of $50,000 (taking into account investments under prior programs). This deposit gives the area operating partner the right to monthly payments based on a percentage of his or her restaurants’ monthly cash flows for the duration of the employment agreement, typically ranging from 4.0% to 4.5%. After the restaurant has been open for a five-year period, the area operating partner will receive a bonus equal to a multiple of the area operating partner’s average monthly payments for the 24 months immediately preceding the bonus date. The bonus will be paid within 90 days or over a two-year period, depending on the bonus amount.
We have also improved our field operations performance evaluation and development processes since 2009. All field managing partners and area managers receive feedback on performance with consistent metrics linked to quarterly restaurant, area and concept business objectives.
By offering these types of compensation arrangements and by providing the area operating, managing and chef partners a significant interest in the success of their restaurants, we believe we are able to attract and retain experienced and highly motivated area operating, managing and chef partners.
Supervision and Training
We require our area operating partners and restaurant managing partners to have significant experience in the full-service restaurant industry. As part of our management development programs, we engage in succession planning at a total Company and concept level to identify promotable personnel, with focused training programs to prepare managers for the next level of responsibility. Our current core concept presidents have been with us for an average of 14 years and have an average of 29 years of industry experience. Our regional field management team has an average of 12 years of experience working with us at the managing partner level or above.
All operating partners and managing partners are required to complete a comprehensive training program that emphasizes our operating strategy, procedures and standards. Our senior management meets quarterly with our area operating partners to discuss business-related issues and to share ideas. In addition, members of senior management visit restaurants regularly to ensure that our concept, strategy and standards of quality are being adhered to in all aspects of restaurant operations.
The restaurant managing and area operating partners, together with our Presidents, Regional Vice Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents of Training and Directors of Training, are responsible for selecting and training the employees for each new restaurant. The training period for new non-management employees lasts approximately one week and is characterized by on-the-job supervision by an experienced employee. Ongoing employee training remains the responsibility of the restaurant manager. Written tests and observation in the work place are used to evaluate each employee’s performance. Special emphasis is placed on the consistency and quality of food preparation and service, which is monitored through monthly meetings between kitchen managers and management.
Service
We seek to deliver superior service to each customer at every opportunity. We offer customers prompt, friendly and efficient service, keep wait staff-to-table ratios high and staff each restaurant with experienced management teams to ensure consistent and attentive customer service. Members of our wait staff demonstrate an attention to detail, culinary expertise and focus on execution and complete training programs specific to the concept’s menu (including the specific flavors of each dish), culture and brand positioning. They are trained to be responsive to the needs of our customers as they assist guests in selecting menu items complementing individual preferences.
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In order to better assess and improve our performance, in 2009 we began using Service Management Group (“SMG”) to conduct an ongoing satisfaction measurement program that utilizes a random invitation to participate in a web-based survey printed on 25% of our customer checks per week and provides us with benchmarking information from other restaurants. The program measures satisfaction across a wide range of experience elements, from the pace of the experience to the temperature of the food. Results are compiled and reported through a central web site at the national, regional and individual restaurant level. As of December 31, 2012, 24 casual dining restaurant concepts, including Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill, and eight fine dining concepts, including Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, participate in the SMG survey web methodology and contribute to the SMG average comparison measures for casual and fine dining, respectively, that we utilize in assessing our performance. The minimum sample size for our SMG customer surveys is 100 customers per restaurant per month.
Food Preparation and Quality Control
We focus on using high quality ingredients in our menu items, including the grade of our beef and freshness of our seafood and vegetables, while keeping costs in line with target pricing for our concepts. Food safety is a critical priority, and we dedicate resources to ensuring that our customers enjoy safe, quality food products. We have taken various steps to mitigate food quality and safety risks and have central teams focused on this goal together with our supply chain, food safety/quality assurance and R&D teams.
We have an R&D facility located in Tampa, Florida that serves as a test kitchen and vendor product qualification site. Our supply chain organization manages internal auditors for vendor evaluations along with external third parties to inspect vendor adherence to quality, food safety and product specification on a risk based schedule. Vendors that do not comply with quality, food safety and other specifications are not utilized until they have corrective actions in place and are re-certified for compliance. Additionally, a daily “line check” is performed by the restaurant managing partner and their key team members to inspect food prepared for that day, as well as the freshness of liquor, beverages, condiments and other perishables used for all menu items.
We also employ two outside advisory councils comprised of external subject matter experts to advise our senior management on industry trends and on quality, safety and animal considerations pertinent to our industry, such as well-being strategies and procedures.
SOURCING AND SUPPLY
We take a centralized approach to purchasing and supply chain management, with our corporate team serving all concepts domestically and internationally. In addition, we have dedicated supply chain management personnel at the local level in our larger international operations in Asia and South America. The supply chain management organization is responsible for all food and operating supply purchases as well as a large percentage of field and home office services. In addition, we have logistics teams dedicated to optimizing freight costs. The supply chain management organization’s mission is to utilize a combination of centralized domestic and locally-based supply to capture the efficiencies and economies of scale that come from making strategic buys, while maintaining (or improving) quality.
We work to address the end-to-end costs (from the source to the fork) associated with the products and goods we purchase. We utilize a “total cost of ownership” (“TCO”) approach, which focuses on both the initial purchase price, coupled with the cost structure underlying the procurement and order fulfillment process. The TCO approach includes monitoring commodity markets and trends and seeking to execute product purchases at the most advantageous times. We develop commodity sourcing strategies for all major commodity categories based on the dynamics of each category. Those strategies include both spot purchases and long-term contracts of generally one year or less where we believe long-term contract prices are more attractive than anticipated spot prices. In addition, we limit exposure to potential risk by requiring our vendor partners to meet or exceed our quality assurance standards.
We have a national distribution program in place that includes food, beverage, and packaging goods. This program is with a custom distribution company that uses a limited number of warehouses that provide only products approved for our system.
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Proteins represent about 50% of our commodity purchasing composition, with beef representing slightly over half of total purchased proteins. In 2012, we purchased more than 75% of our beef raw materials from four beef suppliers who represent approximately 85% of the total beef marketplace in the U.S. Due to the nature of our industry, we expect to continue to purchase a substantial amount of our beef from a small number of suppliers. Other major commodity categories purchased include produce, dairy, bread and pasta and energy sources to operate our restaurants, such as natural gas.
RESTAURANT OWNERSHIP STRUCTURES
Our restaurants are predominately Company-owned or controlled, including through joint ventures, and otherwise operated under franchise arrangements. We generate our revenues primarily from our Company-owned or controlled restaurants and secondarily through ongoing royalties from our franchised restaurants and sales of franchise rights.
Company-Owned Restaurants
Company-owned or controlled restaurants include restaurants owned directly by us, by limited liability companies in which we are a member and by limited partnerships in which we are the general partner. Our legal ownership interests in these limited liability companies and, as general partner, in these limited partnerships generally range, in each case, from 54.5% to 100%. Our cash flows from these entities are limited to the relative portion of our ownership. The results of operations of Company-owned restaurants are included in our consolidated operating results. The portion of income or loss attributable to the other partners’ interests is eliminated in Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income.
In the future, we do not plan to utilize limited partnerships for domestic Company-owned restaurants. Instead, the restaurants will be wholly-owned by us and the area operating, managing and chef partners will receive their distributions of restaurant cash flow as employee compensation rather than partnership distributions.
We pay royalties on approximately 95% of our Carrabba’s Italian Grill restaurants ranging from 1.0% to 1.5% of sales pursuant to agreements we entered into with the Carrabba’s Italian Grill founders.
Historically, Company-owned restaurants also included restaurants owned by our Roy’s joint venture and our consolidated financial statements included the accounts and operations of our Roy’s joint venture even though we had less than majority ownership due to our status as primary beneficiary of the joint venture and ability to control its significant activities. Effective October 1, 2012, we purchased the remaining interests in our Roy’s joint venture from our joint venture partner, RY-8, Inc. (“RY-8”), for $27.4 million (see “Liquidity and Capital Resources—Transactions” included in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”).
Through a joint venture arrangement with PGS Participacoes Ltda., we hold a 50% ownership interest in PGS Consultoria e Serviços Ltda. (the “Brazilian Joint Venture”). The Brazilian Joint Venture was formed in 1998 for the purpose of operating Outback Steakhouse restaurants in Brazil. We account for the Brazilian Joint Venture under the equity method of accounting. We are responsible for 50% of the costs of new restaurants operated by the Brazilian Joint Venture, and our joint venture partner is responsible for the other 50% and has operating control. Income and loss derived from the Brazilian Joint Venture is presented in the line item “Income from operations of unconsolidated affiliates” in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. We do not consider restaurants owned by the Brazilian Joint Venture as “Company-owned” restaurants.
In connection with the settlement of litigation with T-Bird Nevada, LLC and its affiliates (collectively, “T-Bird”), which include the franchisees of 56 Outback Steakhouse restaurants in California, T-Bird has a right (referred to as the “Put Right”), which would require us to purchase for cash all of the ownership interests in the T-Bird entities that own Outback Steakhouse restaurants and certain rights under the development agreement with T-Bird entity. The Put Right is non-transferable, other than under limited circumstances set forth in the settlement agreement. The Put Right
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is exercisable by T-Bird until August 13, 2013. If the Put Right is exercised, we will pay a purchase price equal to a multiple of the T-Bird entities’ adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) for the trailing 12 months, net of liabilities of the T-Bird entities. The multiple is equal to 75% of the multiple of our adjusted EBITDA reflected in our stock price. We have a one-time right to reject the exercise of the Put Right if the transaction would be dilutive to our consolidated earnings per share. In such event, the Put Right is extended until the first anniversary of our notice to the T-Bird entities of such rejection. The closing of the Put Right is subject to certain conditions, including the negotiation of a transaction agreement reasonably acceptable to the parties, the absence of dissenters’ rights being exercised by the equity owners above a specified level and compliance with our debt agreements.
UNAFFILIATED FRANCHISE PROGRAM
Our unaffiliated franchise arrangements grant third parties a license to establish and operate a restaurant using one of our concepts, our systems and our trademarks in a given area. The unaffiliated franchisee pays us for the concept ideas, strategy, marketing, operating system, training, purchasing power and brand recognition.
Franchised restaurants must be operated in compliance with their respective concept’s methods, standards and specifications, including regarding menu items, ingredients, materials, supplies, services, fixtures, furnishings, decor and signs, although the franchisee has full discretion to determine menu prices. In addition, all franchisees are required to purchase all food, ingredients, supplies and materials from approved suppliers. Our regional vice presidents semi-annually inspect franchised restaurants to confirm compliance with our requirements.
At December 31, 2012, there were 106 domestic franchised Outback Steakhouse restaurants and 48 international (including Guam) franchised Outback Steakhouse restaurants. Each domestic franchisee paid an initial franchise fee of $40,000 for each restaurant and is required to pay a continuing monthly royalty of 3.0% of gross restaurant sales and a monthly marketing administration fee of 0.5% of gross restaurant sales. Initial fees and royalties for international franchisees vary by market. Generally, each international franchisee paid an initial franchise fee of $40,000 to $200,000 for each restaurant and is expected to pay a continuing monthly royalty of 2.0% to 4.0% of gross restaurant sales. Certain international franchisees enter into an international development agreement that requires them to pay a development fee in exchange for the right and obligation to develop and operate up to five restaurants within a defined development territory pursuant to separate franchise agreements. Domestic franchisees are required to expend an annually adjusted percentage of gross restaurant sales, up to a maximum of 3.5%, for national advertising on a monthly basis (3.0% in 2012 and increasing to 3.2% in 2013).
At December 31, 2012, there was one domestic franchised Carrabba’s Italian Grill. The franchisee paid an initial franchise fee of $40,000 and pays a continuing monthly royalty of 5.75% of gross restaurant sales.
At December 31, 2012, there were seven domestic franchised Bonefish Grills. Four of these franchisees paid an initial franchise fee of $50,000 for each restaurant and pay a continuing monthly royalty of 4.0% of gross restaurant sales. Three of these franchisees pay royalties up to 4.0%, depending on sales volumes. Under the terms of the franchise agreement, the franchisees are required to expend, on a monthly basis, a minimum of 1.5% of gross restaurant sales on local advertising and pay a monthly marketing administration fee of 0.5% of gross restaurant sales.
There were no unaffiliated franchises of any of our other restaurant concepts at December 31, 2012.
Under the development agreement granted to one of the T-Bird entities, for the period ending in 2031, the T-Bird entities have the exclusive right through 2031 to develop and operate Outback Steakhouse restaurants as a franchisee in the State of California. We have agreed to waive all rights of first refusal in our franchise arrangements with the T-Bird entities in connection with a sale of all, and not less than all, of the assets, or at least 75% of the ownership of the T-Bird entities.
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COMPETITION
The restaurant industry is highly competitive with a substantial number of restaurant operators that compete directly and indirectly with us in respect to price, service, location and food quality, and there are other well-established competitors with significant financial and other resources. There is also active competition for management personnel, attractive suitable real estate sites, supplies and restaurant employees. Further, we face growing competition from the supermarket industry, with improved selections of prepared meals, and from quick service and fast casual restaurants, as a result of higher-quality food and beverage offerings. We expect intense competition to continue in all of these areas.
Industry and internal research conducted suggests that consumers consider casual dining restaurants within a given trade area when making dining decisions. As a result, an individual restaurant’s competitors will vary based on its trade area and will include both independent and chain restaurants. At an aggregate level, all major casual dining restaurants would be considered competitors of our concepts.
We believe our principal strategies, which include but are not limited to, the use of high quality ingredients that are in line with our target pricing, the variety of our menu and concepts, the quality and consistency of our food and service, the use of various promotions and the selection of appropriate locations for our restaurants, allow us to effectively and efficiently compete in the restaurant industry.
GOVERNMENT REGULATION
We are subject to various federal, state, local and international laws affecting our business. Each of our restaurants is subject to licensing and regulation by a number of governmental authorities, which may include, among others, alcoholic beverage control, health and safety, nutritional menu labeling, health care, environmental and fire agencies in the state, municipality or country in which the restaurant is located. Difficulty in obtaining or failing to obtain the required licenses or approvals could delay or prevent the development of a new restaurant in a particular area. Additionally, difficulties or inabilities to retain or renew licenses, or increased compliance costs due to changed regulations, could adversely affect operations at existing restaurants.
Approximately 15% of our consolidated restaurant sales are attributable to the sale of alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverage control regulations require each of our restaurants to apply to a state authority and, in certain locations, county or municipal authorities for a license or permit to sell alcoholic beverages on the premises and to provide service for extended hours and on Sundays. Typically, licenses must be renewed annually and may be revoked or suspended for cause at any time. Alcoholic beverage control regulations relate to numerous aspects of daily operations of our restaurants, including minimum age of patrons and employees, hours of operation, advertising, training, wholesale purchasing, inventory control and handling and storage and dispensing of alcoholic beverages. The failure of a restaurant to obtain or retain liquor or food service licenses would adversely affect the restaurant’s operations. Additionally, we are subject in certain states to “dram shop” statutes, which generally provide a person injured by an intoxicated person the right to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person.
Our restaurant operations are also subject to federal and state labor laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, governing such matters as minimum wages, overtime, tip credits and worker conditions. Our employees who receive tips as part of their compensation, such as servers, are paid at a minimum wage rate, after giving effect to applicable tip credits. We rely on our employees to accurately disclose the full amount of their tip income, and we base our FICA tax reporting on the disclosures provided to us by such tipped employees. Our other personnel, such as our kitchen staff, are typically paid in excess of minimum wage. As significant numbers of our food service and preparation personnel are paid at rates related to the applicable minimum wage, further increases in the minimum wage or other changes in these laws could increase our labor costs. Our ability to respond to minimum wage increases by increasing menu prices will depend on the responses of our competitors and customers.
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Further, we continue to assess our health care benefit costs. Due to the breadth and complexity of federal health care legislation and the staggered implementation of its provisions and corresponding regulations, it is difficult to predict the overall impact of the health care legislation on our business over the coming years. Although these laws do not mandate that employers offer health insurance to all employees who are eligible under the legislation, beginning in 2014 penalties will be assessed on large employers who do not offer health insurance that meets certain affordability or benefit requirements. Providing health insurance benefits to employees that are more extensive than the health insurance benefits we currently provide and to a potentially larger proportion of our employees, or the payment of penalties if the specified level of coverage is not provided at an affordable cost to employees, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position. In addition, these laws require employers to comply with a significant number of new reporting and notice requirements from the Departments of Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services, and we will have to develop systems and processes to track the requisite information and to comply with the reporting and notice requirements. Our distributors and suppliers also may be affected by higher minimum wage and benefit standards, which could result in higher costs for goods and services supplied to us.
We may also be subject to lawsuits from our employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or others alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment matters, discrimination and similar matters. A number of lawsuits have resulted in the payment of substantial damages by the defendants. For example, in December 2009, we entered into a Consent Decree in settlement of certain litigation brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging gender discrimination in promotions to management in the Outback Steakhouse organization, which required us to make a settlement payment of $19.0 million. In addition, during the four-year term of the Consent Decree, we are required to fulfill certain training, record-keeping and reporting requirements and maintain an open access system for restaurant employees to express interest in promotions within the Outback Steakhouse organization, and employ a human resources executive.
The Patient Protection and Affordability Act of 2010 (the “PPACA”) enacted in March 2010 requires chain restaurants with 20 or more locations in the United States to comply with federal nutritional disclosure requirements. The FDA has indicated that it intends to issue final regulations by the first part of 2013 and begin enforcing the regulations by the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014. A number of states, counties and cities have also enacted menu labeling laws requiring multi-unit restaurant operators to disclose certain nutritional information to customers, or have enacted legislation restricting the use of certain types of ingredients in restaurants. Although the federal legislation is intended to preempt conflicting state or local laws on nutrition labeling, until we are required to comply with the federal law we will be subject to a patchwork of state and local laws and regulations regarding nutritional content disclosure requirements. Many of these requirements are inconsistent or are interpreted differently from one jurisdiction to another. While our ability to adapt to consumer preferences is a strength of our concepts, the effect of such labeling requirements on consumer choices, if any, is unclear at this time.
There is potential for increased regulation of food in the United States under the recent changes in the Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (“HACCP”) system requirements. HACCP refers to a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of potential hazards from production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. Many states have required restaurants to develop and implement HACCP Systems and the United States government continues to expand the sectors of the food industry that must adopt and implement HACCP programs. For example, the Food Safety Modernization Act (the “FSMA”), signed into law in January 2011, granted the FDA new authority regarding the safety of the entire food system, including through increased inspections and mandatory food recalls. Although restaurants are specifically exempted from or not directly implicated by some of these new requirements, we anticipate that the new requirements may impact our industry. Additionally, our suppliers may initiate or otherwise be subject to food recalls that may impact the availability of certain products, result in adverse publicity or require us to take actions that could be costly for us or otherwise harm our business.
We are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA, which, among other things, requires our restaurants to meet federally mandated requirements for the disabled. The ADA prohibits discrimination in employment and public accommodations on the basis of disability. Under the ADA, we could be required to expend funds to modify our restaurants to provide service to, or make reasonable accommodations for the employment of, disabled persons. In
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addition, our employment practices are subject to the requirements of the Immigration and Naturalization Service relating to citizenship and residency. Government regulations could affect and change the items we procure for resale. We may also become subject to legislation or regulation seeking to tax and/or regulate high-fat and high-sodium foods, particularly in the United States, which could be costly to comply with. Our results can be impacted by tax legislation and regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate and by accounting standards or pronouncements.
We are also subject to laws and regulations relating to information security, privacy, cashless payments, gift cards and consumer credit, protection and fraud, and any failure or perceived failure to comply with these laws and regulations could harm our reputation or lead to litigation, which could adversely affect our financial condition.
See “Risk Factors” for a discussion of risks relating to federal, state, local and international regulation of our business.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Below is a list of the names, ages and positions as of February 15, 2013, and a brief description of the business experience, of each of our executive officers.
Name | Age | Position | ||
Elizabeth A. Smith | 49 | Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer | ||
David J. Deno | 55 | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||
David P. Berg | 51 | Executive Vice President and President of Outback Steakhouse International | ||
Jody L. Bilney | 51 | Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer | ||
Stephen K. Judge | 44 | Executive Vice President and President of Bonefish Grill | ||
Joseph J. Kadow | 56 | Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer | ||
David A. Pace | 53 | Executive Vice President and Chief Resources Officer | ||
Steven T. Shlemon | 53 | Executive Vice President and President of Carrabba’s Italian Grill | ||
Jeffrey S. Smith | 50 | Executive Vice President and President of Outback Steakhouse | ||
Elizabeth A. Smith was appointed Chairman of our Board of Directors effective January 4, 2012 and has served as our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and a Director since November 2009. From September 2007 to October 2009, Ms. Smith was President of Avon Products, Inc. and was responsible for its worldwide product-to-market processes, infrastructure and systems, including Global Brand Marketing, Global Sales, Global Supply Chain and Global Information Technology. In January 2005, Ms. Smith joined Avon Products as President, Global Brand, and was given the additional role of leading Avon North America in August 2005. From September 1990 to November 2004, Ms. Smith worked in various capacities at Kraft Foods Inc. Ms. Smith is a member of the board of directors of Staples, Inc.
David J. Deno has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since May 2012. Prior to May 2012, Mr. Deno served as Chief Financial Officer of the international division of Best Buy Co. since December 2009. Prior to joining Best Buy Co., Mr. Deno was a consultant with Obelysk Capital from February 2009 to December 2009. Prior to joining Obelysk Capital, Mr. Deno was a Managing Director of CCMP Capital Advisors, LLC (“CCMP”), a private equity firm from August 2006 to February 2009. While with CCMP, Mr. Deno was the President and then CEO of Quiznos, LLC, an operator of quick service restaurants. Prior to this, he had a 15 year career with YUM! Brands where he served as Chief Financial Officer and later as Chief Operating Officer.
David P. Berg has been the President of Outback Steakhouse International since September 2011 and our Executive Vice President since January 1, 2012. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Berg was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of GNC Holdings, Inc., a global specialty retailer of vitamins, supplements and nutritional products that operates in 48 countries, from June 2010 to September 2011 and served as Executive Vice President—International from September 2009 to June 2010. Mr. Berg was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer—Best Buy International for Best Buy Co., Inc. from 2008 to 2009 and served as a Vice President and Senior Vice President of Best Buy from 2002 to 2008. Mr. Berg is a member of the board of directors of Imation Corp.
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Jody L. Bilney has served as Chief Brand Officer since January 2008 and our Executive Vice President since January 1, 2012. Ms. Bilney also has responsibility for our R&D function. She was Chief Marketing Officer of Outback Steakhouse from October 2006 to January 2008.
Stephen K. Judge joined Bloomin’ Brands as Executive Vice President and President of Bonefish Grill in January 2013. Prior to joining the Company, he was President of Seasons 52, which is a restaurant concept owned by Darden Restaurants, Inc., from March 2007 to December 2012. Prior to Seasons 52, Mr. Judge held Food & Beverage and Operations leadership positions at the MGM Grand, one of the world’s largest hotels, Rosewood Hotels and Resorts, and the Princess and Premier Cruise Lines.
Joseph J. Kadow has been our Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer since April 2005 and served as our Senior Vice President and General Counsel from April 1994 to April 2005. Mr. Kadow has also served as Secretary since April 1994.
David A. Pace has served as our Chief Resources Officer and Executive Vice President since August 2010. Mr. Pace served as a consultant for Egon Zehnder International from 2009 to 2010. From 2002 to 2008, Mr. Pace served as Executive Vice President of Partner Resources for Starbucks Coffee Company. Mr. Pace has also held various positions with other companies prior to his position with Starbucks Coffee Company, including PepsiCo, Inc. and YUM! Brands.
Steven T. Shlemon has been the President of Carrabba’s Italian Grill since April 2000 and our Executive Vice President since January 1, 2012.
Jeffrey S. Smith has served as President of Outback Steakhouse since April 2007 and our Executive Vice President since January 1, 2012. Mr. Smith served as a Vice President of Bonefish Grill from May 2004 to April 2007 and as Regional Vice President—Operations of Outback Steakhouse from January 2002 to May 2004.
EMPLOYEES
As of December 31, 2012, we employed approximately 93,000 persons, of which 860 are corporate personnel, approximately 5,100 are restaurant management personnel and the remainder are hourly restaurant personnel. Of the 860 corporate employees, approximately 185 are in management and 675 are administrative or office employees. None of our employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
TRADEMARKS
We regard our “Outback Steakhouse,” “Carrabba’s Italian Grill,” “Bonefish Grill,” “Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar” and “Roy’s” service marks and our “Bloomin’ Onion” trademark as having significant value and as being important factors in the marketing of our restaurants. We have also obtained trademarks for several of our other menu items and for various advertising slogans. We are aware of names and marks similar to the service marks of ours used by other persons in certain geographic areas in which we have restaurants. However, we believe such uses will not adversely affect us. Our policy is to pursue registration of our marks whenever possible and to oppose vigorously any infringement of our marks.
We license the use of our registered trademarks to franchisees and third parties through franchise arrangements and licenses. The franchise and license arrangements restrict franchisees’ and licensees’ activities with respect to the use of our trademarks, and impose quality control standards in connection with goods and services offered in connection with the trademarks.
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SEASONALITY AND QUARTERLY RESULTS
Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations. Historically, customer spending patterns for our established restaurants are generally highest in the first quarter of the year and lowest in the third quarter of the year. Additionally, holidays, severe winter weather, hurricanes, thunderstorms and similar conditions may affect sales volumes seasonally in some of our markets. Quarterly results have been and will continue to be significantly affected by general economic conditions, the timing of new restaurant openings and their associated pre-opening costs, restaurant closures and exit-related costs and impairments of goodwill and property, fixtures and equipment. As a result of these and other factors, our financial results for any given quarter may not be indicative of the results that may be achieved for a full fiscal year.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We make available, free of charge, through our internet website www.bloominbrands.com, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such material with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). You may read and copy any materials filed with the SEC at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. This information is also available at www.sec.gov. The reference to these website addresses does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the websites and should not be considered part of this document.
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
The risk factors set forth below should be carefully considered. The risks described below are those that we believe are risks that we face that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, however, they are not the only risks facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or those we currently view to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
We face significant competition for customers, real estate and employees and competitive pressure to adapt to changes in conditions driving customer traffic. Our inability to compete effectively may affect our traffic, sales and profit margins, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The restaurant industry is intensely competitive with a substantial number of restaurant operators that compete directly and indirectly with us in respect to price, service, location and food quality, and there are other well-established competitors with significant financial and other resources. There is also active competition for management personnel as well as attractive suitable real estate sites. Consumer tastes, nutritional and dietary trends, traffic patterns and the type, number and location of competing restaurants often affect the restaurant business, and our competitors may react more efficiently and effectively to those conditions. Further, we face growing competition from the supermarket industry, with the improvement of their “convenient meals” in the deli and prepared food sections, and from quick service and fast casual restaurants, as a result of higher-quality food and beverage offerings by those restaurants. If we are unable to continue to compete effectively, our traffic, sales and margins could decline and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.
Challenging economic conditions may have a negative effect on our business and financial results through lower consumer confidence and discretionary spending, availability and cost of credit, foreign currency exchange rates and other items.
Challenging economic conditions may negatively impact consumer confidence and discretionary spending and thus cause a decline in our cash flows from operations. For example, the ongoing impacts of the housing crisis, high unemployment, financial market volatility and unpredictability, the so-called “sequester” and related governmental spending and budget matters, other national, regional and local regulatory and economic conditions, gasoline prices, reduced disposable consumer income and consumer confidence have had a negative effect on discretionary consumer spending. This has negatively affected customer traffic and comparable restaurant sales for us and throughout our industry thus far in 2013. We believe these factors and conditions are creating a challenging sales environment in the casual dining sector for 2013. If challenging economic conditions persist for an extended period of time or worsen, consumers might make long-lasting changes to their discretionary spending behavior, including dining out less frequently. The ability of the U.S. economy to continue to recover from these challenging economic conditions is likely to be affected by many national and international factors that are beyond our control, including current economic trends in Europe. Continued weakness in or a further worsening of the economy, generally or in a number of our markets, and our customers’ reactions to these trends could result in increased pressure with respect to our pricing, traffic levels, commodity costs and the continuation of our innovation and productivity initiatives, which could negatively impact our business and results of operations. These factors could also cause us to, among other things, reduce the number and frequency of new restaurant openings, close restaurants or delay remodeling of our existing restaurant locations.
In addition, as noted in our other risk factors, our high degree of leverage could increase our vulnerability to general economic and industry conditions and require that a substantial portion of cash flow from operations be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness. Further, the availability of credit already arranged for under our revolving credit facilities and the cost and availability of future credit may be adversely impacted by economic challenges. Foreign currency exchange rates for the countries in which we operate may decline. In addition, we may experience interruptions in supplies and other services from our third-party vendors as a result of market conditions.
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These disruptions in the economy are beyond our control, and there is no guarantee that any government response will restore consumer confidence, stabilize the economy or increase the availability of credit.
Loss of key management personnel could hurt our business and inhibit our ability to operate and grow successfully.
Our success will continue to depend, to a significant extent, on our leadership team and other key management personnel. If we are unable to attract and retain sufficiently experienced and capable management personnel, our business and financial results may suffer. If members of our leadership team or other key management personnel leave, we may have difficulty replacing them, and our business may suffer. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully attract and retain our leadership team and other key management personnel that we need.
Risks associated with our expansion plans may have adverse effects on our ability to increase revenues.
As part of our business strategy, we intend to continue to expand our current portfolio of restaurants. Current development schedules call for the construction of between 45 and 55 new system-wide locations in 2013. A variety of factors could cause the actual results and outcome of those expansion plans to differ from the anticipated results, including among other things:
• | the availability of attractive sites for new restaurants and the ability to acquire or lease appropriate real estate at those sites at acceptable prices; |
• | our ability to generate sufficient funds from operations or to obtain acceptable financing to support our development; |
• | our ability to obtain all required governmental permits, including zoning approvals and liquor licenses, on a timely basis; |
• | the impact of moratoriums or approval processes of state, local or foreign governments, which could result in significant delays; |
• | our ability to obtain all necessary contractors and sub-contractors; |
• | union activities such as picketing and hand billing, which could delay construction; |
• | our ability to negotiate suitable lease terms; |
• | our ability to recruit and train skilled management and restaurant employees; |
• | our ability to receive the premises from the landlord’s developer without any delays; |
• | weather, natural disasters and disasters beyond our control resulting in construction delays; and |
• | consumer tastes in new geographic regions and acceptance of our restaurant concepts. |
Some of our new restaurants may take several months to reach planned operating levels due to lack of market awareness, start-up costs and other factors typically associated with new restaurants. There is also the possibility that new restaurants may attract customers away from other restaurants we own, thereby reducing the revenues of those existing restaurants.
Development rates for each concept may differ significantly. The development of each concept may not be as successful as our experience in the past. It is difficult to estimate the performance of newly opened restaurants. Earnings achieved to date by restaurants open for less than two years may not be indicative of future operating results. Should enough of these new restaurants not meet targeted performance, it could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.
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We could face labor shortages that could slow our growth and adversely impact our ability to operate our restaurants.
Our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees, including managing partners, restaurant managers, kitchen staff and servers, necessary to keep pace with our anticipated expansion schedule and meet the needs of our existing restaurants. A sufficient number of qualified individuals of the requisite caliber to fill these positions may be in short supply in some communities. Competition in these communities for qualified staff could require us to pay higher wages and provide greater benefits. Any inability to recruit and retain qualified individuals may also delay the planned openings of new restaurants and could adversely impact our existing restaurants. Any such inability to retain or recruit qualified employees, increased costs of attracting qualified employees or delays in restaurant openings could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations and past results are not indicative of future results.
Historically, customer spending patterns for our established restaurants are generally highest in the first quarter of the year and lowest in the third quarter of the year. Additionally, holidays may affect sales volumes seasonally in some of the markets in which we operate. Our quarterly results have been and will continue to be affected by the timing of new restaurant openings and their associated pre-opening costs, as well as restaurant closures and exit-related costs and impairments of goodwill, intangible assets and property, fixtures and equipment. As a result of these and other factors, our financial results for any quarter may not be indicative of the results that may be achieved for a full fiscal year.
Significant adverse weather conditions and other disasters could negatively impact our results of operations.
Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, such as regional winter storms, floods, major hurricanes and earthquakes, severe thunderstorms and other disasters, such as oil spills, could negatively impact our results of operations. Temporary and prolonged restaurant closures may occur and customer traffic may decline due to the actual or perceived effects from these events.
We may be required to use cash to pay one of our franchisees in connection with a put right under a settlement agreement, which could have an adverse impact on our development plans and operating results.
In connection with the settlement of litigation with T-Bird, which include the franchisees of 56 Outback Steakhouse restaurants in California, we entered into an agreement with T-Bird pursuant to which T-Bird has the right, referred to as the Put Right, to require us to purchase for cash all of the ownership interests in the T-Bird entities (which include general and limited partnership interests in such entities) that own 56 restaurants. The Put Right is exercisable by T-Bird until August 13, 2013. If the Put Right is exercised, we will pay a purchase price equal to a multiple of the T-Bird entities’ adjusted EBITDA, net of liabilities, for the trailing 12 months as of the closing of the purchase from T-Bird. The multiple will be equal to 75% of the multiple of our adjusted EBITDA for the same trailing 12-month period as reflected in our stock price. We have a one-time right to reject the exercise of the Put Right if the transaction would be dilutive to our consolidated earnings per share. In that event, the Put Right is extended until the first anniversary of our notice to the T-Bird entities of that rejection. We have agreed to waive all rights of first refusal in our franchise arrangements with the T-Bird entities in connection with a sale of all, and not less than all, of the assets, or at least 75% of the ownership, of the T-Bird entities. If the Put Right is exercised, we will have to use cash to pay the purchase price that could have been allocated to more profitable development initiatives or other business needs, and we will then own restaurants that may not fit our current expansion criteria. This could have an adverse impact on our operating results.
We have limited control with respect to the operations of our franchisees and joint venture partners, which could have a negative impact on our business.
Our franchisees and joint venture partners are obligated to operate their restaurants according to the specific guidelines we set forth. We provide training opportunities to these franchisees and joint venture partners to fully integrate them into our operating strategy. However, since we do not have control over these restaurants, we cannot give assurance that there will not be differences in product quality or that there will be adherence to all of our guidelines at these
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restaurants. The failure of these restaurants to operate effectively or in accordance with our guidelines could adversely affect our cash flows from those operations or have a negative impact on our reputation or our business.
Our failure to comply with government regulation, and the costs of compliance or non-compliance, could adversely affect our business.
We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign laws affecting our business. Each of our restaurants is subject to licensing and regulation by a number of governmental authorities, which may include, among others, alcoholic beverage control, health and safety, nutritional menu labeling, health care, environmental and fire agencies in the state, municipality or country in which the restaurant is located. Difficulty in obtaining or failing to obtain the required licenses or approvals could delay or prevent the development of a new restaurant in a particular area. Additionally, difficulties or inabilities to retain or renew licenses, or increased compliance costs due to changed regulations, could adversely affect operations at existing restaurants.
Approximately 15% of our consolidated restaurant sales are attributable to the sale of alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic beverage control regulations require each of our restaurants to apply to a state authority and, in certain locations, county or municipal authorities for a license or permit to sell alcoholic beverages on the premises and to provide service for extended hours and on Sundays. Typically, licenses must be renewed annually and may be revoked or suspended for cause at any time. Alcoholic beverage control regulations relate to numerous aspects of daily operations of our restaurants, including minimum age of patrons and employees, hours of operation, advertising, training, wholesale purchasing, inventory control and handling and storage and dispensing of alcoholic beverages. The failure of a restaurant to obtain or retain liquor or food service licenses would adversely affect the restaurant’s operations. Additionally, we are subject in certain states to “dram shop” statutes, which generally provide a person injured by an intoxicated person the right to recover damages from an establishment that wrongfully served alcoholic beverages to the intoxicated person.
Our restaurant operations are also subject to federal and state labor laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, governing such matters as minimum wages, overtime, tip credits and worker conditions. Our employees who receive tips as part of their compensation, such as servers, are generally paid at a minimum wage rate, after giving effect to applicable tip credits. We rely on our employees to accurately disclose the full amount of their tip income, and we base our FICA tax reporting on the disclosures provided to us by such tipped employees. Our other personnel, such as our kitchen staff, are typically paid in excess of minimum wage. As significant numbers of our food service and preparation personnel are paid at rates related to the applicable minimum wage, further increases in the minimum wage, including the recent proposal by President Obama to increase the federal minimum wage by $1.75 per hour and index future increases to inflation, or other changes in these laws could increase our labor costs. Our ability to respond to minimum wage increases by increasing menu prices will depend on the responses of our competitors and customers.
Further, we continue to assess our health care benefit costs. Due to the breadth and complexity of federal health care legislation and the staggered implementation of its provisions and corresponding regulations, it is difficult to predict the overall impact of the health care legislation on our business over the coming years. Although these laws do not mandate that employers offer health insurance to all employees who are eligible under the legislation, beginning in 2014 penalties will be assessed on large employers who do not offer health insurance that meets certain affordability or benefit requirements. Providing health insurance benefits to employees that are more extensive than the health insurance benefits we currently provide and to a potentially larger proportion of our employees, or the payment of penalties if the specified level of coverage is not provided at an affordable cost to employees, will increase our expenses. If we are unable to raise our prices or cut other costs to cover this expense, such increases in expenses could materially reduce our operating profit. Our distributors and suppliers also may be affected by higher minimum wage and benefit standards, which could result in higher costs for goods and services supplied to us.
The PPACA enacted in March 2010 requires chain restaurants with 20 or more locations in the United States to comply with federal nutritional disclosure requirements. The FDA has indicated that it intends to issue final regulations by the first part of 2013 and begin enforcing the regulations by the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014. A number of states, counties and cities have also enacted menu labeling laws requiring multi-unit restaurant operators to disclose certain
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nutritional information to customers, or have enacted legislation restricting the use of certain types of ingredients in restaurants. Although the federal legislation is intended to preempt conflicting state or local laws on nutrition labeling, until we are required to comply with the federal law we will be subject to a patchwork of state and local laws and regulations regarding nutritional content disclosure requirements. Many of these requirements are inconsistent or are interpreted differently from one jurisdiction to another. The effect of such labeling requirements on consumer choices, if any, is unclear at this time. We may also become subject to other legislation or regulation seeking to tax or regulate high fat and high sodium foods, particularly in the U.S., which could be costly to comply with.
There is also a potential for increased regulation of food in the United States under the recent changes in the HACCP system requirements. HACCP refers to a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of potential hazards from production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product. Many states have required restaurants to develop and implement HACCP Systems and the United States government continues to expand the sectors of the food industry that must adopt and implement HACCP programs. For example, the FSMA, enacted in January 2011, granted the FDA new authority regarding the safety of the entire food system, including through increased inspections and mandatory food recalls. Although restaurants are specifically exempted from or not directly implicated by some of these new requirements, we anticipate that the new requirements may impact our industry. Additionally, our suppliers may initiate or otherwise be subject to food recalls that may impact the availability of certain products, result in adverse publicity or require us to take actions that could be costly for us or otherwise harm our business.
We are subject to the ADA, which, among other things, requires our restaurants to meet federally mandated requirements for the disabled. The ADA prohibits discrimination in employment and public accommodations on the basis of disability. Under the ADA, we could be required to expend funds to modify our restaurants to provide service to, or make reasonable accommodations for the employment of, disabled persons. In addition, our employment practices are subject to the requirements of the Immigration and Naturalization Service relating to citizenship and residency. Government regulations could affect and change the items we procure for resale such as commodities. We may also become subject to legislation or regulation seeking to tax or regulate high fat and high sodium foods, particularly in the United States, which could be costly to comply with. Our results can be impacted by tax legislation and regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate and by accounting standards or pronouncements.
We are also subject to laws and regulations relating to information security, privacy, cashless payments, gift cards and consumer credit, protection and fraud, and any failure or perceived failure to comply with these laws and regulations could harm our reputation or lead to litigation, which could adversely affect our financial condition.
Changes in tax laws and unanticipated tax liabilities could adversely affect the taxes we pay and our profitability.
We are subject to income and other taxes in the United States and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Our effective income tax rate in the future could be adversely affected by a number of factors, including: changes in the mix of earnings in countries with different statutory tax rates; changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities; changes in tax laws; the outcome of income tax audits; and any repatriation of non-U.S. earnings for which we have not previously provided for U.S. taxes. Although we believe our tax estimates are reasonable, the final determination of tax audits could be materially different from our historical income tax provisions and accruals. The results of a tax audit could have a material effect on our income tax provision, results of operations or cash flows in the period or periods for which that determination is made. In addition, our effective income tax rate and our results may be impacted by our ability to realize deferred tax benefits and by any release of our valuation allowances applied to our existing deferred tax assets.
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We face a variety of risks associated with doing business in foreign markets that could have a negative impact on our financial performance.
We have a significant number of franchised, joint venture and Company-owned Outback Steakhouse restaurants outside the United States, and we intend to continue our efforts to grow internationally. Although we believe we have developed an appropriate support structure for international operations and growth, there is no assurance that international operations will be profitable or international growth will continue.
Our foreign operations are subject to all of the same risks as our domestic restaurants, as well as additional risks including, among others, international economic and political conditions and the possibility of instability and unrest, differing cultures and consumer preferences, diverse government regulations and tax systems, the ability to source high quality ingredients and other commodities in a cost-effective manner, uncertain or differing interpretations of rights and obligations in connection with international franchise agreements and the collection of ongoing royalties from international franchisees, the availability and cost of land and construction costs, and the availability of experienced management, appropriate franchisees and area operating partners.
Currency regulations and fluctuations in exchange rates could also affect our performance. We have direct investments in restaurants in South Korea, Hong Kong, China and Brazil, as well as international franchises, in a total of 19 countries. As a result, we may experience losses from foreign currency translation, and such losses could adversely affect our overall sales and earnings.
We are subject to governmental regulation throughout the world, including antitrust and tax requirements, anti-boycott regulations, import/export/customs regulations and other international trade regulations, the USA Patriot Act and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Any new regulatory or trade initiatives could impact our operations in certain countries. Failure to comply with any such legal requirements could subject us to monetary liabilities and other sanctions, which could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Increased commodity, energy and other costs could decrease our profit margins or cause us to limit or otherwise modify our menus, which could adversely affect our business.
The performance of our restaurants depends on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in the price and availability of food commodities, including among other things beef, chicken, seafood, butter, cheese and produce. Prices may be affected due to market changes, increased competition, the general risk of inflation, shortages or interruptions in supply due to weather, disease or other conditions beyond our control, or other reasons. Increased prices or shortages could affect the cost and quality of the items we buy or require us to raise prices or limit our menu options. For example, in 2012, commodity costs increased by approximately 3% and, as a result, we increased our prices at each of our concepts in the range of 2.0% to 2.3%. These events, combined with other more general economic and demographic conditions, could impact our pricing and negatively affect our sales and profit margins.
The performance of our restaurants is also adversely affected by increases in the price of utilities, such as natural gas, whether as a result of inflation, shortages or interruptions in supply, or otherwise. We use derivative instruments to mitigate some of our overall exposure to material increases in natural gas prices. We do not apply hedge accounting to these instruments, and any changes in the fair value of the derivative instruments are marked-to-market through earnings in the period of change. To date, the effects of these derivative instruments have been immaterial to our financial statements for all periods presented.
Our business also incurs significant costs for insurance, labor, marketing, taxes, real estate, borrowing and litigation, all of which could increase due to inflation, changes in laws, competition or other events beyond our control.
Our ability to respond to increased costs by increasing menu prices or by implementing alternative processes or products will depend on our ability to anticipate and react to such increases and other more general economic and demographic conditions, as well as the responses of our competitors and customers. All of these things may be difficult to predict and beyond our control. In this manner, increased costs could adversely affect our performance.
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Infringement of our intellectual property could diminish the value of our restaurant concepts and harm our business.
We regard our service marks, including “Outback Steakhouse,” “Carrabba’s Italian Grill,” “Bonefish Grill,” “Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar” and “Roy’s” and our “Bloomin’ Onion” trademark as having significant value and as being important factors in the marketing of our restaurants. We have also obtained trademarks for several of our other menu items and for various advertising slogans. In addition, the overall layout, appearance and designs of our restaurants are valuable assets. We believe that these and other intellectual property are valuable assets that are critical to our success. We rely on a combination of protections provided by contracts, copyrights, trademarks, and other common law rights, such as trade secret and unfair competition laws, to protect our restaurants and services from infringement. We have registered certain trademarks and service marks and have other registration applications pending in the United States and foreign jurisdictions. However, not all of the trademarks or service marks that we currently use have been registered in all of the countries in which we do business, and they may never be registered in all of these countries. There may not be adequate protection for certain intellectual property such as the overall appearance of our restaurants. We are aware of names and marks similar to our service marks being used by other persons in certain geographic areas in which we have restaurants. Although we believe such uses will not adversely affect us, further or currently unknown unauthorized uses or other misappropriation of our trademarks or service marks could diminish the value of our brands and restaurant concepts and may adversely affect our business. We may be unable to detect such unauthorized use of, or take appropriate steps to enforce, our intellectual property rights.
Effective intellectual property protection may not be available in every country in which we have or intend to open or franchise a restaurant. Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights could damage or even destroy our brands and impair our ability to compete effectively. Even where we have effectively secured statutory protection for intellectual property, our competitors may misappropriate our intellectual property and our employees, consultants and suppliers may breach their obligations not to reveal our confidential information, including trade secrets. Although we have taken appropriate measures to protect our intellectual property, there can be no assurance that these protections will be adequate or that our competitors will not independently develop products or concepts that are substantially similar to our restaurants and services. Despite our efforts, it may be possible for third-parties to reverse-engineer, otherwise obtain, copy, and use information that we regard as proprietary. Furthermore, defending or enforcing our trademark rights, branding practices and other intellectual property, and seeking injunctions against and/or compensation for misappropriation of confidential information, could result in the expenditure of significant resources.
Restaurant companies, including ours, have been the target of class action lawsuits and other proceedings alleging, among other things, violations of federal and state workplace and employment laws. Proceedings of this nature are costly, divert management attention and, if successful, could result in our payment of substantial damages or settlement costs.
Our business is subject to the risk of litigation by employees, consumers, suppliers, franchisees, minority investors, stockholders or others through private actions, class actions, administrative proceedings, regulatory actions or other litigation. The outcome of litigation, particularly class action and regulatory actions, is difficult to assess or quantify. In recent years, we and other restaurant companies have been subject to lawsuits, including class action lawsuits, alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment matters, discrimination and similar matters. A number of these lawsuits have resulted in the payment of substantial damages by the defendants. Similar lawsuits have been instituted from time to time alleging violations of various federal and state wage and hour laws regarding, among other things, employee meal deductions, the sharing of tips among certain employees, overtime eligibility of assistant managers and failure to pay for all hours worked. If we are required to pay substantial damages and expenses as a result of these or other types of lawsuits our business and results of operations would be adversely affected.
Occasionally, our customers file complaints or lawsuits against us alleging that we are responsible for some illness or injury they suffered at or after a visit to one of our restaurants, including actions seeking damages resulting from food borne illness and relating to notices with respect to chemicals contained in food products required under state law. We are also subject to a variety of other claims from third parties arising in the ordinary course of our business, including
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personal injury claims, contract claims and claims alleging violations of federal and state laws. In addition, our restaurants are subject to state “dram shop” or similar laws which generally allow a person to sue us if that person was injured by a legally intoxicated person who was wrongfully served alcoholic beverages at one of our restaurants. The restaurant industry has also been subject to a growing number of claims that the menus and actions of restaurant chains have led to the obesity of certain of their customers. We may also be subject to lawsuits from our employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or others alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment matters, discrimination and similar matters. For example, in December 2009, we entered into a Consent Decree in settlement of certain litigation brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging gender discrimination in promotions to management within the Outback Steakhouse organization, which required us to make a settlement payment of $19.0 million. In addition, during the four-year term of the Consent Decree, we are required to fulfill certain training, record-keeping and reporting requirements and maintain an open access system for restaurant employees to express interest in promotions within the Outback Steakhouse organization, and employ a human resources executive.
Regardless of whether any claims against us are valid or whether we are liable, claims may be expensive to defend and may divert time and money away from our operations. In addition, they may generate negative publicity, which could reduce customer traffic and sales. Although we maintain what we believe to be adequate levels of insurance, insurance may not be available at all or in sufficient amounts to cover any liabilities with respect to these or other matters. A judgment or other liability in excess of our insurance coverage for any claims or any adverse publicity resulting from claims could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
Our insurance policies may not provide adequate levels of coverage against all claims, and fluctuating insurance requirements and costs could negatively impact our profitability.
We are self-insured, or carry insurance programs with specific retention levels or deductibles, for a significant portion of our risks and associated liabilities with respect to workers’ compensation, general liability, liquor liability, employment practices liability, property, health benefits and other insurable risks. However, there are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not commercially reasonable to insure. These losses, if they occur, could have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Additionally, health insurance costs in general have risen significantly over the past few years and are expected to continue to increase. These increases could have a negative impact on our profitability, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully offset the effect of such increases with plan modifications and cost control measures, additional operating efficiencies or the pass-through of such increased costs to our customers or employees.
Conflict or terrorism could negatively affect our business.
We cannot predict the effects of actual or threatened armed conflicts or terrorist attacks, efforts to combat terrorism, military action against any foreign state or group located in a foreign state or heightened security requirements on local, regional, national, or international economies or consumer confidence. Such events could negatively affect our business, including by reducing customer traffic or the availability of commodities.
If our advertising and marketing programs are unsuccessful in maintaining or driving increased customer traffic or are ineffective in comparison to those of our competitors, our results of operations could be adversely affected.
We conduct ongoing promotion-based brand awareness advertising campaigns and customer loyalty programs. If these programs are not successful or conflict with evolving customer preferences, we may not increase or maintain our customer traffic and will incur expenses without the benefit of higher revenues. In addition, if our competitors increase their spending on marketing and advertising programs, or develop more effective campaigns, this could have a negative effect on our brand relevance, customer traffic and results of operations.
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Unfavorable publicity could harm our business by reducing demand for our concepts or specific menu offerings.
Our business could be negatively affected by publicity resulting from complaints or litigation, either against us or other restaurant companies, alleging poor food quality, food-borne illness, personal injury, adverse health effects (including obesity) or other concerns. Regardless of the validity of any such allegations, unfavorable publicity relating to any number of restaurants or even a single restaurant could adversely affect public perception of the entire brand.
Additionally, unfavorable publicity towards a food product generally could negatively impact our business. For example, publicity regarding health concerns or outbreaks of disease in a food product, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (also known as “mad cow” disease), could reduce demand for our menu offerings. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Consumer reaction to public health issues, such as an outbreak of flu viruses or other diseases, could have an adverse effect on our business.
Our business could be harmed if the United States or other countries in which we operate experience an outbreak of flu viruses or other diseases. If a virus is transmitted by human contact, our employees or customers could become infected or could choose or be advised to avoid gathering in public places. This could adversely affect our restaurant traffic, our ability to adequately staff our restaurants, our ability to receive deliveries on a timely basis or our ability to perform functions at the corporate level. Our business could also be negatively affected if mandatory closures, voluntary closures or restrictions on operations are imposed in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Even if such measures are not implemented and a virus or other disease does not spread significantly, the perceived risk of infection or significant health risk may have a material adverse effect on our business.
Food safety and food-borne illness concerns throughout the supply chain may have an adverse effect on our business by reducing demand and increasing costs.
Food safety issues could be caused by food suppliers or distributors and, as a result, be out of our control. In addition, regardless of the source or cause, any report of food-borne illnesses and other food safety issues including food tampering or contamination at one of our restaurants could adversely affect the reputation of our brands and have a negative impact on our sales. Even instances of food-borne illness, food tampering or food contamination occurring solely at restaurants of our competitors could result in negative publicity about the food service industry generally and adversely impact our sales. The occurrence of food-borne illnesses or food safety issues could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected ingredients, resulting in higher costs and lower margins.
The food service industry is affected by consumer preferences and perceptions. Changes in these preferences and perceptions may lessen the demand for our products, which would reduce sales and harm our business.
Food service businesses are affected by changes in consumer tastes and demographic trends. For instance, if prevailing health or dietary preferences cause consumers to avoid steak and other products we offer in favor of foods that are perceived as more healthy, our business and operating results would be harmed.
We have a limited number of suppliers for our major products and rely on one custom distribution company for our national distribution program in the U.S. If our suppliers or custom distributor are unable to fulfill their obligations under their contracts or we are unable to develop or maintain relationships with these or new suppliers or distributors, if needed, we could encounter supply shortages and incur higher costs.
We have a limited number of suppliers for our major products, such as beef. In 2012, we purchased more than 75% of our beef raw materials from four beef suppliers who represent approximately 85% of the total beef marketplace in the U.S. Due to the nature of our industry, we expect to continue to purchase a substantial amount of our beef from a small number of suppliers. In addition, we use one distribution company to provide distribution services in the U.S. Although we have not experienced significant problems with our suppliers or distributor, if our suppliers or distributor are unable to fulfill their obligations under their contracts, we could encounter supply shortages and incur higher costs.
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In addition, if we are unable to maintain current purchasing terms or ensure service availability with our suppliers and distributor, we may lose customers and experience an increase in costs in seeking alternative supplier services. The failure to develop and maintain supplier and distributor relationships and any resulting disruptions to the provision of food and other supplies to our restaurant locations could adversely affect our operating results.
Shortages or interruptions in the supply or delivery of fresh food products could adversely affect our operating results.
We are dependent on frequent deliveries of fresh food products that meet our specifications. Shortages or interruptions in the supply of fresh food products caused by unanticipated demand, problems in production or distribution, inclement weather or other conditions could adversely affect the availability, quality and cost of ingredients, which would adversely affect our operating results.
We outsource certain accounting processes to a third-party vendor, which subjects us to many risks that could disrupt our business, increase our costs and negatively impact our internal control processes.
In early 2011, we began to outsource certain accounting processes to a third-party vendor. The third-party vendor may not be able to handle the volume of activity or perform the quality of service that we have currently achieved at a cost-effective rate, which could adversely affect our business. The decision to outsource was made based on cost savings initiatives; however, we may not achieve these savings because of unidentified intangible costs and legal and regulatory matters, which could adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition. In addition, the performance of certain business processes in an outsourced capacity could negatively impact our internal control processes.
We rely heavily on information technology in our operations and any material failure, weakness, interruption or breach of security could prevent us from effectively operating our business.
We rely heavily on information systems across our operations and corporate functions, including point-of-sale processing in our restaurants, management of our supply chain, payment of obligations, collection of cash, data warehousing to support analytics, finance and accounting systems and other various processes and procedures. Our ability to efficiently and effectively manage our business depends significantly on the reliability and capacity of these systems. The failure of these systems to operate effectively, maintenance problems, upgrading or transitioning to new platforms, or a breach in security of these systems could result in delays in customer service and reduce efficiency in our operations. Remediation of such problems could result in significant unplanned capital investments.
We are also in the process of implementing a finance and accounting system. Large-scale system implementations are complex and time-consuming projects that are capital intensive and can span 12 months or longer. Certain business and financial processes will also require transformation in order to effectively leverage the system’s benefits. Our business and results of operations may be adversely affected if we experience system usage problems and/or cost overruns during the implementation process, or if associated process changes do not give rise to the benefits that we expect. Additionally, if we do not effectively implement the system as planned or if the system does not operate as intended, it could adversely affect the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting.
Security breaches of confidential customer information or personal employee information may adversely affect our business.
The majority of our restaurant sales are by credit or debit cards. Other restaurants and retailers have experienced security breaches in which credit and debit card information of their customers has been stolen. We also maintain certain personal information regarding our employees. We may in the future become subject to lawsuits or other proceedings for purportedly fraudulent transactions arising out of the actual or alleged theft of our customers’ credit or debit card information or if customer or employee information is obtained by unauthorized persons or used inappropriately. Any such claim or proceeding, or any adverse publicity resulting from such an event, may have a material adverse effect on our business.
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An impairment in the carrying value of our goodwill or other intangible assets could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We test goodwill for impairment in the second quarter of each fiscal year and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. A significant amount of judgment is involved in determining if an indication of impairment exists. Factors may include, among others:
• | a significant decline in our expected future cash flows; |
• | a significant adverse change in legal factors or in the business climate; |
• | unanticipated competition; |
• | the testing for recoverability of a significant asset group within a reporting unit; and |
• | slower growth rates. |
Any adverse change in these factors would have a significant impact on the recoverability of these assets and negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations. We compare the carrying value of a reporting unit, including goodwill, to the fair value of the reporting unit. Carrying value is based on the assets and liabilities associated with the operations of that reporting unit. If the carrying value is less than the fair value, no impairment exists. If the carrying value is higher than the fair value, there is an indication of impairment and a second step is required to measure a goodwill impairment loss, if any. We are required to record a non-cash impairment charge if the testing performed indicates that goodwill has been impaired.
We evaluate our other intangible assets, primarily the Outback Steakhouse (domestic and international), Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar and Roy’s trademarks or trade names, to determine if they are definite or indefinite-lived. Reaching a determination on useful life requires significant judgments and assumptions regarding the future effects of obsolescence, demand, competition, other economic factors (such as the stability of the industry, legislative action that results in an uncertain or changing regulatory environment, and expected changes in distribution channels), the level of required maintenance expenditures, and the expected lives of other related groups of assets.
As with goodwill, we test our indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment in the second quarter of each fiscal year and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable. We estimate the fair value of these indefinite-lived intangible assets based on an income valuation model using the relief from royalty method, which requires assumptions related to projected revenues from our annual long-range plan, assumed royalty rates that could be payable if we did not own the assets and a discount rate.
During the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, we did not record any goodwill or material intangible asset impairment charges. However, during the year ended December 31, 2009, we recorded goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges of $58.1 million and $43.7 million, respectively. We cannot accurately predict the amount and timing of any impairment of assets. Should the value of goodwill or other intangible assets become impaired in the future, there could be an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Changes to estimates related to our property, fixtures and equipment and definite-lived intangible assets or operating results that are lower than our current estimates at certain restaurant locations may cause us to incur impairment charges on certain long-lived assets, which may adversely affect our results of operations.
In accordance with accounting guidance as it relates to the impairment of long-lived assets, we make certain estimates and projections with regard to individual restaurant operations, as well as our overall performance, in connection with our impairment analyses for long-lived assets. When impairment triggers are deemed to exist for any location, the estimated undiscounted future cash flows are compared to its carrying value. If the carrying value exceeds the
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undiscounted cash flows, an impairment charge equal to the difference between the carrying value and the sum of the discounted cash flows is recorded. The projections of future cash flows used in these analyses require the use of judgment and a number of estimates and projections of future operating results. If actual results differ from our estimates, additional charges for asset impairments may be required in the future. If impairment charges are significant, our results of operations could be adversely affected.
The possibility of future misstatement exists due to inherent limitations in our control systems, which could adversely affect our business.
We cannot be certain that our internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all possible error and fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of error or fraud, if any, in our company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake, which could have an adverse impact on our business.
Our reported financial results may be adversely affected by changes in accounting principles applicable to us.
Generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. are subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Securities and Exchange Commission and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. A change in these principles or interpretations could have a significant effect on our reported financial results, and could affect the reporting of transactions completed before the announcement of a change, such as standards relating to leasing. In addition, the SEC has announced a multi-year plan that could ultimately lead to the use of International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S. issuers in their SEC filings. Any such change could have a significant effect on our reported financial results.
We are a holding company and rely on dividends, distributions and other payments, advances and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to fund our operations, which could prevent us from meeting our obligations.
We have no direct operations and derive all of our cash flow from our subsidiaries. Because we conduct our operations through our subsidiaries, we depend on those entities for dividends and other payments or distributions to fund our operations. Our ability to obtain funds from our subsidiaries is limited by our debt agreements. Our inability to comply with these covenants and the deterioration of the earnings from, or other available assets of, our subsidiaries for any reason could limit or impair their ability to pay dividends or other distributions to us.
Risks Related to Our Indebtedness
Our substantial leverage could adversely affect our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry and expose us to interest rate risk in connection with our variable-rate debt.
We are highly leveraged. As of December 31, 2012, our total indebtedness was approximately $1.5 billion. As of December 31, 2012, we also had approximately $183.8 million in available unused borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility (after giving effect to undrawn letters of credit of approximately $41.2 million).
Our high degree of leverage could have important consequences, including:
• | making it more difficult for us to make payments on indebtedness; |
• | increasing our vulnerability to general economic, industry and competitive conditions; |
• | increasing our cost of borrowing; |
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• | requiring a substantial portion of cash flow from operations to be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, thereby reducing our ability to use our cash flow to fund our operations, capital expenditures and future business opportunities; |
• | exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates because certain of our borrowings under our senior secured credit facilities and commercial mortgage-backed securities loans are at variable rates of interest; |
• | restricting us from making strategic acquisitions or causing us to make non-strategic divestitures; |
• | limiting our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, restaurant development, debt service requirements, acquisitions and general corporate or other purposes; and |
• | limiting our ability to adjust to changing market conditions and placing us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors who may not be as highly leveraged. |
We may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, subject to the restrictions contained in our senior secured credit facilities entered into in October 2012 (the “New Facilities”) and the commercial mortgage-backed securities loans entered into in March 2012 (the “2012 CMBS Loan”). If new indebtedness is added to our current debt levels, the related risks that we now face could increase.
Approximately $1.0 billion of debt outstanding under our New Facilities and approximately $48.7 million of our 2012 CMBS Loan bear interest based on a floating rate index. An increase in these floating rates could cause a material increase in our interest expense.
Our debt agreements contain restrictions that limit our flexibility in operating our business.
We are a holding company and conduct our operations through our subsidiaries, certain of which have incurred their own indebtedness. Our subsidiaries’ debt agreements contain various covenants that limit our ability to obtain funds from our subsidiaries through dividends, loans or advances. In addition, certain of our debt agreements limit our and our subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things, incur or guarantee additional indebtedness, pay dividends on, redeem or repurchase our capital stock, make certain acquisitions or investments, incur or permit to exist certain liens, enter into transactions with affiliates or sell our assets to, merge or consolidate with or into, another company. Our debt agreements require us to satisfy certain financial tests and ratios. Our ability to satisfy such tests and ratios may be affected by events outside of our control.
If we breach the covenants under our debt agreements, the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under the agreements to be immediately due and payable and terminate all commitments to extend further credit. If we are unable to repay those amounts, the lenders under the New Facilities and the 2012 CMBS Loan could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure that indebtedness. We have pledged substantially all of our assets as collateral under our New Facilities and the 2012 CMBS Loan. If the lenders under the New Facilities and the 2012 CMBS Loan accelerate the repayment of borrowings, we cannot be certain that we will have sufficient assets to repay them.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and operating lease obligations, and we may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness and operating lease obligations, which may not be successful. If we fail to meet these obligations, we would be in default under our debt agreements and the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under them to be immediately due and payable and terminate all commitments to extend further credit.
Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance our debt obligations and to satisfy our operating lease obligations depends on our financial condition and operating performance, which is subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We cannot be certain that we will maintain a level of cash flow from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium,
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if any, and interest on our indebtedness, or to pay our operating lease obligations. If our cash flow and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations and operating lease obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. In the absence of sufficient operating results and resources, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations or take other actions to meet our debt service and other obligations. Our debt agreements restrict our ability to dispose of assets and how we may use the proceeds from the disposition. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions or to obtain the proceeds that we could otherwise realize from such dispositions and any such proceeds that are realized may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due. The failure to meet our debt service obligations or the failure to remain in compliance with the financial covenants under our debt agreements would constitute an event of default under those agreements and the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under them to be immediately due and payable and terminate all commitments to extend further credit.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq Stock Market Rules (“Nasdaq”), and as a result, we qualify for, and rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements. You will not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to such requirements.
An investor group consisting of funds advised by our Sponsors and two of our Founders controls a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. As a result, we qualify as a “controlled company” within the meaning of the corporate governance rules of Nasdaq. “Controlled companies” under those rules are companies of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, a group or another company. Each member of the investor group has filed a Statement of Beneficial Ownership on Schedule 13G with the SEC relating to its respective holdings and the group’s arrangements with respect to disposition of the shares. On this basis, we currently avail ourselves of the “controlled company” exception under the Nasdaq rules and elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including:
• | the requirement that a majority of our Board of Directors consist of independent Directors; |
• | the requirement that we have a nominating and corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent Directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities, or otherwise have Director nominees selected by vote of a majority of the independent directors; |
• | the requirement that we have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent Directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
• | the requirement for an annual performance evaluation of the nominating and corporate governance and compensation committees. |
We utilize these exemptions, as we do not currently have a majority of independent Directors and our compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee do not consist entirely of independent Directors. Accordingly, you do not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
The investor group, however, is not subject to any contractual obligation to retain its controlling interest. There can be no assurance as to the period of time during which such group will maintain their ownership of our common stock.
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Our stock price is subject to volatility and, as a result, you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the price you paid for them.
Volatility in the market price of our common stock may prevent you from being able to sell your shares at or above the price you paid for your shares. Since our initial public offering in August 2012 through February 28, 2013, the price of our common stock, as reported by Nasdaq, has ranged from a low of $11.57 on August 8, 2012 to a high of $18.99 on February 1, 2013. The stock market in general has been highly volatile. As a result, the market price of our common stock is similarly volatile. You may experience a decrease, which could be substantial, in the value of your stock, including decreases unrelated to our operating performance or prospects, and could lose part or all of your investment. The price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors, including those described elsewhere in this filing and others such as:
• | actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results and the performance of our competitors; |
• | publication of research reports by securities analysts about us, our competitors or our industry; |
• | our failure or the failure of our competitors to meet analysts’ projections or guidance that we or our competitors may give to the market; |
• | additions and departures of key personnel; |
• | sales, or anticipated sales, of large blocks of our stock or of shares held by our Directors, executive officers, Sponsors and/or Founders; |
• | strategic decisions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures, strategic investments or changes in business strategy; |
• | the passage of legislation or other regulatory developments affecting us or our industry; |
• | speculation in the press or investment community, whether or not correct, involving us, our suppliers or our competitors; |
• | changes in accounting principles; |
• | litigation and governmental investigations; |
• | terrorist acts, acts of war or periods of widespread civil unrest; |
• | a food borne illness outbreak; |
• | natural disasters and other calamities; and |
• | changes in general market and economic conditions. |
As we operate in a single industry, we are especially vulnerable to these factors to the extent that they affect our industry or our products. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources, and could also require us to make substantial payments to satisfy judgments or to settle litigation.
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There may be sales of a substantial amount of our common stock by our current stockholders, and these sales could cause the price of our common stock to fall.
Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales will occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and make it difficult for us to raise funds through securities offerings in the future.
At February 15, 2013, there were 121,439,523 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding. Of these shares, the 18,393,690 shares sold in our initial public offering are eligible for immediate sale in the public market without restriction by persons other than our affiliates. Our existing stockholders were subject to a lock-up agreement restricting sales of our common stock from the time of the offering until February 3, 2013. Many of these holders are subject to our insider trading policy and some can engage in transactions in our common stock only during designated trading windows, which will impact the timing of any sales by such holders.
Approximately 78.7% of our issued and outstanding shares are held by investment funds associated with our Sponsors and two of our Founders as of February 15, 2013. Our Sponsors and Founders may require us to register their shares for resale under federal securities laws. Registration of such shares would allow the holders to immediately sell the shares into the public market and shares that are sold pursuant to any such registration statement would become eligible for sale without restriction by persons other than our affiliates.
In addition, we registered with the SEC the issuance of shares of common stock pursuant to outstanding options under our 2007 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2007 Equity Plan”) and shares of common stock that are reserved for issuance under our 2012 Incentive Award Plan (the “2012 Equity Plan”).
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, our 2012 CMBS Loan documents and Delaware law may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management and, therefore, may depress the trading price of our stock.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws include certain provisions that could have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change of control of our company or changes in our management, including, among other things:
• | our Board of Directors is classified into three classes of Directors with only one class subject to election each year; |
• | restrictions on the ability of our stockholders to fill a vacancy on the Board of Directors; |
• | our ability to issue preferred stock with terms that the Board of Directors may determine, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of a hostile acquirer; |
• | the inability of our stockholders to call a special meeting of stockholders; |
• | our Directors may only be removed from the Board of Directors for cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the voting power of outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of Directors; |
• | the absence of cumulative voting in the election of Directors, which may limit the ability of minority stockholders to elect Directors; and |
• | advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and nominations, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from soliciting proxies to elect a particular slate of Directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us. |
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In addition, the mortgage loan agreement for the 2012 CMBS Loan requires that our Sponsors, our Founders and our management stockholders or other permitted holders either own no less than 51% of our common stock or if they do not, that certain other conditions are satisfied. These provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and the 2012 CMBS Loan documents may discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company that is in the best interests of our minority stockholders. Even in the absence of a takeover attempt, the existence of these provisions may adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock if they are viewed as discouraging future takeover attempts.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may affect the ability of an “interested stockholder” to engage in certain business combinations, including mergers, consolidations or acquisitions of additional shares, for a period of three years following the time that the stockholder becomes an “interested stockholder.” An “interested stockholder” is defined to include persons owning directly or indirectly 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of a corporation. We have elected in our certificate of incorporation not to be subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. However, our certificate of incorporation contains provisions that have the same effect as Section 203, except that they provide that our Sponsors and their respective affiliates will not be deemed to be “interested stockholders,” regardless of the percentage of our voting stock owned by them, and accordingly will not be subject to such restrictions.
If securities analysts or industry analysts downgrade our stock, publish negative research or reports, or do not publish reports about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
We expect that the trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us, our business and our industry. If one or more analysts adversely change their recommendation regarding our stock or our competitors’ stock, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more analysts cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
Our Sponsors and Founders have significant influence over us, including control over decisions that require the approval of stockholders, which could limit your ability to influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control.
We are currently controlled by an investor group consisting of funds advised by our Sponsors and two of our Founders. At February 15, 2013, such group beneficially owned an aggregate of approximately 78.7% of our outstanding common stock. For as long as such group continues to beneficially own shares of common stock representing more than 50% of the voting power of our common stock, it will be able to direct the election of all of the members of our Board of Directors and could exercise a controlling influence over our business and affairs, including any determinations with respect to mergers or other business combinations, the acquisition or disposition of assets, the incurrence of indebtedness, the issuance of any additional common stock or other equity securities, the repurchase or redemption of common stock and the payment of dividends. Similarly, the investor group will have the power to determine matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders without the consent of our other stockholders, will be able to prevent or approve a change in our control and could take other actions that might be favorable to the members of the group. Even if the investor group’s ownership falls below 50%, our Sponsors will continue to be able to strongly influence or effectively control our decisions.
Additionally, certain of our Directors are also officers or control persons of our Sponsors. Although these Directors owe a fiduciary duty to manage us in a manner beneficial to us and our stockholders, these individuals also owe fiduciary duties to these other entities and their stockholders, members and limited partners. Because our Sponsors have such interests in other companies and engage in other business activities, certain of our Directors may experience conflicts of interest in allocating their time and resources among our business and these other activities. Two of our Founders also serve as our Directors and, due to their interests in certain transactions with us and our affiliates, they may also experience such conflicts of interest. Furthermore, these individuals could make substantial profits as a result of investment opportunities allocated to entities other than us. As a result, these individuals could pursue transactions that may not be in our best interest, which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and your investment.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
Because we have no plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell your common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.
We may retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and have no current plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that our Board of Directors may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants of any existing and future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur, including our New Facilities. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in our common stock unless you sell our common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.
Our ability to raise capital in the future may be limited, which could make us unable to fund our capital requirements.
Our business and operations may consume resources faster than we anticipate. In the future, we may need to raise additional funds through the issuance of new equity securities, debt or a combination of both. Additional financing may not be available on favorable terms or at all. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to fund our capital requirements. If we issue new debt securities, the debt holders would have rights senior to common stockholders to make claims on our assets, and the terms of any debt could restrict our operations, including our ability to pay dividends on our common stock. If we issue additional equity securities, existing stockholders may experience dilution, and the new equity securities could have rights senior to those of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, our stockholders bear the risk of our future securities offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting their interest.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
Not applicable.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
Item 2. Properties
During the year ended December 31, 2012, we added 37 new restaurant sites and closed nine others. As of December 31, 2012, we had 1,471 system-wide restaurants located across the following states, territories or countries:
Company-Owned | ||||||||||||||
Alabama | 22 | Kansas | 10 | New Jersey | 41 | Utah | 6 | |||||||
Arizona | 31 | Kentucky | 17 | New Mexico | 5 | Vermont | 1 | |||||||
Arkansas | 11 | Louisiana | 21 | New York | 43 | Virginia | 60 | |||||||
California | 21 | Maryland | 41 | North Carolina | 64 | West Virginia | 8 | |||||||
Colorado | 28 | Massachusetts | 19 | Ohio | 48 | Wisconsin | 11 | |||||||
Connecticut | 12 | Michigan | 35 | Oklahoma | 11 | Wyoming | 2 | |||||||
Delaware | 2 | Minnesota | 9 | Pennsylvania | 43 | |||||||||
Florida | 217 | Mississippi | 2 | Puerto Rico | 1 | China (Mainland) | 1 | |||||||
Georgia | 51 | Missouri | 16 | Rhode Island | 3 | Hong Kong | 8 | |||||||
Hawaii | 7 | Montana | 1 | South Carolina | 37 | South Korea | 106 | |||||||
Illinois | 27 | Nebraska | 7 | South Dakota | 2 | |||||||||
Indiana | 22 | Nevada | 16 | Tennessee | 37 | |||||||||
Iowa | 8 | New Hampshire | 2 | Texas | 75 | |||||||||
Franchise and Development Joint Venture | ||||||||||||||
Alabama | 1 | Oregon | 8 | Dominican Republic | 1 | Singapore | 1 | |||||||
Alaska | 1 | South Carolina | 1 | Egypt | 1 | Taiwan | 5 | |||||||
California | 63 | Tennessee | 3 | Guam | 1 | Thailand | 1 | |||||||
Florida | 3 | Washington | 18 | Indonesia | 3 | United Arab Emirates | 2 | |||||||
Idaho | 6 | Japan | 10 | |||||||||||
Mississippi | 6 | Australia | 6 | Malaysia | 1 | |||||||||
Montana | 2 | Brazil | 41 | Mexico | 5 | |||||||||
North Carolina | 1 | Canada | 4 | Philippines | 3 | |||||||||
Ohio | 1 | Costa Rica | 1 | Saudia Arabia | 3 | |||||||||
As of December 31, 2012, approximately 20% of our restaurant sites were owned by our subsidiaries. The remaining 80% of our restaurant sites were leased by our subsidiaries from third parties.
In the future, we intend to either convert existing third-party leased retail space or construct new restaurants through leases in the majority of circumstances. Initial lease expirations for our other leased properties typically range from five to ten years, with the majority of the leases providing for an option to renew for two or more additional terms. All of our leases provide for a minimum annual rent, and many leases call for additional rent based on sales volume at the particular location over specified minimum levels. Generally, the leases are net leases that require us to pay our share of the costs of insurance, taxes and common area operating costs.
As of December 31, 2012, we leased approximately 168,000 square feet of office space in Tampa, Florida for our corporate headquarters and research and development facilities under leases expiring on January 31, 2025.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
We are subject to legal proceedings, claims and liabilities, such as liquor liability, sexual harassment and slip and fall cases, which arise in the ordinary course of business and are generally covered by insurance if they exceed specified retention or deductible amounts. In the opinion of management, the amount of ultimate liability with respect to those actions will not have a material adverse impact on our financial position or results of operations and cash flows. We accrue for loss contingencies that are probable and reasonably estimable. Legal costs are reported in General and administrative expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. We generally do not accrue for legal costs expected to be incurred with a loss contingency until those services are provided.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
MARKET INFORMATION
Our common stock has been listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “BLMN” since August 8, 2012. Prior to that time, there was no public market for our common stock. The following table sets forth for the periods indicated the high and low sales prices per share of our common stock as reported on Nasdaq:
2012 | |||||||
HIGH | LOW | ||||||
Third quarter (1) | $ | 16.53 | $ | 11.57 | |||
Fourth quarter | $ | 16.98 | $ | 13.01 | |||
____________________
(1) | Represents the period from August 8, 2012, the date of our initial public offering, through September 30, 2012, the end of our third quarter. |
HOLDERS
As of February 15, 2013, there were 58 holders of record of our common stock. An investor group consisting of funds advised by our Sponsors and two of our Founders beneficially own a controlling interest in our Company.
DIVIDENDS
We did not declare or pay any dividends on our common stock during 2011 or 2012. Our Board of Directors does not intend to pay regular dividends on our common stock. However, we expect to reevaluate our dividend policy on a regular basis and may, subject to compliance with the covenants contained in the New Facilities and other considerations, determine to pay dividends in the future.
Our ability to pay dividends is dependent on our ability to obtain funds from our subsidiaries. Payment of dividends by OSI to Bloomin’ Brands is restricted under the New Facilities to dividends for the purpose of paying Bloomin’ Brands’ franchise and income taxes and ordinary course operating expenses; dividends for certain other limited purposes; and other dividends subject to an aggregate cap over the term of the agreement.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
SECURITIES AUTHORIZED FOR ISSUANCE UNDER EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS
During the year ended December 31, 2012, securities were authorized for issuance under both the 2007 Equity Plan and the 2012 Equity Plan. Upon completion of our initial public offering, the 2012 Equity Plan was adopted, and no further awards were made under the 2007 Equity Plan or will be made in the future. The following table presents the securities authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plans at December 31, 2012 (in thousands, except exercise price):
(a) | (b) | (c) | ||||||||
PLAN CATEGORY | NUMBER OF SECURITIES TO BE ISSUED UPON EXERCISE OF OUTSTANDING OPTIONS, WARRANTS AND RIGHTS | WEIGHTED-AVERAGE EXERCISE PRICE OF OUTSTANDING OPTIONS, WARRANTS AND RIGHTS | NUMBER OF SECURITIES REMAINING AVAILABLE FOR FUTURE ISSUANCE UNDER EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS (EXCLUDING SECURITIES REFLECTED IN COLUMN (a)) (1) | |||||||
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders | 12,379 | $ | 7.99 | 2,730 | ||||||
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders | — | — | — | |||||||
Total | 12,379 | $ | 7.99 | 2,730 | ||||||
____________________
(1) | The shares remaining available for issuance may be issued in the form of restricted stock or other stock awards. |
As of the first business day of each fiscal year, commencing on January 1, 2013, the aggregate number of shares that may be issued pursuant to the 2012 Equity Plan will automatically increase by a number equal to 2% of the total number of shares then issued and outstanding.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
STOCK PERFORMANCE GRAPH
The following graph depicts the total return to stockholders from August 8, 2012, the date our common stock became listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, through December 31, 2012, relative to the performance of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Consumer Discretionary Sector, a peer group. The graph assumes an investment of $100 in our common stock and each index on August 8, 2012 and the reinvestment of dividends paid since that date. The stock price performance shown in the graph is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.
AUGUST 8, 2012 | DECEMBER 31, 2012 | ||||||||||
Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (BLMN) | $ | 100.00 | $ | 126.03 | |||||||
Standard & Poor’s 500 | $ | 100.00 | $ | 102.72 | |||||||
Standard & Poor’s Consumer Discretionary | $ | 100.00 | $ | 107.53 | |||||||
RECENT SALES OF UNREGISTERED SECURITIES; USE OF PROCEEDS FROM REGISTERED SECURITIES
Equity Securities
During the period beginning January 1, 2012 through August 7, 2012, we granted to certain eligible participants 35,000 options to purchase our common stock with an exercise price of $10.03, 20,000 options to purchase our common stock with an exercise price of $12.02, and 600,000 options to purchase our common stock with an exercise price of $14.58 under our 2007 Equity Plan. In addition, we granted to certain eligible participants 260,859 shares of restricted stock under our 2007 Equity Plan during this period. The options and shares of restricted stock were issued without registration in reliance on the exemption afforded by Section 4(2) of the Securities Act, as a transaction by an issuer not involving a public offering, or Rule 701 promulgated under the Securities Act, as a transaction pursuant to a compensatory benefit plan.
PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS
None.
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
This selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto, included in Item 8 of this report, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, included in Item 7 of this report and Risk Factors, included in Item 1A of this report. The following table sets forth our selected consolidated financial data as of the dates and for the periods indicated (in thousands):
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) Data: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Revenues | ||||||||||||||||||||
Restaurant sales | $ | 3,946,116 | $ | 3,803,252 | $ | 3,594,681 | $ | 3,573,760 | $ | 3,937,894 | ||||||||||
Other revenues | 41,679 | 38,012 | 33,606 | 27,896 | 23,262 | |||||||||||||||
Total revenues | 3,987,795 | 3,841,264 | 3,628,287 | 3,601,656 | 3,961,156 | |||||||||||||||
Costs and expenses | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of sales | 1,281,002 | 1,226,098 | 1,152,028 | 1,184,074 | 1,389,365 | |||||||||||||||
Labor and other related | 1,117,624 | 1,094,117 | 1,034,393 | 1,024,063 | 1,094,907 | |||||||||||||||
Other restaurant operating | 918,522 | 890,004 | 864,183 | 849,696 | 938,374 | |||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 155,482 | 153,689 | 156,267 | 186,074 | 205,492 | |||||||||||||||
General and administrative (1) (2) | 326,473 | 291,124 | 252,793 | 252,298 | 264,021 | |||||||||||||||
(Recovery) allowance of note receivable from affiliated entity (3) | — | (33,150 | ) | — | — | 33,150 | ||||||||||||||
Loss on contingent debt guarantee | — | — | — | 24,500 | — | |||||||||||||||
Goodwill impairment | — | — | — | 58,149 | 726,486 | |||||||||||||||
Provision for impaired assets and restaurant closings (4) | 13,005 | 14,039 | 5,204 | 134,285 | 117,699 | |||||||||||||||
Income from operations of unconsolidated affiliates | (5,450 | ) | (8,109 | ) | (5,492 | ) | (2,196 | ) | (2,343 | ) | ||||||||||
Total costs and expenses | 3,806,658 | 3,627,812 | 3,459,376 | 3,710,943 | 4,767,151 | |||||||||||||||
Income (loss) from operations | 181,137 | 213,452 | 168,911 | (109,287 | ) | (805,995 | ) | |||||||||||||
(Loss) gain on extinguishment and modification of debt (5) | (20,957 | ) | — | — | 158,061 | 48,409 | ||||||||||||||
Other (expense) income, net | (128 | ) | 830 | 2,993 | (199 | ) | (11,122 | ) | ||||||||||||
Interest expense, net (5) | (86,642 | ) | (83,387 | ) | (91,428 | ) | (115,880 | ) | (197,041 | ) | ||||||||||
Income (loss) before provision (benefit) for income taxes | 73,410 | 130,895 | 80,476 | (67,305 | ) | (965,749 | ) | |||||||||||||
Provision (benefit) for income taxes | 12,106 | 21,716 | 21,300 | (2,462 | ) | (99,416 | ) | |||||||||||||
Net income (loss) | 61,304 | 109,179 | 59,176 | (64,843 | ) | (866,333 | ) | |||||||||||||
Less: net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests | 11,333 | 9,174 | 6,208 | (380 | ) | (3,041 | ) | |||||||||||||
Net income (loss) attributable to Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. | $ | 49,971 | $ | 100,005 | $ | 52,968 | $ | (64,463 | ) | $ | (863,292 | ) | ||||||||
Net income (loss) | $ | 61,304 | $ | 109,179 | $ | 59,176 | $ | (64,843 | ) | $ | (866,333 | ) | ||||||||
Other comprehensive income (loss): | ||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustment | 7,543 | (2,711 | ) | 4,556 | 10,273 | (33,380 | ) | |||||||||||||
Comprehensive income (loss) | 68,847 | 106,468 | 63,732 | (54,570 | ) | (899,713 | ) | |||||||||||||
Less: comprehensive income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests | 11,333 | 9,174 | 6,208 | (380 | ) | (3,041 | ) | |||||||||||||
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. | $ | 57,514 | $ | 97,294 | $ | 57,524 | $ | (54,190 | ) | $ | (896,672 | ) | ||||||||
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except per share amounts) | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | |||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Basic net income (loss) attributable to Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. per share | $ | 0.45 | $ | 0.94 | $ | 0.50 | $ | (0.62 | ) | $ | (8.43 | ) | ||||||||
Diluted net income (loss) attributable to Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. per share | $ | 0.44 | $ | 0.94 | $ | 0.50 | $ | (0.62 | ) | $ | (8.43 | ) | ||||||||
Weighted average shares outstanding: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Basic | 111,999 | 106,224 | 105,968 | 104,442 | 102,383 | |||||||||||||||
Diluted | 114,821 | 106,689 | 105,968 | 104,442 | 102,383 | |||||||||||||||
DECEMBER 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | |||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | (unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||
Balance Sheet Data: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents (6) | $ | 261,690 | $ | 482,084 | $ | 365,536 | $ | 330,957 | $ | 311,118 | ||||||||||
Net working capital (deficit) (5) (7) | (203,566 | ) | (248,145 | ) | (120,135 | ) | (187,648 | ) | (171,095 | ) | ||||||||||
Total assets | 3,016,553 | 3,353,936 | 3,243,411 | 3,340,708 | 3,695,696 | |||||||||||||||
Total debt, net (5) | 1,494,440 | 2,109,290 | 2,171,524 | 2,302,233 | 2,562,889 | |||||||||||||||
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit) (8) | 220,205 | 40,297 | (55,911 | ) | (116,625 | ) | (66,814 | ) | ||||||||||||
____________________
(1) | Includes management fees and out-of-pocket and other reimbursable expenses paid to a management company owned by our Sponsors and Founders of $5.8 million, $9.4 million, $11.6 million, $10.7 million and $9.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively, under a management agreement that terminated upon the completion of our initial public offering. In connection with the termination, we paid an $8.0 million termination fee to the management company in the third quarter of 2012. |
(2) | The expense in 2012 includes approximately $34.1 million of certain executive compensation costs and non-cash stock compensation charges recorded upon completion of our initial public offering and approximately $7.4 million of additional legal and other professional fees primarily from the amendment and restatement of a lease between OSI and PRP. |
(3) | In November 2011, we received a settlement payment from T-Bird, a limited liability company affiliated with our California franchisees of Outback Steakhouse restaurants, in connection with a settlement agreement that satisfied all outstanding litigation with T-Bird. This litigation began in early 2009 and therefore, we had recorded an allowance for the note receivable for the year ended December 31, 2008. |
(4) | During 2009, our Provision for impaired assets and restaurant closings primarily included: (i) $46.0 million of impairment charges to reduce the carrying value of the assets of Cheeseburger in Paradise to their estimated fair market value due to our sale of the concept in the third quarter of 2009, (ii) $47.6 million of impairment charges and restaurant closing expense for certain of our other restaurants and (iii) $36.0 million of impairment charges for the domestic Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill trade names. During 2008, our Provision for impaired assets and restaurant closings primarily included: (i) $49.0 million of impairment charges for the domestic and international Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill trade names, (ii) $3.5 million of impairment charges for the Blue Coral Seafood and Spirits trademark and (iii) $63.9 million of impairment charges and restaurant closing expense for certain of our restaurants. |
(5) | During the fourth quarter of 2012, OSI completed a refinancing of its outstanding senior secured credit facilities from 2007 (the “2007 Credit Facilities”) and entered into a credit agreement with a syndicate of institutional lenders and financial institutions. The New Facilities provide for senior secured financing of up to $1.225 billion, consisting of a $1.0 billion term loan B and a $225.0 million revolving credit facility, including letter of credit and swing-line loan sub-facilities. The term loan B was issued with an original issue discount of of $10.0 million. We recorded a $9.1 million loss related to the extinguishment and modification of the 2007 Credit Facilities during the fourth quarter of 2012. During the third quarter of 2012, OSI paid an aggregate of $259.8 million to retire its senior notes due 2015, which included $248.1 million in aggregate outstanding principal, $6.5 million of prepayment premium and early tender incentive fees and $5.2 million of accrued interest. The senior notes were satisfied and discharged on August 13, 2012. As a result of these transactions, we recorded a loss from the extinguishment of debt of $9.0 million in the third quarter of 2012. In March 2012, New Private Restaurant Properties, LLC and two of the Company’s other indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively, “New PRP”) entered into the 2012 CMBS Loan with German American Capital Corporation and Bank of America, N.A. The 2012 CMBS Loan totaled $500.0 million at origination and was comprised of a first mortgage loan in the amount of $324.8 million, collateralized by 261 of our properties, and two mezzanine loans totaling $175.2 million. The proceeds from the 2012 CMBS Loan were used to repay PRP’s existing commercial mortgage-backed securities loan (the “CMBS Loan”). As a result of refinancing the CMBS Loan, the net amount repaid along with scheduled maturities within one year, $281.3 million, was classified as current at December 31, 2011. During the first quarter of 2012, we recorded a $2.9 million loss on extinguishment of debt. In March 2009 and November 2008, we repurchased $240.1 million and $61.8 million, respectively, of OSI’s outstanding senior notes for $73.0 million and $11.7 million, respectively. These repurchases resulted in gains on extinguishment of debt, after the pro rata reduction of unamortized deferred financing fees and other related costs, of $158.1 million in 2009 and $48.4 million in 2008. |
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
(6) | Excludes restricted cash. |
(7) | We have, and in the future may continue to have, negative working capital balances (as is common for many restaurant companies). We operate successfully with negative working capital because cash collected on restaurant sales is typically received before payment is due on our current liabilities, and our inventory turnover rates require relatively low investment in inventories. Additionally, ongoing cash flows from restaurant operations and gift card sales are used to service debt obligations and for capital expenditures. |
(8) | On August 13, 2012, we completed an initial public offering in which (i) the Company issued and sold an aggregate of 14,196,845 shares of common stock (including 1,196,845 shares sold pursuant to an underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares) at a price to the public of $11.00 per share for aggregate gross offering proceeds of $156.2 million and (ii) certain of our stockholders sold 4,196,845 shares of our common stock (including 1,196,845 shares pursuant to the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares) at a price to the public of $11.00 per share for aggregate gross offering proceeds of $46.2 million. We received net proceeds in the offering of approximately $142.2 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions of approximately $9.4 million on our sale of shares and $4.6 million of offering related expenses payable by us. We did not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock by the selling stockholders. All of the net proceeds, together with cash on hand, were applied to the retirement of OSI’s outstanding senior notes. |
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes. Unless the context otherwise indicates, as used in this report, the term the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and other similar terms mean Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
Overview
We are one of the largest casual dining restaurant companies in the world with a portfolio of leading, differentiated restaurant concepts. As of December 31, 2012, we owned and operated 1,268 restaurants and had 203 restaurants operating under a franchise or joint venture arrangement across 48 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and 19 countries. We have five founder-inspired concepts: Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar and Roy’s. Our concepts seek to provide a compelling customer experience combining great food, highly attentive service and lively and contemporary ambience at attractive prices. Our restaurants attract customers across a variety of occasions, including everyday dining, celebrations and business entertainment. Each of our concepts maintains a unique, founder-inspired brand identity and entrepreneurial culture, while leveraging our scale and enhanced operating model. We consider Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar to be our core concepts.
The restaurant industry is a highly competitive and fragmented industry and is sensitive to changes in the economy, trends in lifestyles, seasonality (customer spending patterns at restaurants are generally highest in the first quarter of the year and lowest in the third quarter of the year) and fluctuating costs. Operating margins for restaurants can vary due to competitive pricing strategies, labor and fluctuations in prices of commodities, including beef, chicken, seafood, butter, cheese, produce and other necessities to operate a restaurant, such as natural gas or other energy supplies. Restaurant companies tend to be focused on increasing market share, comparable restaurant sales growth and new unit growth. Competitive pressure for market share, commodity inflation, foreign currency exchange rates and other market conditions have had and could continue to have an adverse impact on our business.
Our industry is characterized by high initial capital investment, coupled with high labor costs, and chain restaurants have been increasingly taking share from independent restaurants over the past several years. We believe that this trend will continue due to increasing barriers that may prevent independent restaurants and/or start-up chains from building scale operations, including menu labeling, burdensome labor regulations and healthcare reforms that will be enforced once chains grow past a certain number of restaurants or number of employees. The combination of these factors underscores our initiative to drive increased sales at existing restaurants in order to raise margins and profits, because the incremental contribution to profits from every additional dollar of sales above the minimum costs required to open, staff and operate a restaurant is relatively high. Historically, we have not focused on growth in the number of restaurants just to generate additional sales. Our expansion and operating strategies have balanced investment and operating cost considerations in order to generate reasonable, sustainable margins and achieve acceptable returns on investment from our restaurant concepts.
In 2010, we launched a new strategic plan and operating model, added experienced executives to our management team and adapted practices from the consumer products and retail industries to complement our restaurant acumen and enhance our brand management, analytics and innovation. This new model keeps the customer at the center of our decision-making and focuses on continuous innovation and productivity to drive sustainable sales and profit growth. As a result of these initiatives, we continue to be recommitted to new unit development after curtailing expansion from 2009 to 2011. We believe that a substantial development opportunity remains for our concepts in the U.S. and internationally.
51
BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
In 2011 and 2012, we continued to balance near-term growth in market share with investments to achieve sustainable growth. As a result of continued improvements in infrastructure and organizational effectiveness, we grew average restaurant volumes and comparable restaurant sales at each of our existing domestic Company-owned restaurants for our core brands in 2012. In addition, we improved our operating margins at the restaurant level by 6.1% in 2012 as compared to 2011. Operating margins at the restaurant level are calculated as restaurant sales after deduction of the main restaurant-level operating costs (comprised of Cost of sales, Labor and other related and Other restaurant operating expenses). Across our restaurant system, we opened 37 restaurants (22 were domestic and 15 international) and we increased system-wide sales by 3.8% in 2012.
We believe that the combination of macro-economic and other factors have put considerable pressure on sales in the casual dining industry thus far in 2013 and, as a result, we believe the first quarter of 2013 will reflect a slowdown in our comparable restaurant sales growth. For example, the ongoing impacts of the housing crisis, high unemployment, the so-called “sequester” and related governmental spending and budget matters, gasoline prices, reduced disposable consumer income and consumer confidence have had a negative effect on discretionary consumer spending. As these conditions persist, we will face increased pressure with respect to our pricing, traffic levels and commodity costs. We believe that in this environment, we will need to maintain our focus on value and innovation to continue to drive sales.
Key Performance Indicators
Key measures that we use in evaluating our restaurants and assessing our business include the following:
• | Average restaurant unit volumes—average sales per restaurant to measure changes in customer traffic, pricing and development of the brand; |
• | Comparable restaurant sales—year-over-year comparison of sales volumes for domestic, Company-owned restaurants that are open 18 months or more in order to remove the impact of new restaurant openings in comparing the operations of existing restaurants; |
• | System-wide sales—total restaurant sales volume for all Company-owned, franchise and unconsolidated joint venture restaurants, regardless of ownership, to interpret the overall health of our brands; |
• | Adjusted income from operations, Adjusted net income attributable to Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. and Adjusted diluted earnings per share—non-GAAP financial measures utilized to evaluate our operating performance, which definitions, usefulness and reconciliations are described in more detail in the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section below; and |
• | Customer satisfaction scores—measurement of our customers’ experiences in a variety of key attributes. |
2012 Business and Financial Highlights
Our 2012 business and financial results include:
• | An increase in consolidated revenues of 3.8% to $4.0 billion, driven primarily by 3.7% growth in combined comparable restaurant sales at existing domestic Company-owned core restaurants, in 2012 as compared to 2011; |
• | 37 system-wide restaurant openings across most brands (27 were Company-owned and ten franchise and unconsolidated joint venture locations), and 150 Outback Steakhouse renovations in 2012; |
• | Productivity and cost management initiatives that we estimate allowed us to save approximately $59 million in the aggregate in 2012, while our costs increased due to rising commodity prices; |
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
• | Income from operations of $181.1 million in 2012 compared to $213.5 million in 2011, which was primarily due to increased expenses of $42.1 million associated with our initial public offering partially offset by an increase of 6.1% in operating margins at the restaurant level; |
• | A reorganization of our entire capital structure by refinancing PRP’s CMBS Loan in the first quarter of 2012, completing our initial public offering and retiring OSI’s senior notes in the third quarter of 2012 and refinancing OSI’s 2007 Credit Facilities in the fourth quarter of 2012; and |
• | Acquiring the remaining interests in our Roy’s joint venture and the remaining limited partnership interests in certain of our limited partnerships that either owned or had a contractual right to varying percentages of cash flows in 44 Bonefish Grill restaurants and 17 Carrabba’s Italian Grill restaurants. |
Growth Strategies
In 2013, our key growth strategies include:
• | Grow Comparable Restaurant Sales. We plan to continue our efforts to remodel our Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill restaurants, use limited-time offers and multimedia marketing campaigns to drive traffic, additional selective expansion of the lunch daypart and introduce innovative menu items that match evolving consumer preferences. |
• | Pursue New Domestic and International Development With Strong Unit Level Economics. We believe that a substantial development opportunity remains for our concepts in the U.S. and internationally. Since 2010, we have added significant resources in site selection, construction and design to support the opening of new restaurants. Our top domestic development priority is Bonefish Grill unit growth. Internationally, we are focusing on existing markets in South Korea, Hong Kong and Brazil, with strategic expansion in selected emerging and high growth developed markets. We are focusing our new market growth in China, Mexico and South America. We expect to open between 45 and 55 system-wide locations in 2013. |
• | Drive Margin Improvement. We believe we have the opportunity to increase our margins through leveraging increases in average unit volumes and cost reductions in labor, food cost, supply chain and restaurant facilities. |
Ownership Structures
Our restaurants are predominantly Company-owned or controlled, including through joint ventures, and otherwise operated under franchise arrangements. We generate our revenues primarily from our Company-owned or controlled restaurants and secondarily through ongoing royalties from our franchised restaurants and sales of franchise rights.
Company-owned or controlled restaurants include restaurants owned directly by us, by limited partnerships in which we are the general partner and our managing partners and chef partners are limited partners and by joint ventures in which we are a member. Our legal ownership interests in these joint ventures and our legal ownership interests as general partner in these limited partnerships generally range from 50% to 90%. Our cash flows from these entities are limited to the relative portion of our ownership. The results of operations of Company-owned restaurants are included in our consolidated operating results. The portion of income or loss attributable to the other partners’ interests is eliminated in Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income.
In the future, we do not plan to utilize limited partnerships for domestic Company-owned restaurants. Instead, the restaurants will be wholly-owned by us and the area operating, managing and chef partners will receive their distributions of restaurant cash flow as employee compensation rather than partnership distributions.
53
BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
We pay royalties on approximately 95% of our Carrabba’s Italian Grill restaurants ranging from 1.0% to 1.5% of sales pursuant to agreements we entered into with the Carrabba’s Italian Grill founders.
Historically, Company-owned restaurants also included restaurants owned by our Roy’s joint venture and our consolidated financial statements included the accounts and operations of our Roy’s joint venture even though we had less than majority ownership. Effective October 1, 2012, we purchased the remaining interests in our Roy’s joint venture from our joint venture partner, RY-8, for $27.4 million, (see “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Transactions”).
Through a joint venture arrangement with PGS Participacoes Ltda., we hold a 50% ownership interest in the Brazilian Joint Venture. The Brazilian Joint Venture was formed in 1998 for the purpose of operating Outback Steakhouse restaurants in Brazil. We account for the Brazilian Joint Venture under the equity method of accounting. We are responsible for 50% of the costs of new restaurants operated by the Brazilian Joint Venture and our joint venture partner is responsible for the other 50% and has operating control. Income and loss derived from the Brazilian Joint Venture is presented in Income from operations of unconsolidated affiliates in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. Restaurants owned by the Brazilian Joint Venture are included in “Unconsolidated Joint Venture” restaurants.
We derive no direct income from operations of franchised restaurants other than initial and developmental franchise fees and ongoing royalties, which are included in Other revenues in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income.
54
BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The table below presents the number of our restaurants in operation at the end of the periods indicated:
DECEMBER 31, | ||||||
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | ||||
Number of restaurants (at end of the period): | ||||||
Outback Steakhouse | ||||||
Company-owned—domestic (1) | 665 | 670 | 671 | |||
Company-owned—international (1) | 115 | 110 | 119 | |||
Franchised—domestic | 106 | 106 | 108 | |||
Franchised and joint venture—international | 89 | 81 | 70 | |||
Total | 975 | 967 | 968 | |||
Carrabba’s Italian Grill | ||||||
Company-owned | 234 | 231 | 232 | |||
Franchised | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
Total | 235 | 232 | 233 | |||
Bonefish Grill | ||||||
Company-owned | 167 | 151 | 145 | |||
Franchised | 7 | 7 | 7 | |||
Total | 174 | 158 | 152 | |||
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar | ||||||
Company-owned | 65 | 64 | 64 | |||
Roy’s | ||||||
Company-owned | 22 | 22 | 22 | |||
System-wide total | 1,471 | 1,443 | 1,439 | |||
____________________
(1) | One Company-owned restaurant in Puerto Rico that was previously included in Outback Steakhouse (international) in prior filings is now included in Outback Steakhouse (domestic). Prior years have been revised to conform to the current year presentation. |
We operate restaurants under brands that have similar economic characteristics, nature of products and services, class of customer and distribution methods, and as a result, aggregate our operating segments into a single reporting segment.
55
BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated percentages that items in our Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income bear to total revenues or restaurant sales, as indicated:
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, | |||||||||
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | |||||||
Revenues | |||||||||
Restaurant sales | 99.0 | % | 99.0 | % | 99.1 | % | |||
Other revenues | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.9 | ||||||
Total revenues | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | ||||||
Costs and expenses | |||||||||
Cost of sales (1) | 32.5 | 32.2 | 32.0 | ||||||
Labor and other related (1) | 28.3 | 28.8 | 28.8 | ||||||
Other restaurant operating (1) | 23.3 | 23.4 | 24.0 | ||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.3 | ||||||
General and administrative (2) | 8.2 | 7.6 | 7.0 | ||||||
Recovery of note receivable from affiliated entity | — | (0.9 | ) | — | |||||
Provision for impaired assets and restaurant closings | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | ||||||
Income from operations of unconsolidated affiliates | (0.1 | ) | (0.2 | ) | (0.2 | ) | |||
Total costs and expenses | 95.5 | 94.4 | 95.3 | ||||||
Income from operations | 4.5 | 5.6 | 4.7 | ||||||
Loss on extinguishment and modification of debt | (0.5 | ) | — | — | |||||
Other (expense) income, net | (*) | * | 0.1 | ||||||
Interest expense, net | (2.2 | ) | (2.2 | ) | (2.5 | ) | |||
Income before provision for income taxes | 1.8 | 3.4 | 2.3 | ||||||
Provision for income taxes | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | ||||||
Net income | 1.5 | 2.8 | 1.7 | ||||||
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | ||||||
Net income attributable to Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. | 1.2 | % | 2.6 | % | 1.5 | % | |||
Net income | 1.5 | % | 2.8 | % | 1.7 | % | |||
Other comprehensive income: | |||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustment | 0.2 | (0.1 | ) | 0.1 | |||||
Comprehensive income | 1.7 | 2.7 | 1.8 | ||||||
Less: comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | ||||||
Comprehensive income attributable to Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. | 1.4 | % | 2.5 | % | 1.6 | % | |||
____________________
(1) | As a percentage of Restaurant sales. |
(2) | General and administrative costs exclusive of $42.1 million of initial public offering related expenses would have been 7.1% of Total revenues for the year ended December 31, 2012 (see “—General and administrative expenses” discussion). |
* | Less than 1/10th of one percent of Total revenues. |
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
REVENUES
Restaurant sales
YEARS ENDED | YEARS ENDED | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DECEMBER 31, | DECEMBER 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(dollars in millions): | 2012 | 2011 | $ Change | % Change | 2011 | 2010 | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||||||||||
Restaurant sales | $ | 3,946.1 | $ | 3,803.3 | $ | 142.8 | 3.8 | % | 3,803.3 | 3,594.7 | $ | 208.6 | 5.8 | % | ||||||||||||||
The increase in restaurant sales in 2012 as compared to 2011 was primarily attributable to (i) a $123.2 million increase in comparable restaurant sales at our existing restaurants (including a 3.7% combined comparable restaurant sales increase in 2012 at our core domestic restaurants), which was primarily due to increases in customer traffic and general menu prices and (ii) a $50.6 million increase in sales from 36 restaurants not included in our comparable restaurant sales base. The increase in customer traffic was primarily a result of promotions throughout our concepts, innovations in our menu, service and operations, mild winter weather conditions, the additional day in February due to Leap Year, weekend lunch expansions in our Outback Steakhouse concept and renovations at additional Outback Steakhouse locations. The increase in restaurant sales in 2012 as compared to 2011 was partially offset by a $6.8 million decrease from the closing of seven restaurants during 2012 and a $24.2 million decrease from the sale (and franchise conversion) of nine of our Company-owned Outback Steakhouse restaurants in Japan in October 2011.
The increase in restaurant sales in 2011 as compared to 2010 was primarily attributable to (i) a $195.7 million increase in comparable restaurant sales at our existing restaurants (including a 4.9% combined comparable restaurant sales increase in 2011 at our core domestic restaurants) which was primarily due to increases in customer traffic and general menu prices and (ii) a $15.9 million increase in sales from 17 restaurants not included in our comparable restaurant sales base. The increase in customer traffic was primarily a result of promotions throughout our concepts, innovations in our menu, service and operations and renovations at Outback Steakhouse. The increase in restaurant sales in 2011 as compared to 2010 was partially offset by a $2.0 million decrease from the closing of three restaurants during 2011 and a $1.0 million decrease from the sale (and franchise conversion) of nine of our Company-owned Outback Steakhouse restaurants in Japan in October 2011.
57
BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following table includes additional information about changes in restaurant sales at domestic Company-owned restaurants for our core brands:
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, | ||||||||||||
2012 | 2011 | 2010 | ||||||||||
Average restaurant unit volumes (in thousands): | ||||||||||||
Outback Steakhouse (1) | $ | 3,165 | $ | 3,030 | $ | 2,907 | ||||||
Carrabba’s Italian Grill | $ | 2,999 | $ | 2,946 | $ | 2,816 | ||||||
Bonefish Grill | $ | 3,162 | $ | 3,023 | $ | 2,781 | ||||||
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar | $ | 3,929 | $ | 3,730 | $ | 3,476 | ||||||
Operating weeks: | ||||||||||||
Outback Steakhouse (1) | 34,959 | 34,966 | 35,252 | |||||||||
Carrabba’s Italian Grill | 12,078 | 12,077 | 12,097 | |||||||||
Bonefish Grill | 8,163 | 7,600 | 7,553 | |||||||||
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar | 3,350 | 3,337 | 3,337 | |||||||||
Year over year percentage change: | ||||||||||||
Menu price increases (decreases): (2) | ||||||||||||
Outback Steakhouse | 2.2 | % | 1.5 | % | (0.1 | )% | ||||||
Carrabba’s Italian Grill | 2.3 | % | 1.5 | % | 0.4 | % | ||||||
Bonefish Grill | 2.2 | % | 1.9 | % | 0.2 | % | ||||||
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar | 2.0 | % | 3.0 | % | 0.5 | % | ||||||
Comparable restaurant sales (restaurants open 18 months or more): | ||||||||||||
Outback Steakhouse (1) | 4.4 | % | 4.0 | % | 1.5 | % | ||||||
Carrabba’s Italian Grill | 1.7 | % | 4.6 | % | 2.9 | % | ||||||
Bonefish Grill | 3.2 | % | 8.3 | % | 6.5 | % | ||||||
Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar | 5.1 | % | 7.4 | % | 10.4 | % | ||||||
Combined (concepts above) | 3.7 | % | 4.9 | % | 2.7 | % | ||||||
____________________
(1) | One Company-owned restaurant in Puerto Rico that was previously included in Outback Steakhouse (international) in prior filings is now included in Outback Steakhouse (domestic). This change affects the calculation of average restaurant unit volumes, operating weeks and comparable restaurant sales. Prior years have been revised to conform to the current year presentation. |
(2) | The stated menu price changes exclude the impact of product mix shifts to new menu offerings. |
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BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
COSTS AND EXPENSES
Cost of sales
YEARS ENDED | YEARS ENDED | |||||||||||||||||||||
DECEMBER 31, | DECEMBER 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||
(dollars in millions): | 2012 | 2011 | Change | 2011 | 2010 | Change | ||||||||||||||||
Cost of sales | $ | 1,281.0 | $ | 1,226.1 | $ | 1,226.1 | $ | 1,152.0 | ||||||||||||||
% of Restaurant sales | 32.5 | % | 32.2 | % | 0.3 | % | 32.2 | % | 32.0 | % | 0.2 | % | ||||||||||
Cost of sales, consisting of food and beverage costs, increased as a percentage of restaurant sales in 2012 as compared to 2011. The increase as a percentage of restaurant sales was primarily 1.1% from increases in beef, seafood and other commodity costs and 0.5% from changes in our liquor, beer and wine mix and product mix. The increase was partially offset by decreases as a percentage of restaurant sales of 0.8% from the impact of certain cost savings initiatives and 0.6% from menu price increases.
The increase as a percentage of restaurant sales in 2011 as compared to 2010 was primarily 1.4% from increases in seafood, dairy, beef and other commodity costs. The increase was partially offset by decreases as a percentage of restaurant sales of 0.9% from the impact of certain cost savings initiatives and 0.4% from menu price increases.
Labor and other related expenses
YEARS ENDED | YEARS ENDED | |||||||||||||||||||||
DECEMBER 31, | DECEMBER 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||
(dollars in millions): | 2012 | 2011 | Change | 2011 | 2010 | Change | ||||||||||||||||
Labor and other related | $ | 1,117.6 | $ | 1,094.1 | $ | 1,094.1 | $ | 1,034.4 | ||||||||||||||
% of Restaurant sales | 28.3 | % | 28.8 | % | (0.5 | )% | 28.8 | % | 28.8 | % | — | % | ||||||||||
Labor and other related expenses include all direct and indirect labor costs incurred in operations, including distribution expense to managing partners, costs related to the PEP and the POA (see “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Deferred Compensation Plans”), and other incentive compensation expenses. Labor and other related expenses decreased as a percentage of restaurant sales in 2012 as compared to 2011. Items that contributed to a decrease as a percentage of restaurant sales primarily included 0.7% from higher average unit volumes at our restaurants and 0.4% from the impact of certain cost savings initiatives. These decreases were partially offset by increases as a percentage of restaurant sales of the following: (i) 0.5% from higher kitchen and service labor costs, (ii) 0.1% from higher field management labor and bonus expenses and (iii) 0.1% from an increase in health insurance costs.
Labor and other related expenses were flat as a percentage of restaurant sales in 2011 as compared with 2010. Items that contributed to an increase as a percentage of restaurant sales included the following: (i) 0.4% from higher kitchen and service labor costs, (ii) 0.3% from higher field management labor, bonus and distribution expenses, (iii) 0.2% from a settlement of an Internal Revenue Service assessment of employment taxes and (iv) 0.1% from an increase in health insurance costs. These increases were offset by decreases as a percentage of restaurant sales of 0.7% from higher average unit volumes at our restaurants and 0.3% from the impact of certain cost savings initiatives.
59
BLOOMIN’ BRANDS, INC.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Other restaurant operating expenses
YEARS ENDED | YEARS ENDED | |||||||||||||||||||||
DECEMBER 31, | DECEMBER 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||
(dollars in millions): | 2012 | 2011 | Change | 2011 | 2010 | Change | ||||||||||||||||
Other restaurant operating | $ | 918.5 | $ | 890.0 | $ | 890.0 | $ | 864.2 | ||||||||||||||
% of Restaurant sales | 23.3 | % | 23.4 | % | (0.1 | )% | 23.4 | % | 24.0 | % | (0.6 | )% | ||||||||||
Other restaurant operating expenses include certain unit-level operating costs such as operating supplies, rent, repairs and maintenance, advertising expenses, utilities, pre-opening costs and other occupancy costs. A substantial portion of these expenses is fixed or indirectly variable. The decrease as a percentage of restaurant sales in 2012 as compared to 2011 was primarily 0.5% from higher average unit volumes at our restaurants and 0.3% from certain cost savings initiatives. The decrease was partially offset by increases as a percentage of restaurant sales primarily attributable to 0.3% of higher general liability insurance expense and 0.3% of higher restaurant occupancy costs as a result of the sale-leaseback transaction entered into in March 2012 (the “Sale-Leaseback Transaction”) (see “—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Transactions”).
The decrease as a percentage of restaurant sales in 2011 as compared with 2010 was primarily 0.7% from higher average unit volumes at our restaurants and 0.4% from certain cost savings initiatives. The decrease was p