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Bonefish Grill, one of several chains in Tampa-based Bloomin' Brands restaurant portfolio, could be climbing back after a rough start to the year.
Bonefish, what Bloomin' Brands CEO Liz Smith calls polished casual, posted declines in same-store sales the last three quarters of 2015. In the last quarter the drop was 5.4%. The sales led to closures, when the company announced in February that 14 of 215 locations would be shuttered. Also, at least 100 recipes were purged from the system, to simplify the menu and preparation.
Smith, in a February earnings conference call, says the high customer satisfaction surveys on Bonefish doesn't match the sales declines. So she's sticking with the chain. “I think it's important in these businesses to look beyond quarter-to-quarter, particularly as we'll continue to be transparent about what we did and didn't do,” says Smith, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. “But it's going to be a strengthening and a momentum story for Bonefish as we move through the year.”
A big aspect of that story, a TV commercial, made its debut in mid-April. The 30-second spots follows Bonefish servers, called anglers within the chain, while they work with customers. The spots were created by a Los Angeles ad agency, and aired in markets nationwide, including Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa, Cincinnati, Denver and Philadelphia. It was shot at a Bonefish in Valencia, Calif.
Bonefish officials declined to talk about the overall marketing campaign, citing competitive reasons.
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