Cracker Barrel Old Country Store became a huge success by marketing rural food and culture. Now, after mixed results in its first attempt at diversifying, and selling off the Logan's Roadhouse chain last year, its corporate name is returning to the original we all know and leaving one known only to investors. The company "announced Wednesday that its shareholders overwhelmingly approved changing the corporation's name" from CBRL Group to the old name, reports The Lebanon Democrat, in the company's hometown of Lebanon, Tenn. (Read more)
Michael A. Woodhouse, the company's chairman, president and CEO, said in a release, "With our return to a single-concept company and to further build on our strong and highly-differentiated brand, we are pleased to return to the company's original name of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc." The company's stock will continue trading as CBRL on NASDAQ. It topped $50 a share in March 2007 but dropped to $25 by January 2008 and is trading today at just under $20.
Cracker Barrel did not market rural culture and food as much as the myth of rural culture and cooking.
ReplyDeleteLike Wal-Mart, Cracker Barrel once prided itself on its "Made in America" store items. Now most of the knickknacks are made in China.