The restaurant chain’s board of directors announced Tuesday that Julie Masino will step down immediately, halting a modernization campaign that accidentally reminded customers what year it is.
The restaurant chain’s board of directors announced Tuesday that Julie Masino will step down immediately, halting a disastrous modernization campaign that accidentally reminded customers what year it is. Former Bloomin’ Brands executive David Deno will assume the chief executive role with a strict mandate to restore the company’s carefully engineered aesthetic decay.
Masino’s departure follows intense online backlash over a subtle logo refresh intended to shed the brand's old-timey image. Wall Street analysts downgraded the stock when the updated signage was unveiled, noting the cleaner typography breached the chain's primary defensive moat: offering a dining room that completely insulates patrons from the present day.
Julie came in with a vision for brand evolution, but she fundamentally misunderstood our core product, which is preventing the twenty-first century from happening to our customers.
Deno arrives with a proven track record of maintaining legacy casual dining operations. An internal memo circulated to shareholders Tuesday outlined his immediate turnaround strategy, which includes rolling back the modern logo, halting all digital menu initiatives, and ensuring the front porches are immediately restocked with rocking chairs that look like they have survived three distinct economic depressions.
Markets responded positively to the leadership change, with shares ticking up 2.4 percent in early trading after Deno committed to replacing the updated corporate branding with materials that look like they were recovered from a regional foreclosure crisis.