Così, Inc. Signs New Master Development Agreement for Panamá
March 09 2016 - 7:46PM
Così, Inc. (NASDAQ:COSI), the fast casual restaurant company, today
announced that it has entered into a new Master Development and
Franchise Agreement with Fast Casual Panamá S. de RL to develop
five (5) franchised Così® restaurants in the Republic of Panamá.
The first restaurant under this agreement is expected to open in
the 2016 fourth quarter. The principals of Fast Casual Panamá S. de
RL also own Fast Casual Ltda. which owns and operates six (6)
franchised Così® restaurants in Costa Rica.
"We are proud to have Fast Casual Ltda., our
franchise partner in Costa Rica, now developing into the Republic
of Panamá,” said RJ Dourney, Cosi’s President and CEO. “They
have been outstanding business partners since 2012, and together we
see this as further establishing the foundation for Cosi to
penetrate Central America and beyond in the years to come.
Additionally, this is an important milestone in the execution of
this year’s operating strategy,” Dourney went on to say.
“We are very pleased with the success of Cosi®
in Costa Rica and excited to bring Cosi® to Republic of Panamá,”
said Luis Diego Escalante, a principal of both Fast Casual Panamá
S. de RL and Fast Casual Ltda. “This is the second phase of
our expansion plans. My partners and I look forward to
exploring further growth opportunities for the Cosi® brand across
multiple markets,” Escalante stated.
Dourney then addressed Cosi’s operating strategy
for 2016, stating, “We made requisite adjustments to our operating
strategy in the latter half of 2015 and made the right choices,
which allowed us to enter 2016 with the strong momentum we are
seeing. Our operating strategy is fully focused on the four
cornerstones that will lead us through the foundational change
needed to steadily set the stage for growth. First, we will
continue to drive traffic into our restaurants via both brand
initiatives and operating focus. Second, we will continue to manage
our cash burn and shift to cash generation. Third, we will continue
seeding the growth of our franchise system, and finally, we will
continue strengthening our talent base and culture,” said
Dourney.
About Così, Inc.Così (http://www.getcosi.com)
is an international fast casual restaurant company. At the
heart of every Cosi® 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 76 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 © 2016 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