Why was Red Lobster drowning in red ink?
(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Why was Red Lobster drowning in red ink?

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For decades, Red Lobster saw smooth sailing: Started in 1968, the seafood chain helped kick off a casual dining revolution in the US, bringing shrimp, crab legs and cheddar bay biscuits to the masses. Eventually, Red Lobster opened hundreds of locations. Even today, 20% of all lobster tails purchased in North America are bought by Red Lobster.

But storm clouds started forming in recent years and wave after wave of issues started rocking Red Lobster's bottom line, eventually sinking the company into bankruptcy this week.

So what caused Red Lobster to tank? Analysts point to years of problems, including high rent, the Covid-19 pandemic, price inflation, increased competition, mismanagement and even bottomless shrimp.

???? For a deeper dive into the seafood giant's bankruptcy report, check out this analysis piece from CNN's Allison Morrow .

??? Wondering if you can still chart a voyage to a Red Lobster near you? Use this handy map CNN whipped up to find which locations are still open .

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Insightful! We have a related article about the situation between Red Lobster and Thai Union Group. Check it out! https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7231863300760727553

回复
Sean Avery

Forklift operator

5 个月

Part 2. Then came COVID. It was a total game changer for the restaurant industry as a whole. Employee’s that hat had been with the company for decades or more left the industry in droves. They discovered it simply was no longer worth the trouble. They way consumers acted during the Covid pandemic and in the aftermath took its toll. You couldn’t pay anyone enough to return or stay in any positions within the company. In turn the company continued to fleece its employees and made their jobs nearly impossible to do. When I finally had enough after nearly 20 years in the company, I was practically doing the job of 4 people and barely getting paid for one job. And from my understanding it hasn’t gotten any better in the year since I left. The endless shrimp debacle was the mortal kombat finishing move to the whole thing. I saw it coming. You can’t take what endless shrimp was originally and do what they attempted to do. From a 10 week special that would bring in huge amounts of customers, because it was something special you only get once a year, to a all year round feature. It was one of the biggest dumpster fire ideas ever. This still has me scratching my head to this very moment. This is a more watered down version.

回复
Sean Avery

Forklift operator

5 个月

This is a multi part answer. There was a lot they did wrong and it didn’t happen overnight. It was a long drawn out process that tanked one of the most well known brands in the US. First it began with how they changed the way they treat their employees and management. One of the first things that paved this path was the change in how they trained employees and managers. They wanted to save a buck or two and completely gutted all of the training programs. Then the over zealous behavior of opening new restaurants all over the place in a very short period of time. This is what led to Darden dumping the brand eventually. It wasn’t as profitable as the other concepts Darden was associated with. Then came the menu changes and the lower product quality. The wanted to save labor and started taking short cuts with how they prepared the items they sold. This led to a lot of losses in the employment field,as the employees where expected to take on the work load of multiple jobs. It trickled down from management all the way down the chain. Then came the pay restructuring. They cut the pay for front of the house employees to barely livable wages. You couldn’t keep a staff long enough to run the business.

回复
M Frank Shonberger

CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION at CORAL GABLES & MIAMI POLICE (RETIRED)

6 个月

All you can eat

回复
Steve Serrano

--Working stiff.....Currently retired.

6 个月

Bidenomics is def NOT to blame!

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