David Overton on international expansion
From CEO talks The Cheesecake Factory success · · CBS News
“We're going global. We licensed our company concept to Elsha, who is in 18 countries and has 200 Starbucks in the Middle East. We just opened two for them, one in Kuwait and one in Dubai, with wait times of two to three hours.”
On , David Overton, Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at CHEESECAKE FACTORY INC, spoke about international expansion during CEO talks The Cheesecake Factory success on CBS News.
About David Overton
In a 2013 interview, David Overton discussed The Cheesecake Factory's expansion and operations. He stated that the company covers employees working over 25 hours for health care and was uncertain about the financial impact of the Affordable Care Act, suggesting that if costs increased they might be passed on to customers. Overton also described the company's international expansion, noting that they licensed their concept to Alshaya Group and had opened locations in Kuwait and Dubai, with plans for Jeddah, Beirut, Cairo, Istanbul, and Russia. He said the only menu changes for the Middle East were removing alcohol and pork and using halal ingredients. Overton attributed the company's success to "great food at a reasonable price" and noted that the chain introduced a SkinnyLicious menu with over 50 items under 590 calories in response to obesity concerns. He also mentioned that Dr. Atul Gawande had described the company as a model for the restaurant industry due to its training, innovation, and cost-cutting practices.