![]() The Darden president and chief operating officer, said that Olive Garden at that point was "a beloved, but somewhat expected brand." The company introduced a three-course meal for $12.95 to try to stop the decline. ![]() At the final quarter of 2011, sales at established Olive Garden locations had decreased by 2.5%. By 2012, sales had decreased at Olive Garden. Its closest competitor, Carrabba's Italian Grill, had generated $650.5 million in sales during the same year. In 2010, Olive Garden generated $3.3 billion in sales. In 2014, Darden Restaurants announced intentions to sell Red Lobster, to close two Olive Garden and Red Lobster co-locations in Georgia and South Carolina, and to convert the remaining four co-locations into standalone Olive Garden restaurants. Menus remained separate, with customers only able to order from the location they are seated in. The new restaurants were designed for smaller markets and had separate entrances and dining areas, but unified kitchen and support areas. In 2011, Darden announced that it was going to begin co-locating Olive Garden and sibling chain Red Lobster locations. Īn Olive Garden restaurant in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company also announced it would begin licensing franchising partnerships, a new direction for the chain and its parent which had traditionally relied on expansion via company-owned locations exclusively. The announcement came after a previous announcement that the company would be expanding into potential new international markets for the chain, including the Middle East and Asia, due to the maturity of the North American market. Sandra Pedicini of the Orlando Sentinelsaid that "Darden reinvented the Olive Garden in the 1990s, from a floundering chain into an industry star." Īs part of a February 2011, Darden analyst conference, the parent group announced it intended to add more than 200 Olive Garden locations in the following few years. īrad Blum, a former president of Olive Garden, said that sales in existing restaurants sharply decreased, with a 12% decline occurring at one point, even though the company was quickly establishing new restaurants. ![]() In 2009, Olive Garden was Darden's most inexpensive restaurant chain with an average check per person of $15.00 ( USD) versus over $90 at its sibling Capital Grille. General Mills spun off its restaurant holdings as Darden Restaurants (named for Red Lobster founder Bill Darden), a stand-alone company, in 1995. ![]() A plate of chicken scampi from Olive Garden ![]()
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