Bloomberg News

Bloomberg reports that Uno won't pay the interest due on its debt as scheduled, and S&P downgraded it as a result. It wrote that Uno "will delay paying interest, making use of a 30-day grace period allowed in the terms of its $142 million of notes due 2011, according to a statement from Standard & Poor's. S&P cut Uno by two levels to CC and said it would downgrade again to its lowest rating of D if the West Roxbury, Massachusetts-based company fails to pay on Aug. 15."

In addition to Bennigan's, Bloomberg reported that a big Pizza Hut chain filed for bankruptcy this month -- "Ohio-based Midland Food Services LLC, the operator of 92 Pizza Hut restaurants." I am a big fan of Uno's pizza and its nachos, but I guess that Uno has borrowed more money than its declining sales and rising food and labor costs permit it to repay. It remains to be seen whether it can renegotiate terms with its creditors.

If not, it will probably join its brethren in taking the hit for a lousy economy that's likely to get worse.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

Continue reading Pizzeria Uno could be latest in string of bankrupt restaurants

Pizzeria Uno could be latest in string of bankrupt restaurants originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The New York Times reports that Bennigan's -- an "Irish-themed bar and grill" -- closed its 200 U.S. sites, throwing hundreds out of work. When you combine gasoline prices over $4 a gallon, higher food prices, and declining incomes, people change their economic behavior. That is particularly true when people can no longer use the equity in their homes to cover the gap between what they want and what they can afford.

In April, I posted on the recession diet, which is the way that consumers are coping with the squeeze on their budgets. They have staycations, they don't drive to or shop at the mall, they eat at home, and they buy more pasta and consume fewer vegetables and steaks.

It's great news that gasoline prices have come down recently -- in some cases as much as 20 cents a gallon. But it's not clear whether that will be enough. In any case, the Times provides a nice list of those restaurants and retailers that have filed for bankruptcy in the wake of the recession diet:

• Bennigan's
• Steak & Ale
• Mervyn's, mid-tier department store chain
• Steve & Barry's, a fashion retailer
• Linens 'n Things
• Sharper Image

I think there will be more such bankruptcies and I plan to look at publicly traded companies in these industries to see which are the likeliest candidates. If you have ideas you'd like to analyze, please post your thoughts below.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

Recession diet bankrupts restaurants, retailers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Associated Press reports that Spam sales are on the rise. Cans of Spam -- a pig byproduct -- are flying off the shelf as consumers are turning more to lunch meats and other lower-cost foods to extend their already stretched food budgets.

As I posted, consumers are going on a recession diet. I had not thought of Spam as a way to play this trend. But its sales are up 10.6% and its manufacturer, Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL) has seen its profits rise 14%. But the price of Spam is up more than Hormel's stock, with the average 12 oz. can costing about $2.62. That's an increase of 17 cents, or nearly 7% from the same time last year.

Despite rising prices, Spam seems like a good alternative to consumers. AP quotes Kimberly Quan, a stay-at-home mom of three, who has been feeding her family more Spam in the last six months as she tries to make her food budget go further. "It's canned meat and it's in the cupboard and if everything else is gone from the fridge, it's there."

Continue reading Is Spam nutritious for your portfolio?

Is Spam nutritious for your portfolio? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 May 2008 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Wall Street Journal reports that BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) reported a 26% rise in net income. Its earnings of 29 cents a share beat analysts' expectations by a penny. And as consumers go on their crash recession diet, BJ's is likely to continue to exceed expectations. I would not be surprised if its stock keeps rising.

That's because results are growing faster than had been expected. The Journal reports that BJ's revenue climbed 12% to $2.31 billion. Earlier this month, BJ's said net sales increased 12% to $2.26 billion, as same-store sales rose 9.6%, with gasoline sales contributing 3.9 percentage points to the rise. And BJ's raised its EPS guidance by six cents to $2.04 to $2.14 a share. The mean estimate was $2.06 a share.

BJ's joins two beneficiaries of consumers' recession diet -- Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and TJX Co's (NYSE: TJX) -- caused by the rising price of gasoline coupled with flat income and collapsed housing values. After all, if you can't borrow against your house and your credit cards are maxed out, where are you going to turn to keep your family functioning?

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

BJ's profits from consumers' recession diet originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 May 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.