Keep pulling the thread on Damola Ademalakin.
Damola Ademalakin believes that if the Red Lobster turnaround is successful, it will be the greatest comeback story in the history of the restaurant industry.
The investment thesis for acquiring P.F. Chang's was centered on an arbitrage opportunity to quickly build out its undeveloped food delivery business.
When the current ownership group took over Red Lobster, the company was in bankruptcy and had experienced a significant tumble in sales.
Damola Ademalakin became CEO of P.F. Chang's at age 30 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The investment firm Paulson & Co. acquired P.F. Chang's in early 2019.
During the initial COVID-19 shutdowns, the newly established delivery business was the only operational part of P.F. Chang's.
Red Lobster's turnaround strategy includes addressing major challenges such as lease issues from a prior sale-leaseback arrangement and underperforming store locations.
Red Lobster implemented a new service program called "Red Carpet Hospitality," an acronym for Recognize, Engage, and Delight, to quickly improve the guest experience.
As part of its menu innovation, Red Lobster launched new seafood boils in June, which proved to be a successful product rollout.
Damola Ademalakin is focused on shifting Red Lobster's corporate culture from a bureaucratic one inherited from Darden to a scrappier, faster-moving organization.
The launch of seafood boils at Red Lobster successfully attracted a new customer segment that was not part of the brand's traditional customer base.
Red Lobster responded to customer feedback on its new seafood boils by developing and launching spicy and extra-spicy options within two weeks.