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With several new flags, Outback Inc. now OSI

The company built on a steakhouse now has seven other brands, and changes its corporate name to fit.

By MARK ALBRIGHT
Published April 26, 2006

TAMPA - Shareholders of Outback Steakhouse Inc. on Tuesday approved changing the name of the parent company to OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. as confirmation the company has expanded far beyond its flagship brand.

"The new name pays respect to our heritage and recognizes that our restaurant partners (who develop, own and operate stores) are what we will always be about," said Chris Sullivan, chairman and co-founder of the chain founded 18 years ago in Tampa. "It's still going to be the Outback Blimp and Outback Bowl as we become a company that manages several stand-alone brands."

With revenues of $3.6-billion and 1,298 stores as of Dec. 31, OSI now gets a third of its annual sales from seven non-Outback brands.

Capping a year at the crossroads, Outback managers are working to reverse the first signs of stagnation at their namesake steakhouse chain, which has 775 U.S. locations, while investing in the rapid growth of the 200-store Carrabba's Italian Grill and 90-outlet Bonefish Grill chains.

Already the company has been weeding out ventures that don't fit, recently selling its interest in the four-store Paul Lee's Chinese Kitchen concept. Its Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar (39 stores) and Roy's (20 stores) chains were described as works in progress although Fleming's is now the third-largest premium steakhouse chain in the country. At three stores, Lee Roy Selmon's is still being expanded only in Central Florida. Along with 27-store Cheeseburger in Paradise, Selmon's is still working for a permanent spot in the portfolio.

Separately, shareholders approved a new stock incentive plan for store managers and defeated a proposal that would have required OSI report all of its political contributions.

In a preliminary count, only 3.5 percent of outstanding shares were voted in favor of a proposal pushed by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that would have required the company study a more "humane" way for suppliers to slaughter poultry.

Chickens are now typically paralyzed by electric shock then defeathered in boiling water before their throats are slit. Many European poultry houses use a chamber that "puts chickens to sleep" by replacing oxygen with argon and nitrogen gas before they are slaughtered, according Matthew Prescott of PETA.

Mark Albright can be reached at albright@sptimes.com or 727 893-8252.

[Last modified April 26, 2006, 01:21:08]