I don’t think it was ever about DEI.
The board implemented change because the very existence of Cracker Barrel depended on a change that would increase customers and revenue. Cracker Barrel is a failing enterprise.
From my perspective, the customer base that allowed growth and prosperity is either dead or aged. The former customer base just no longer exists.
New customers must be acquired.
You don't do that by insulting long time customers who aren't in danger of dying anytime soon.
Exactly. There are a lot of people who do not comprehend the demographic shift that is happening in our world. The boomer group is in their receding days. Sure, we are probably more active than our predecessors. But I know that I am not spending as much money on eating out—even at Cracker Barrel. And the average ticket price for my wife and me is much lower than my kids who go out with my grandkids. And there is hardly anything on the menu that those kids would eat.
And, the parents today were generally not raised eating that kind of food—grandma was not cooking like that when they were kids. If my mother in law ever tried to feed my kids anything with white gravy it would go uneaten.
Times change. Tastes change. Disposable income fades.
The entire system is going to go through this change through the next ten years. “Established” businesses will fade away. Some will change and keep up. But the world will be a very different place in 2035.
This Cracker Barrel story will not end well. Look for stores to start closing after another quarter or two.
Exactly. There are a lot of people who do not comprehend the demographic shift that is happening in our world. The boomer group is in their receding days. Sure, we are probably more active than our predecessors. But I know that I am not spending as much money on eating out—even at Cracker Barrel. And the average ticket price for my wife and me is much lower than my kids who go out with my grandkids. And there is hardly anything on the menu that those kids would eat.
And, the parents today were generally not raised eating that kind of food—grandma was not cooking like that when they were kids. If my mother in law ever tried to feed my kids anything with white gravy it would go uneaten.
Times change. Tastes change. Disposable income fades.
The entire system is going to go through this change through the next ten years. “Established” businesses will fade away. Some will change and keep up. But the world will be a very different place in 2035.
This Cracker Barrel story will not end well. Look for stores to start closing after another quarter or two.