With the end of the
year right around the corner, many companies are taking the time to reflect
back on this year’s accomplishments. American Restaurant Concepts, owner and
franchisor of Dick’s Wings & Grills restaurants, is one such company.
American
Restaurant’s CEO, Richard Akam, issued a letter to shareholders detailing the
company’s year in review. The text of the letter is as follows:
To our stockholders,
I would like to take
this opportunity to express my appreciation to you for all of the support you
have provided to the company and its management team this past year, and for
the patience you have displayed as long-term investors. We are grateful for the
continued confidence of everyone who owns a share in our company.
This past year
marked a pivotal and exciting time for American Restaurant Concepts. During
this period, we began the process of transforming the company from a
Jacksonville, Florida-based franchisor of Dicks Wings® restaurants into a
national franchisor of a diversified mix of premium restaurant brands.
Let me briefly recap
the several noteworthy achievements and organizational changes that were made
to enhance the long-term profitability of American Restaurant Concepts this
past year:
• We substantially increased
our royalty revenue, average royalty per active restaurant and franchisee
profitability.
• We paid off
virtually all of our outstanding debt.
• I was honored to
be appointed CEO, joining Daniel Slone as our new CFO and Ketan Pandya as a
member of the board of directors.
• We appointed key
personnel into the positions of Director of Operations, Director of Training
and Quality Assurance, and Director of Business Development.
• We introduced a
new Dick’s Wings & Grill logo and a new “Family Fun Foodery” tag line to
our brand.
• We entered into a
sponsorship agreement with the Jacksonville Jaguars that provided us with the
right to operate a Dick’s Wings & Grill concession stand at EverBank Field.
• We completed a
1-for-7 reverse stock split of our common stock to make our stock more
attractive to institutional investors and strategic partners.
• We obtained a $1
million revolving line of credit facility from Blue Victory Holdings, a
Louisiana-based private equity firm.
• We opened a new
Dick’s Wings restaurant in the Nocatee development in Ponte Vedra, FL.
• We engaged Upside
Group Franchise Consulting to help us design and implement a comprehensive
branding platform to accelerate our franchise sales efforts.
We are already
blessed with several attributes that most companies spend a lifetime trying to
attain: a strong brand, best-in-class products, compelling long-term
opportunities, focused strategies, and an incredibly capable and energized
team. We have a 100% franchised, asset-light business model with high margins
and low capital expenditure requirements that will result in strong future cash
flow generation. We also have an intense focus on driving franchise
profitability, which will drive strong returns for both our franchisees and
stockholders.
Our entire
management team has worked tirelessly to further develop our Dick’s Wings
franchise, establish new relationships and identify new industry opportunities.
Of course, our efforts would be fruitless without the dedication of our
franchise partners who bring passion to their jobs and who delight in sharing
our signature chicken wings with customers. I appreciate their continued
efforts and could not be more grateful for what they have achieved this past
year.
We believe our
future is brighter than it has ever been. We are performing exceptionally well
and believe we are making the right investments in the people, assets and
companies to allow us to grow quickly and efficiently during 2014. When I
reflect upon how far we’ve come during the past year, I could not be more
motivated and optimistic about what we will achieve in the next year.
I know that great
things lie ahead for American Restaurant Concepts. I am very proud to lead this
company and will aspire to do what’s right for our company and our
stockholders.
On behalf of our
entire team, we thank you for believing in us, our company, our brand, our
products and our future, and for your continued support of, and confidence in,
American Restaurant Concepts.
As 2014 quickly
approaches, American Restaurant Concepts is sure to continue the path of
success it has forged and built upon throughout the past year. Its
award-winning Dick’s Wings & Grill restaurant concept continues providing
customers with tasty, fresh cuisine under American Restaurant Concept’s
professional guidance. For more information on the company and its
award-winning concepts, please visit www.dickswingsandgrill.com.
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