Mr. Puzder: CKE Restaurants is the quality and taste leader in the quick-service and fast-casual burger and Mexican restaurant segments. Through our subsidiaries, franchisees, and licensees, we operate over 3,400 restaurants under the brand names Carl's Jr., Hardee's, La Salsa and Green Burrito. Hardee's, which is primarily located in the Midwest and Southeast, is a quick- service burger chain with over 2,200 restaurants. Hardee's, as you may know, is a brand in transition. We recently announced our new strategy for the brand, which we're calling the Hardee's Revolution. Briefly, the Revolution brings Hardee's back to it roots of offering superior tasting charbroiled burgers. If we're successful, our strategy should build on the brand's already strong breakfast business by bringing in new customers for lunch and dinner. Carl's Jr., which is located in the western US, is also a quick-service burger chain with approximately 980 units. Carl's Jr. is the place to go for large, delicious, juicy hamburgers. Carl's Jr. has long been known for the quality and innovation of its products. One product you may recall, The Six Dollar Burger, was the recipient of Restaurant Business magazine's 2002 Silver Skillet award in the sandwich category, and one of our most successful product introductions. La Salsa, which is a fresh-Mexican brand with 98 units, was acquired last year with the Santa Barbara Restaurant Group and gives CKE entr‚e into the emerging fast-casual restaurant segment. La Salsa offers excellent grilled white meat chicken, steak, and mahi-mahi burritos, soft tacos and other traditional Mexican fare. Lastly, we have Green Burrito, which is a Mexican quick-service brand that is principally dual-concepted with our Carl's Jr. units. Our Carl's Jr./Green Burrito units have the highest average unit volume and highest same-store sales increases in the company. Our dual-concepting program is an important ongoing opportunity for us.
Tickers included in this excerpt: CKR
For more information call (212) 952 7433. The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse any of the comments made by interviewees, and does not make stock recommendations.