Orlando based Darden Restaurants, Inc. has struggled recently with many of its brands. Disappointing sales at Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse amid a number of failed sales campaigns has caused profits at the company slide. The most recent quarter earnings report shows a 37 percent drop in fiscal profit company wide. Olive Garden, the company's largest chain, was by far one of the most disappointing brands within the company with a 3.2 percent drop in sales at established restaurants. This all the while the company spent an estimated, based on estimates by Kantar Media, $194 million in U.S. measured media on Olive Garden and about $137 million on Red Lobster.
On Tuesday January 8th Darden announced that John Caron, president of Olive Garden, will be leaving the company. Caron has seen much of the poor sales numbers at Olive Garden since his promotion to President in June 2011. Caron started as executive vice president of marketing at Olive Garden ten years ago. Replacing him will be Dave George who led the company's LongHorn brand for the past 9 years while making it one of the strongest and most promising brands within the company. Replacing George at the helm of LongHorn will be Darden's Valerie Insignares who was formerly the chief restaurant operations officer at the company.
A new chief marketing officer, Will Setliff, was also announced. The first chief marketing officer for Darden was John Caron. JJ Buettgen, the former chief marketing officer, announced in November that he was leaving Darden and become the new president and chief executive of Darden rival Ruby Tuesday replacing Sandy Beall, the original founder of the brand and who has oversaw the brand over the past 40 years.
On Tuesday January 8th Darden announced that John Caron, president of Olive Garden, will be leaving the company. Caron has seen much of the poor sales numbers at Olive Garden since his promotion to President in June 2011. Caron started as executive vice president of marketing at Olive Garden ten years ago. Replacing him will be Dave George who led the company's LongHorn brand for the past 9 years while making it one of the strongest and most promising brands within the company. Replacing George at the helm of LongHorn will be Darden's Valerie Insignares who was formerly the chief restaurant operations officer at the company.
A new chief marketing officer, Will Setliff, was also announced. The first chief marketing officer for Darden was John Caron. JJ Buettgen, the former chief marketing officer, announced in November that he was leaving Darden and become the new president and chief executive of Darden rival Ruby Tuesday replacing Sandy Beall, the original founder of the brand and who has oversaw the brand over the past 40 years.