And what is wrong with clean stores and taking out the trash? You want to eat in a pig-sty? IMO,the worst hamburgers are made by Mcdonald’s - which is why I rarely eat there, even though the stores are generally very clean. And, I have been in some dirty ones as well in north Florida. MacD finally got rid of that franchisee from Jacksonville and the stores got cleaned up. Sounds like Stutz is doing the same thing. McD has always had a reputation for clean stores. Even if you don’t like their food, the restrooms are always if you are on a long trip on the Interstate.
Let's see… 2011 Q4 (ending Dec 31) was $2.274 million loss under previous CEO. Stutz takes over Jan 1, 2012. Cuts next quarter loss in half ($1.128 million). Completes second quarter on the job and turns in first profitable quarter in history. Modest, but profitable. I don't see anything wrong here so far.
She is doing the quick fixes that must be done first and quickly. Clean-up the stores, image and reputation; cut back the menu; and, close underperforming stores all while planning intermediate-term strategy. These are very effective at stopping the unnecessary bleeding of money.
Turnarounds don't happen overnight. She still has to close more non-profitable stores. Some leases end in the next 12 months. You don't just close stores and walk away from lease obligations like all those home mortgages in California, Nevada and Florida.
Give her at least 2 more quarters to see if she can put in consistent performance and improve the bottom line. This is the best chance COSI has had going for it since its IPO.
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