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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