Così, Inc. Reports 2015 Period 11 Comparable Restaurant Sales
December 09 2015 - 6:30AM
Così, Inc. (NASDAQ:COSI), the fast casual restaurant company, today
reported that estimated system-wide comparable restaurant sales for
the 2015 Period 11, as measured for restaurants in operation for
more than 15 months, recorded an aggregate increase of 0.7% as
compared to the 2014 Period 11. The breakdown in estimated
comparable restaurant sales between Company-owned and Franchised
restaurants is as follows:
|
|
For the 4-Weeks Ended November 30, 2015 |
|
Company-Owned |
|
|
0.1 |
% |
|
Franchise |
|
|
1.9 |
% |
|
Total System-Wide |
|
|
0.7 |
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Comparable locations are defined as restaurants
in operation for more than 15 consecutive months as either
Company-owned or Franchise-owned locations. The 13
Hearthstone restaurants were acquired by the Company on April 1,
2015, and are not included in the reported Company-owned estimated
comparable restaurant sales. For the 2015 Period 11, the
Hearthstone locations recorded an aggregate increase in comparable
restaurant sales of 3.6% compared to the 2014 Period 11.
“We recorded sales growth in most of our
corporate and franchised markets, strengthening our momentum going
into 2016. I remain confident that our focus on execution and
guest service, along with our marketing strategy, will continue to
drive traffic and contribute to the cash flow improvements we are
already seeing.” stated RJ Dourney, Così’s President and CEO.
On the first three Fridays in November, Così
issued a challenge to New Yorkers - together let’s
#feedthecity. Così participated in this challenge by offering
free sandwiches and encouraging guests to make donations to the
Food Bank for New York City.
“The #feedthecity campaign reintroduced
consumers to Così while giving back to our community. The
campaign generated trial by new guests which had a residual impact
on new transaction growth post-promotion,” said Dourney. “New
Yorkers responded to our challenge by visiting our restaurants and
sharing their generosity. We gave away thousands of
sandwiches over the three weeks and received donations to cover
20,000 meals for those in need. We appreciate the efforts of
all those involved for making this event a success.”
About Così, Inc.Così (http://www.getcosi.com)
is an international fast casual restaurant company. At the
heart of every Così® restaurant is an open-flame stone-hearth oven
where the Così® signature flatbread is made from scratch throughout
the day. The flatbread is made from a generations-old recipe
and is part of many Così® favorites. Così® was founded on the idea
that good-for-you food should be delicious. Menu items are
made using fresh ingredients and distinctive sauces and spreads to
create edgy flavors. The menu features made-to-order
sandwiches, hand-tossed salads, bowls, breakfast wraps, melts, all
natural soups, signature Squagels®, artisan flatbread pizzas,
S`mores, snacks and desserts. Guests can also enjoy
handcrafted beverages and a variety of coffee-based and specialty
beverages.
Così® employees create a welcoming environment
where guests are invited to relax and enjoy great food. In
many cases, Così® is the cornerstone of the communities that they
are in and take pride in supporting community organizations and
local charities. There are currently 79 Company-owned and 31
franchise restaurants operating in fifteen states, the District of
Columbia, Costa Rica and the United Arab Emirates.
"Così," "(Sun & Moon Design)" and related marks are
registered trademarks of Così, Inc. in the U.S.A. and certain other
countries. Copyright © 2015 Così, Inc. All rights reserved.
"SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION
REFORM ACT OF 1995. This press release contains statements that
constitute forward- looking statements under the federal securities
laws. Forward-looking statements are statements about future events
and expectations and not statements of historical fact. The words
"believe," "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"expect," "intend," "objective," "seek," "plan," "strive," or
similar words, or negatives of these words, identify forward-
looking statements. We qualify any forward-looking statements
entirely by these cautionary factors. Forward-looking statements
are based on management's beliefs, assumptions and expectations of
our future economic performance, taking into account the
information currently available to management. Forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause our
actual results, performance or financial condition to differ
materially from the expectations of future results, performance or
financial condition we express or imply in any forward-looking
statements. Factors that could contribute to these differences
include, but are not limited to: the results being reported in this
release are unaudited and subject to change; the cost of our
principal food products and supply and delivery shortages and
interruptions; labor shortages or increased labor costs; changes in
demographic trends and consumer tastes and preferences, including
changes resulting from concerns over nutritional or safety aspects
of beef, poultry, produce, or other foods or the effects of
food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli, "mad cow disease" and avian
influenza or "bird flu"; competition in our markets, both in our
business and in locating suitable restaurant sites; our operation
and execution in new and existing markets; expansion into new
markets including foreign markets; our ability to attract and
retain qualified franchisees and our franchisees' ability to open
restaurants on a timely basis; our ability to locate suitable
restaurant sites in new and existing markets and negotiate
acceptable lease terms; the rate of our internal growth and our
ability to generate increased revenue from our existing
restaurants; our ability to generate positive cash flow from
existing and new restaurants; fluctuations in our quarterly results
due to seasonality; increased government regulation and our ability
to secure required government approvals and permits; our ability to
create customer awareness of our restaurants in new markets; the
reliability of our customer and market studies; cost effective and
timely planning, design and build out of restaurants; our ability
to recruit, train and retain qualified corporate and restaurant
personnel and management; market saturation due to new restaurant
openings; inadequate protection of our intellectual property; our
ability to obtain additional capital and financing; adverse weather
conditions which impact customer traffic at our restaurants; and
adverse economic conditions. Further information regarding factors
that could affect our results and the statements made herein are
included in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Additional information is available on Così's
website athttp://www.getcosi.com in the investor relations
section.
Miguel Rossy-DonovanChief Financial Officer(857) 415-5020
CONTACT:
InvestorRelations@getcosi.com