Bloomin’ Brands Inc., parent to the Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill brands, intends to increase its marketing in the fourth quarter and into 2024 amid traffic slippage at its casual-dining concepts, executives said Friday.
Tampa, Fla.-based Bloomin’, which also owns the Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar concepts, released on Friday earnings for the third quarter ended Sept. 24, which showed traffic had slowed during the quarter.
David Deno, Bloomin’ Brand CEO, said in an earnings call that the company planned to spend “more on marketing and advertising in Q4 as well as 2024.
“Although we do not intend to return to pre-pandemic levels,” Deno said, “we do believe a higher level of advertising spend is warranted moving forward. Utilizing a blend of television and high-return digital tactics, we believe our increased marketing presence can help build traffic.”
Christopher Meyer, Bloomin’s chief financial officer, said the company would not say how much it planned to spend. However, Meyer said marketing was up about $2.5 million in the third quarter, or about $31 million on the quarter
Deno said this marketing would highlight the “No Rules, Just Right” campaign, which for several quarters he had said built on Outback’s brand equity and heritage. “This is more than just marketing,” he said. “It's an attitude. It's how we reenergize our restaurants and bring back the irreverence that Outback is known for.”
Deno also said Bloomin’ wanted to enhance its off-premises capabilities and become more digitally driven.
The off-premises channels have more than doubled since 2019, before the pandemic, he said, and now represent about 25% of sales.
The Carrabba’s Italian menu is well-suited for off-premises, Deno added, saying that a growing catering business was increasingly important for the brand.
Technology was also playing s role both at the front of the house and the back, executives said.
“At the end of the third quarter,” Deno said, “we completed the rollout of our server handheld technology and the advanced grills and ovens. These investments are approving our consistency overall meal pacing and guest satisfaction while also providing a cost-saving opportunity for the company. Our focus is leveraging this technology to further improve the guest experience.”
In the third quarter ended Sept. 24, Bloomin’ Brands’ net income was $44.5 million, or 45 cents a share, up from $32 million, or 34 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenues increased to $1.079 billion, up from $1.056 billion in the same quarter a year ago.
Third-quarter same-store sales were down a combined 0.5% among Bloomin’ concepts, including a decline of 1.1% at Outback, down 0.5% at Bonefish, a drop of 4.1% at Fleming’s and an increase of 3% at Carrabba’s. Outback Brazil saw a 4.1% same-store sales increase in the quarter.
Bloomin’ Brands, parent to the Outback, Carrabba’s, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s concepts, owns, operates and franchises more than 1,450 restaurants in 47 states, Guam and 13 countries.
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