Così, Inc. Reports 2015 Quarter 4 Comparable Restaurant Sales and Provides Business Update
January 06 2016 - 6:30AM
Così, Inc. (NASDAQ:COSI), the fast casual restaurant company, today
reported that estimated system-wide comparable restaurant sales for
the 2015 Period 12 and 2015 Quarter 4, as measured for restaurants
in operation for more than 15 months, recorded an aggregate
increase of 2.1% and 0.7% respectively, as compared to the same
periods in 2014.
The breakdown in estimated comparable restaurant
sales between Company-owned and Franchise restaurants for the 2015
Period 12 and 2015 Quarter 4 are as follows:
|
4 Weeks Ended |
|
13 Weeks Ended |
|
Dec 28, 2015 |
|
Dec 28, 2015 |
Company-Owned*
|
|
1.7 |
% |
|
|
0.4 |
% |
Franchise |
|
3.1 |
% |
|
|
1.4 |
% |
System-Wide |
|
2.1 |
% |
|
|
0.7 |
% |
* Comparable locations are defined as
restaurants in operation for more than 15 consecutive months as
either Company-owned or Franchise 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 12 and 2015
Quarter 4, the Hearthstone locations recorded an aggregate increase
in comparable restaurant sales of 6.9% and 3.8% respectively, as
compared to the same periods in 2014.
“Our focus on execution, guest service, and
marketing drove the comparable sales growth we expected in our
corporate and franchised markets in the period and quarter. In
fact, 30% of our restaurants experienced double-digit growth in the
period,” stated RJ Dourney, Cosi’s President and CEO. “I am excited
about the momentum we have going into 2016, and the team remains
focused on our disciplined approach to realize a successful
turnaround,” Dourney went on to say.
Business Update
The Company also reported the following business
updates through the 2015 Quarter 4:
Overhead functions have been restructured in
alignment with the Company’s entrepreneurial and innovative
culture, leading to the elimination of 11 roles, non-personnel
savings, and an overall expected annual reduction in General &
Administrative uses of cash of $2.5 million entering fiscal
2016.
The closure of one location in New York City at
1633 Broadway occurred on January 2, 2016. The Company also
confirmed its plan to close 3 additional locations in other markets
as part of its ongoing strategy to address the bottom 25% locations
in restaurant level cash flows. In addition, the Company is
actively pursuing an exit strategy for 6 other locations and is
evaluating other options for the remaining restaurants in the
bottom 25%.
“We expected to be at the low-point of our cash
position going into last year’s fourth quarter through the end of
first quarter this year, and proactively implemented a disciplined
cash preservation plan,” said Dourney. “As a result, we are making
progress reducing our historical cash burn and positioning
ourselves to continue with the next phase of the turnaround.
More importantly I am very pleased by the sustained progress in the
profitability of our restaurants, the reduced G&A costs, and
the execution of our bottom 25% strategy,” Dourney went on to
say.
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 78 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.
CONTACT:
Miguel Rossy-Donovan
Chief Financial Officer
(857) 415-5020
InvestorRelations@getcosi.com