Based on the case below, what decision should Adamolekun make? Should he invest aggressively in both dine-in and To Go, invest aggressively in one business and moderately in another, or invest moderately in both businesses? Which is the best financial decision? Perform calculations to support your answer if necessary. What are the long term and short term goals? What are the risks associated with this decision and how can these risks be mitigated?

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721-380 Determining P.F. Chang's' Investment Trajectory Adamolekun could invest aggressively in both dine-in and To Go, or he could take a bet and invest aggressively in one business and moderately in the other, or he could hedge his bets given the economic uncertainty and pursue a moderate level of investment in both businesses. The dine-in and To Go businesses were competing for managerial attention and financial resources, but they were also complementary. Davila explained: "We only have 200 restaurants in the U.S. The To Go stores will increase our visibility and create a halo effect on the dine-in bistros. Reciprocally, if people have an awesome experience at our bistros, they will order more take-out. If our dine-in business is deteriorating, then takeout will suffer because people won't respect our food." The balance of attention between To Go and bistro dining would impact organizational priorities. Bistros would require wok-trained gourmet chefs and hospitable wait staff trained and eager to perform 'theater at the table' with interactive entrees and drinks, whereas To Go locations needed technology-savvy staff who prioritized speed of order fulfilment and customer convenience. The promotional approaches would also be different for bistros and To Go stores. "Improving the dine-in experience would be the easier choice organizationally," Adamolekun reflected, "because it is within the wheelhouse of restaurant operations. Refurbishing the bistros would mostly require targeted remodels, some culinary development, and additional training in hospitality. But bistros are our core business, and our staff understands the dine-in business." Expanding the To Go business would be more of an organizational challenge. "Even though we are building To Go within the P.F. Chang's umbrella and the same people will be responsible for both the bistros and the To Go stores, it is a new concept for our staff," Adamolekun reasoned. "Our operators and staff may initially treat To Go as a non-core business. Expanding the To Go business will require more hands-on management as we refine the new operating model." Pursuing rapid bistro refurbishment and aggressive To Go expansion concurrently was feasible but risky. The firm, already highly leveraged at the time of the acquisition, had taken on additional debt during the pandemic. "Our balance sheet capacity is limited at present," Adamolekun reasoned. "Investing aggressively across both businesses could lead us into a difficult financial position if the consumer environment does not improve over the next twelve months as per our expectation. Additionally, our team is already firefighting the challenges wrought by the pandemic. They will be stretched if we start ramping up both businesses simultaneously." Looking Ahead At the time of the acquisition, the incoming management team had planned to get P.F. Chang's on a path to a successful monetization event in a few years. The pandemic had pushed the horizon out somewhat, but Adamolekun knew that an important measure of the success of his strategy would be the enterprise value that P.F. Chang's would command in a few years. One approach to factoring in the uncertainties while developing his three-year plan would be to gauge how various strategic choices might play out in different scenarios. Adamolekun used P.F. Chang's' 2019 income statement as a baseline from which to model the potential consequences of various strategic choices in different circumstances (see Exhibit 10). He was conscious that the assumptions buttressing the plan he was developing could be contested and reasonable people could come to different conclusions. Yet, he felt it was important to specify the assumptions and go through how the various options might fare in different circumstances so as to arrive at the most robust approach. (Exhibit 11 lists the assumptions underlying the strategic planning exercise.) The future of P.F. Chang's depended on the strategic plan Adamolekun and the board would eventually choose to follow. 721-380 Determining P.F. Chang's' Investment Trajectory Adamolekun could invest aggressively in both dine-in and To Go, or he could take a bet and invest aggressively in one business and moderately in the other, or he could hedge his bets given the economic uncertainty and pursue a moderate level of investment in both businesses. The dine-in and To Go businesses were competing for managerial attention and financial resources, but they were also complementary. Davila explained: "We only have 200 restaurants in the U.S. The To Go stores will increase our visibility and create a halo effect on the dine-in bistros. Reciprocally, if people have an awesome experience at our bistros, they will order more take-out. If our dine-in business is deteriorating, then takeout will suffer because people won't respect our food." The balance of attention between To Go and bistro dining would impact organizational priorities. Bistros would require wok-trained gourmet chefs and hospitable wait staff trained and eager to perform 'theater at the table' with interactive entrees and drinks, whereas To Go locations needed technology-savvy staff who prioritized speed of order fulfilment and customer convenience. The promotional approaches would also be different for bistros and To Go stores. "Improving the dine-in experience would be the easier choice organizationally," Adamolekun reflected, "because it is within the wheelhouse of restaurant operations. Refurbishing the bistros would mostly require targeted remodels, some culinary development, and additional training in hospitality. But bistros are our core business, and our staff understands the dine-in business." Expanding the To Go business would be more of an organizational challenge. "Even though we are building To Go within the P.F. Chang's umbrella and the same people will be responsible for both the bistros and the To Go stores, it is a new concept for our staff," Adamolekun reasoned. "Our operators and staff may initially treat To Go as a non-core business. Expanding the To Go business will require more hands-on management as we refine the new operating model." Pursuing rapid bistro refurbishment and aggressive To Go expansion concurrently was feasible but risky. The firm, already highly leveraged at the time of the acquisition, had taken on additional debt during the pandemic. "Our balance sheet capacity is limited at present," Adamolekun reasoned. "Investing aggressively across both businesses could lead us into a difficult financial position if the consumer environment does not improve over the next twelve months as per our expectation. Additionally, our team is already firefighting the challenges wrought by the pandemic. They will be stretched if we start ramping up both businesses simultaneously." Looking Ahead At the time of the acquisition, the incoming management team had planned to get P.F. Chang's on a path to a successful monetization event in a few years. The pandemic had pushed the horizon out somewhat, but Adamolekun knew that an important measure of the success of his strategy would be the enterprise value that P.F. Chang's would command in a few years. One approach to factoring in the uncertainties while developing his three-year plan would be to gauge how various strategic choices might play out in different scenarios. Adamolekun used P.F. Chang's' 2019 income statement as a baseline from which to model the potential consequences of various strategic choices in different circumstances (see Exhibit 10). He was conscious that the assumptions buttressing the plan he was developing could be contested and reasonable people could come to different conclusions. Yet, he felt it was important to specify the assumptions and go through how the various options might fare in different circumstances so as to arrive at the most robust approach. (Exhibit 11 lists the assumptions underlying the strategic planning exercise.) The future of P.F. Chang's depended on the strategic plan Adamolekun and the board would eventually choose to follow.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

In order to determine the best investment strategy for Adamolekun we need to consider the details of the case including the financial data provided the PF Changs 2019 income statement and the assumpti... View the full answer