Bruce,
Here's one more link for background;the Motley Fool perspectus (slighty old but mostly valid-numbers are pre-split)
>http://fool.web.aol.com/fool_mn.htm Then scroll down and click Search the Fool,then type in RAIN or Rainforest Cafe.
Now as to why we aren't a fad:
1)The concept was developed by an obsessed genius Steve Schussler,who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars turning his house into a simulation of a rainforest complete with live birds,butterflies and baby monkeys in diapers.Everyone pretty much thought he was crazy until Lyle Berman,CEO of Grand Casino (and several other companies) bought into and brought to life in Mall of America.You'll see for youself but suffice to say its as close to the Rainforest as you can get without being there.But you'll have to see it for yourself.
2)Management has chosen very carefully the locations,taken pains to construct the Cafes and train the staffs,and garner more free publicity from the uniqueness of the concept than many large cap companies pay millions for.
3)Unlike other theme restaurants like Hardrock Cafe and Planet Hollywood with create a themed ambience with decorations and present an experience which already is everywhere around us,the Rainforest creates a simulated environment of a truly exotic experience.I can turn on the radio and get rock and roll,I can turn on the VCR and get Hollywood but,by gosh,if you want to see a Rainforest you have to hop in a plane a fly a few thousand miles!!!
4)The Rainforest Cafe celebrates nature and nature is as timeless as it gets.And as our environment gets more and more poluted and poisonous(each year more people complain about sinus infections,chronic fatigue,etc.We all remember back when we could see thousands of stars in the sky in the city and our first fishing trip or camping trip or Carribean cruise,etc)The draw of nature is only going to strengthen upon our "souls" even as it,itself is disappearing.
5)Everybody's politics is to preserve nature and RAIN recycles,educates,only uses biodegradable materials,etc.
6)Women have always had and always will have a special love of plants,particularly indoor plants.(think about it!) and the Rainforest Cafes walls are covered with plants.Women feel cozy in the Rainforest Cafe for the same reason they feel comfortable in a flower garden.
7)this past summer summer I went to the Rainforest 6 times in 2 months bringing a wide range of people,from my 3 year-old daughter to my 80-something mother and Aunts.In between were 7yr-old boys,teenage girls and middle age couples.I even went alone one time.First,I never got tired of it.The food and the atmospere was always refreshing.Second,all age groups loved it!!Children loved it most, with little old ladies and teenage girls running close behind in a dead heat.But us middle classed,middle aged Americans (with big middles) loved it too.Ask you Dad the last fad he can remember that appealed to all ages,from little children to octagenarians.
8)The food and the beverages are very tasty.Fact of the matter is I could use a couple "Margorillas" right now.(particularly after watching the Bears play today).
Remember to hold a growth stock for as long as the fundamentals hold,Bruce,because we will go through higher surges and lower dip than most.Suggest if you can't handle a 30% dip that you get out at the first oppurtunity.That's NOT a prediction,and I hope it never happens but it's best to be prepared.Don't worry it the fundamentals are there eventually the market value will be too.
Regards,
Dennis
|
