Purple Lobster has a brand new chief to proper the corporate following its current chapter.
Damola Adamolekun, the previous CEO at Asian-fusion restaurant chain P.F. Chang’s, has been appointed Purple Lobster’s new CEO to information the corporate by its restructuring course of, a consortium of buyers stated Monday.
Purple Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Could, after accruing over $1 billion in debt. The corporate confronted a collection of setbacks, together with rising prices and shifting client preferences, Enterprise Insider wrote in Could.
The restaurant’s earlier proprietor, Thai Union Group, stated it could exit the corporate, citing vital monetary losses. The group had initially acquired a minority stake in 2016 and took majority management in 2020, however struggled to handle the model’s declining gross sales and rising prices — together with huge losses from its $20 “Limitless Shrimp” promotion, BI reported in Could.
The corporate secured $100 million from lenders in Could, who took management of the enterprise.
Enter Adamolekun, who was appointed by Purple Lobster’s lenders to take over the restaurant enterprise. The 35-year-old most just lately served as an working companion at non-public fairness agency Garnett Station Companions.
Earlier, Adamolekun helmed P.F. Chang’s from June 2020 to August 2023. He oversaw the corporate by the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The restaurant shifted its operations to give attention to know-how for “on-line optimization and placing our workers into new roles,” Adamolekun told BI in 2022.
Below his management, P.F. Chang’s pivoted to to-go companies and resumed enlargement efforts, including about 225 areas in 2023, the corporate advised the WSJ.
In a 2022 interview with BI, Adamolekun emphasised the significance of adaptability, buyer focus, and clear management.
“From day one, I prioritized getting out within the subject and speaking to our groups in particular person and over firm city halls,” he stated.
He additionally added that sustaining “long-term targets and strategic route” is the important thing to remaining resilient amid altering market situations.
The incoming CEO now goals to revitalize Purple Lobster’s model.
“Purple Lobster is an iconic model with an incredible future,” Adamolekun stated in a statement.
The Harvard Enterprise Faculty alumnus stated he plans to enhance the client expertise and discover new methods to have interaction with diners as he seeks to carry stability and progress again to the corporate.
Adamolekun is about to take over Purple Lobster as CEO, pending a courtroom approval subsequent month of the corporate’s sale to a purchaser group led by Fortress Funding Group, the Wall Road Journal reported. The restaurant has about 550 areas throughout the US and Canada.
