APRIL 21, 2004 — TAMPA, FL — Outback Steakhouse’s sales slump of 2002 can be partly traced to a seemingly small change that apparently had big implications: the way it used butter on its steaks.
CFO Bob Merritt told analysts yesterday that Outback changed the way it cooked its steaks a few years back. The chain began brushing butter on its beef rather than first applying it to the grill, as it did previously.
Consumers noticed. Outback reported flat comparable sales in 2002. The company went back to the old method and quickly saw comparable sales improve.
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