As another CEO takes over the Applebees name and its many restaurants he is also taking over the laundry list of issues associated with the franchise. Richard Dahl of the parent company Dine Equity has hopes of reviving the troubled dining chain. The company has faced hard times over the last several years giving Dahl plenty of problems to fix. He has identified what he believes those issues are and it may be the future of the Applebees company that rests upon his ability and that of the incoming president to resolve those problems.
What difficulty is the company facing?
To begin the chain is expected to close up to sixty stores in the coming year. That is after closing forty-six stores the year prior. Chain restaurants across the country have struggled since the great recession and some have even disappeared. Millennials have a role to play as they make more and more demands on the quality of the processes surrounding their dining experience. Even though Applebees tries to offer as many deals as they can afford it may not be the price of their meals which is hurting their business.
How much more can they afford to spend?
As the company is reeling from the seventy million dollar makeover that they went through when switching from a gas grills to wood fire grills in all of their restaurants that move is being reconsidered.
After the change the reaction from their customers wasn't nearly as receptive as the former CEO had hoped.
Now Dahl and his team will look at the actual value of the food that is being cooked across America. They will also be looking at the marketing strategy which has been tried. The focus will be on marketing for the remainder of the year. As the rules of the restaurant industry change it will be up to Richard Dahl and whoever he hires as president of the company to revive the success that Applebees once enjoyed. It will take even more to get back the crown that the franchise once wore as the king of restaurants in the field casual dining restaurants.