Cosi Inc fka COSIQ

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Cosi CEO Carin Stutz talks brand turnaround



As the newly appointed CEO of Cosi Inc., Carin Stutz will have to leverage her background working for brands such as Chili's and Applebee's to bring about much needed change for the struggling bakery café.

With several challenges ahead of her, one large one was overcome Feb. 21, when, during an interview, Stutz received confirmation the chain would not face a Nasdaq delisting.

Cosi, which has 80 locations, was threatened with a Nasdaq delisting last year and in its 9-year history as a public company, has never turned a profit. Further, it endured a 95-percent reduction in stock price over a five-year period – shares were listed at $11.21 per share in March of 2006, and were listed as low as $0.56 in September 2011.

Now the challenges will be about streamlining its operational structure, including the number of items on the menu.

"We have more menu items and sku's than Chili's and that's not typical of a fast casual. We have to simplify and set up our operators to win and we have to have executive leadership," Stutz said. "I have no tolerance for dirty restaurants or rude behavior so things like that I have to focus on very quickly."

As of August, Cosi had 58 franchise-operated locations and a strong cheerleader in Brad Blum, who owns nearly 7 percent of Cosi's stock and is founder/CEO of BLUM Growth Fund.

In late September, Blum called for a new board of directors and even offered to run the company for a $1 salary. While the board declined his offer, he agreed to join Cosi as a consultant in early February and will work on menu innovation, marketing and merchandising strategies.


http://www.fastcasual.com/article/191297/Cosi-CEO-Carin-Stutz-talks-brand-turnaround