Cheesecake Factory Report
Dana Rizkowski
Towson University
Summary
The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) is doing exceptionally well financially as well as being a top competitor
in the casual dining market. A weakness the company has is in employee satisfaction. Action needs to be
taken to fix this problem in order to keep the company strong and to keep CAKE in the top competitor
mark. The only need for a consultant would be in order to fix employee satisfaction.
Background
The Cheesecake Factory is an upscale, casual dining experience that focuses on friendly service,
moderate prices, and an extensive menu (Cheesecake Factory, 2013). The mission of Cheesecake
Factory is to make sure that the guest satisfaction is as great as possible. To create this great
environment by creating excellent quality of food, service, people, and profit. As well as paying special
attention to guests and staff and ensuring nothing gets neglected. CAKE is always striving to be the best
in the industry (Cheesecake Factory, 2013).
CAKE is Financially Stable
Cake is very financially stable. CAKE’s stock prices are up and CAKE has generated higher sales and net
income than competitors. There was a 36% increase in per share income from 2011. Additionally,
revenue increased from $430.4 million in 2011 to $453.8 million now (Agar, 2012).
Higher Stock Prices Shows Value
Compared to one of the competitors, Red Robin, CAKE has higher stock prices for the one year and intraday mark. Having a higher stock price means that CAKE’s company carries higher value then Red Robin.
As shown in figure 1, stock prices are relatively high for CAKE. Their competitor, Red Robin, has lower
stock prices which shows that CAKE is more valuable.
36
34
32
Cheesecake
Factory
30
Red Robin
28
26
1 Year 6 month Intra-day
Figure 1. Stock Price Comparison. This figure shows the comparison between Stock Prices for Red Robin
and Cake.
Higher Sales Over Competitors
Over the past three years, CAKE has had higher sales then the competitor Red Robin. Table 1 shown
below shows the sales over the past three years. It shows how much higher CAKE’s sales are, which is
great for our market, the more sales, the more money the company is making.
Cheesecake Factory
Red Robin
2009
$1,602,000
$841,045
2010
$1,659,400
$864,269
2011
$1,757,600
$914,850
Table 1. Sales Comparison. This table shows a comparison of sales between Red Robin and CAKE.
Higher Net Income Over Competitors
Not only does CAKE have higher stock prices and sales, but we also have a higher net income over Red
Robin. Figure 2 below shows the comparison over the past three years between CAKE and Red Robin. It
shows that CAKE has a much higher net income. Since the net income is increasing for CAKE over the
years, it shows that CAKE’s overall performance is improving.
100,000
80,000
Cheesecake
Factory
60,000
40,000
Red Robin
20,000
0
2009 2010 2011
Figure 2. Net Income Comparison. This shows a comparison of the new incomes of Red Robin and CAKE.
Conclusion
Given the information above, CAKE has a very good financial standpoint in the market and there is not
much need for concern. Compared to other company’s numbers, CAKE is a top competitor for other
casual dining companies.
Creating a Good Name for CAKE
CAKE is slowly expanding outside the United States which makes CAKE a top competitor among casual
dining. CAKE also targets many different markets based on the huge menu choices, which also makes us
a big competitor.
Slowly Expanding Across the World
By expanding outside of the United States, CAKE is increasing the target market, and therefore creating
more value to the company. CAKE recently opened its first restaurant outside the United States, in
Dubai in 2012 (Agar, 2012). There is going to be a minimum of twelve restaurants built throughout
Mexico and Chile, as well as the potential to expand into Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru (The
Cheesecake Factory, 2013).
Large Menu Creates Advantage
CAKE’s menu has about 200 different items featured (The Cheesecake Factory, 2013). This large
selection helps create a larger target market and it appeals to many different people. Unlike
competitors, there is something for everyone on this menu.
Conclusion
Based on the expansion and large menu, CAKE is excelling in differentiating from other competitors as
well as creating a great competitive advantage by having such a large target market. The continuation of
expansion will continue to improve CAKE’s market standing.
Improvements Can Be Made for Employee Satisfaction
Although CAKE excels in many areas, it can improve employee satisfaction. Employees complain about
certain things that can be fixed. For example, long hours, no breaks, and hard to get time off. As a
whole, we can find ways to fix these problems. For example, have more employees on certain days to
cut down the hours each individual must work and allow more options to finding someone to cover a
shift. There should be enough employees working at a time to allow breaks and not be short-staffed
(Glassdoor, 2013).
Conclusion
To improve employee satisfaction and in turn create a better restaurant experience, I believe we could
use consulting advice. It is necessary to have happy employees to create a great working environment to
make sure that our company is the best it can be.
Overall the Only Need for a Consultant is for Employee Satisfaction
CAKE is excelling well in finance and markets. There is no need to waste time trying to hire a consultant
for those areas considering how well CAKE is doing there. There is need for concern in our employee
satisfaction area, and that needs to be taken care of. I firmly believe that it is crucial to hire a consultant
to fix our problems in employee satisfaction in order to build a better working environment.
References
Agar, I. (2012). An Excellent Growth Story Is Baking At Cheesecake Factory. Retrieved from Seeking
Alpha.com
Glassdoor. (2013). Cheesecake Factory Reviews. Glassdoor. Retrieved from Glassdoor.com
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. (2010). P.F. Chang’s. Retrieved from PFChangs.com
Red Robin International. (2013). Red Robin Gourmet Burgers. Retrieved from Redrobin.com
The Cheesecake Factory (2012). The Cheesecake Factory. Retrieved from Thecheesecakefactory.com
Yahoo! Finance (2013). The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (CAKE). Retrieved from finance.yahoo.com