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During
fiscal 2002, Smokey Bones BBQ performed very well. Sales more
than doubled. Ten locations were added for a total of 19 restaurants
in operation in nine states. But theres much more to
come, as we accelerate our national expansion.
With three years of testing and operations
experience, we are more convinced than ever of Smokey Bones
market potential. This confidence is based on three factors:
Differentiated Concept The three-dimensional
nature of the concept barbecue in a sports bar environment
with a mountain lodge décor differentiates Smokey
Bones from all other competitors in casual dining, including
other barbecue and sports bar concepts.
Market Fragmentation Barbecue
restaurants and sports bars are highly fragmented segments
of casual dining, with no dominant player on a national level.
Broad Appeal Barbecue carries
broad appeal across regional and demographic lines, including
age, gender, ethnicity and income.
The combination of these factors creates an
expansion potential that we believe could become an operating
company with at least $1.5 billion in annual sales in the
future.
The Smokey Bones team spent much of fiscal
2002 fine-tuning the concept. This included conducting intensive
demographic and geographic research.
We also refined our site selection process
and paid considerable attention to keeping guest satisfaction
ratings at very high levels, even during this period of rapid
growth.
Results have been very encouraging. Through
our Fan Survey mystery shopper program, all Smokey
Bones locations have stayed above our high standard of at
least 90% overall excellent ratings. While we recognize that
each restaurant has opportunities for continued improvement,
these results give us confidence that were successfully
translating our vision of friendly people, great barbecue
and an energetic atmosphere to each new restaurant.
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