Raphael Stevens

In the last six months, six chief executives of publicly traded restaurant companies have announced plans to step down.
Most company leaders have chosen to retire after a tumultuous two years for the industry.
While many firms have tapped company insiders to take over, others are hunting for their next chief executive.

Restaurant CEOs are the latest wave of workers to join the Great Resignation.
In the last six months, six chief executives of publicly traded restaurant companies have announced plans to step down, either to retire or to move on to a new corporate challenge. Their announcements came after a tumultuous two years for the restaurant industry, which battled for its survival through pandemic lockdowns, worker shortages, supply chain snarls and sky-high food costs.

Privately held restaurant companies have seen a similar exodus. Chick-fil-A, Torchy’s Tacos and Red Lobster have all announced CEO changes in recent months.
“A lot of people, when the pandemic hit, had to spend more time at home with their families. My sense is for a lot of chief executive officers, it was the opposite,” said Timothy Hubbard, an assistant management professor at University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. “They might have been at home, but their workload just went through the roof.”
While many firms have tapped company insiders to take over, others are hunting for their next chief executive even as their current one exits.
“My general sense is, just from the pandemic, succession plans have been demolished,” Hubbard said. “This is across all industries: succession planning throughout the pandemic was not a priority, and the plans that were in place didn’t seem to be very effective at all.”
In some cases, the outgoing CEO may have started considering stepping down before the pandemic or during it. For example, former Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said in his retirement announcement that he signaled to the company’s board roughly a year earlier that he was looking to depart.

Of course, not all chief executives who retire stay retired. For example, Johnson’s temporary successor — and predecessor — Howard Schultz, returned earlier this month to lead Starbucks as interim CEO. After a little rest and relaxation, some of these corporate leaders could return to the game.
Here are the restaurant companies that will see CEO transitions this year:

Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants outgoing CEO Gene Lee
Source: Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants CEO Gene Lee announced in December that he would retire May 29. The board elected Rick Cardenas, its chief operating officer, as his successor. Cardenas also previously served as the Darden’s chief financial officer.
“This is the right time for this transition, and I look forward to continuing to serve as Darden’s chairman,” Lee said on the company’s earnings call in December. “Our company is in a clear position of strength, and this is also the right time for me and my family.”
Lee, 60, had been at the helm of Olive Garden’s parent company since February 2015.

Domino’s Pizza

Richard Allison, CEO of Domino’s Pizza, speaks at CNBC’s Evolve conference in Chicago on Sept. 24, 2019.
Jeff Schear | CNBC

Domino’s Pizza said in early March that CEO Ritch Allison will step down, effective May 1. Allison, 55, will serve as an advisor until his official retirement in July.
“I’m at the point in my life now where my wife and I are ready to go back home to North Carolina … and I’ll tell you that I feel really good about doing that because the company is in such a fantastic place right now,” the Charlotte native said in an interview on CNBC’s “Mad Money.”
Russell Weiner, the company’s chief operating officer, will succeed Allison.

Denny’s

John Miller, president and chief executive officer of Denny’s Corp.
Peter Foley | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Denny’s CEO John Miller will retire later this year after more than a decade leading the restaurant company. The casual-dining sector was particularly hard hit by the pandemic as diners were slow to return to restaurants.
Denny’s is currently searching for Miller’s replacement.

Wingstop

Charles Morrison, CEO, Wingstop
Scott Mlyn | CNBC

After 10 years in the top job, Wingstop CEO Charlie Morrison resigned in March. But he isn’t planning on leaving the restaurant industry. He’s now the chief executive of Salad and Go, a much smaller drive-thru salad chain based in Phoenix.
Wingstop tapped COO Michael Skipworth as Morrison’s successor. Skipworth has been with restaurant chain since 2014, before its initial public offering the following year.

El Pollo Loco

Former El Pollo CEO and current Zaxby’s CEO Bernard Acoca
Source: Zaxby’s

El Pollo Loco CEO Bernard Acoca resigned in October to pursue other opportunities. Two weeks later, fried chicken chain Zaxby’s announced that Acoca would succeed the company’s founder as CEO. Zaxby’s is privately held but has nearly double the footprint of El Pollo Loco.
El Pollo Loco CFO Larry Roberts was tapped as interim chief executive and the board removed “interim” from his title in March.

Starbucks

Kevin Johnson, CEO, Starbucks
Scott Mlyn | CNBC

In March, Starbucks announced ahead of its annual shareholder meeting that Kevin Johnson, 61, would retire in early April. His retirement came as Starbucks faced a unionization push from its baristas, on top of the rest of the challenges the broader industry faced.
Former CEO Howard Schultz has returned as interim chief while the board searches for a long-term candidate, although Wall Street is split on whether Schultz will stick around longer than six months.

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Damian Lillard says he wants to stay with the Portland Trailblazers. He’s also focusing on his new business venture.
He co-founded a company called Move, which specializes in footwear insoles targeted at athletes.
Move launched in December. It lured more than $100,000 in sales the first month through direct-to-consumer, and it projects $1 million in sales for 2022.

Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers speaks to fans during fan appreciation night before the game against the Utah Jazz at Moda Center on April 10, 2022 in Portland, Oregon.
Abbie Parr | Getty Images

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard said he wants to stay with the franchise that drafted him in 2012 and would use this offseason to get healthy and strengthen his game.
While he’s doing that, Lillard also plans to expand a new business venture.

Lillard discussed his desire to stay in Portland when he spoke to CNBC on Monday about Move, a footwear insoles performance brand he co-founded with his business partner, Nate Jones. Move launched in December. It lured more than $100,000 in sales the first month through direct-to-consumer, and it projects $1 million in sales for 2022.
Lillard said the consumer product is “tailored to sports and for athletes.” He added Move wants to help basketball players avoid foot injuries such as plantar fasciitis, which he experienced earlier in his NBA career.
“[Young athletes] need to wear this because the things that you’re doing as an athlete is harder on your body and your feet than my time as a kid,” said Lillard. “It’s harder on [younger players] than it was on me.”

Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green guards Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard in final seconds of Warriors’ 119-117 overtime win in NBA Western Conference Finals’ Game 4 at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Monday, May 20, 2019.
Scott Strazzante | Getty Images

Hitting the ‘reset’ button 

Lillard, 31, hasn’t played since January, as he recovers from adnominal surgery and played a career-low 29 games this season due to the injury. Still, the Weber State product averaged 24 points and 7.3 assists this past season and was named one of the league’s greatest players in February to celebrate the NBA’s 75th anniversary.
But after uncertainty around his future with the team surfaced last summer, Lillard watched the Blazers go through a turbulent transition on and off the court in the 2021-22 NBA season. Still, he wants to stay.

“I have no plans of not being a Portland Trail Blazer,” said Lillard. “I want to be here, and I think they want me here.”
The Blazers fired former coach Terry Stotts last year. Team CEO Chris McGowan resigned last November, and a month later, the Blazers fired basketball executive Neil Olshey after allegations of workplace misconduct.
On the court, the Blazers made roster moves that included trading Blazers co-star C.J. McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans to free up salary cap space. Then, last month, the team shut down Lillard for the remainder of the season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13 – Lillard’s rookie year.
Asked to describe his 10th season in the NBA in one word, Lillard called it a “reset.”
“I feel born again – health-wise and mentally,” he said.
Lillard will make $42 million next season as part of a $176 million extension he signed in 2019, according to Spotrac, a website that tracks sports contracts. This summer, he’s also eligible to sign another extension for more than $100 million. That would push the average annual value, or AAV, of Lillard’s deal over $50 million per season.
Lillard warned of naysayers and media speculation surrounding his future.
“Everybody is like, ‘He’s going to do this. He’s going to do that,'” Lillard said. “But the game is so watered down, and the game is so fugazi (fake) that people literally won’t believe what you say even if you say it directly to them.”
Though Lillard wants to stay with the Blazers, asked if he would accept a trade, he responded: “If they came to me and they wanted to trade me – I’m not going to fight them on wanting to trade me. I don’t want to be anywhere I’m not wanted. But I don’t think that’s the case.”

Damian Lillard’s new investment in Move, a footwear insoles brand he co-founded.
Coutesy: Move

Moving into new business  

Off the court, Lillard makes roughly $15 million in endorsements, according to Forbes. Agreements include brand deals with Anheuser-Busch’s Modelo brand, Disney-owned Hulu, and a reported $100 million contract with sneaker company Adidas.
On the investment front, Lillard is a co-owner of Players TV, a channel that launched on Samsung TV Plus in 2020. In addition, he owns Damian Lillard Toyota in Oregon and goes by Dame D.O.L.L.A. in his musical career.
Now, Lillard is focused on building Move. Lillard said Jones presented the idea to construct the insoles brand in 2019. “As soon as we talked about it, my mind went to my own foot injuries,” he added.
Lillard recalled his battles with plantar fasciitis earlier in his career. The injury causes inflammation of tissue near the heel of the foot and can be caused by improper insoles in sneakers. Lillard said athletes’ “lack of awareness and self-care” with their feet is a problem.
“It’s even worse now,” said Lillard, referencing younger athletes who tend to play all year to develop their skill set and gain exposure. “It’s more important for them to get ahead of the game on these types of things. So, I felt like it was a major marketing opportunity for it not just to be a part of a successful business plan but to be a part of major impact on a lot of these younger athletes’ health.”

Damian Lillard’s new investment in Move, a footwear insoles brand he co-founded.
Coutesy: Move

Jones, who works with Lillard as an agent and athlete marketer at Goodwin Sports Management, is a co-founder and co-Chief Executive at Move. Jones said the company works with Florida-based Footcare Express, a well-known podiatry clinic used by NBA teams to create custom insoles for players.
Move went to market last year with its Game Day and Game Day Pro insoles, and Jones added it’s a performance equipment company.
The footwear insoles market is dominated by the Merck-owned Dr. Scholl’s brand and is projected to reach $4.5 billion by 2027, according to global market research company Fortune Business Insights. But Jones said name-brand insoles companies fail to target younger athletes regarding foot care. He called it a white space that could benefit Move’s growth.
Jones said Move secured $120,000 in sales in December. Its website converts 5% of traffic into customers, and Move uses social media to build awareness and hasn’t spent funds on consumers acquisition costs with marketing or significant promotion.
“And the response we’ve gotten so far lets us know we’re making traction,” Jones said. “Introducing Dame to the current market, the potential market, and how we’re going about it in a different way – and telling a story to parents and kids about why pro athletes swear by [specialized insoles] – Dame was onboard.”
After targeting younger basketball players, Move wants to shift volleyball athletes.
“A lot of startups in the sports space, they end up failing because they try to be too many things to too many people out of the gate,” Jones said. “We’re focused on basketball, and then organically, we’ll start branching out to other sports. And there’s a lot of overlap between basketball and volleyball.”
Other investors include Phoenix Suns star Chris Paul, former NBA guard Jamal Crawford and prominent sports agent Aaron Goodwin. Terms of their investments were not disclosed. Jones added Move wants to raise an additional $2 million this year as the company looks to expand.
“The stage of my career that I’m in, it’s more about impact than me seeking an opportunity for myself,” said Lillard of his involvement with Move. “I want to have my business cap on – but a lot of my [business] is about impact. I know from my experience that something like this is going to have a major impact and be able to help a lot of athletes.”

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With Covid protocols relaxing and Americans emerging after years at home, medical spas — or medspas — are looking to capitalize on a trend toward beauty procedures.
Medspas specialize in aesthetic services, such as laser hair removal and medical grade-skin therapies, and are seeing customers increasingly drop in for more robust treatment plans.
The U.S. currently accounts for 37.72% of the global medspa market, which is projected to reach $25.9 billion by 2026.

Goddess Brouette, 22, decided to receive lip treatment at Upkeep Medical Spa in Manhattan during the pandemic.
Source: Goddess Brouette

Goddess Brouette didn’t want to wait much longer. It was time to get her lips filled.
After months of research, she decided last year to get a treatment at Upkeep on the Upper East Side of Manhattan that would make her lips more plump.

“I wanted my lips to be a more prominent part of my face and in photos,” said Brouette, who vlogged her experience on her YouTube channel. “[Lips are] something you just can’t ignore. So it’s always bothered me.”  
Brouette, a 22-year-old pharmaceutical marketer who also writes adult contemporary fiction, credits Covid-19 with helping her make the money to pay for the Juvederm lip fillers she’d been eyeing.
“The pandemic definitely gave me the ability to afford it,” she said. “So, why not spend money on something I’ve wanted for years?”
With Covid protocols relaxing and Americans emerging after two years at home, medical spas — or medspas — like Upkeep are looking to sustain a trend toward beauty procedures.
Medspas are operated by licensed medical professionals but often look and feel like boutique personal service. They service men and women alike and specialize in aesthetic services, such as laser hair removal and medical grade-skin therapies.

Medspas are seeing customers increasingly drop in for more robust treatment plans, according to industry experts, doubling up on face and body treatments in lieu of individual procedures or consultations.
Americans at all income levels saved more money during the pandemic, according to Moody’s Analytics estimates and government data, allowing some to invest in their beauty.
In 2021, the U.S. medical spa market was estimated at $4.8 billion, according to a report by market research firm ReportLinker. The U.S. currently accounts for 37.7% of the global medspa market, which is projected to reach $25.9 billion by 2026, according to the report.
The three most popular procedures at medspas all involve injections, according to The American Medical Spa Association. Those include:

Neuromodulators, used to soften facial muscle activity and reduce wrinkles, such as Botox,
Hyaluronic acid fillers, temporary skin fillers, such as Juvederm,
and microneedling, used to help with skin tightening and the removal of acne scars.

Alicia Bernal, manager of the Z-Center for Cosmetic Health in Sherman Oaks, California, said while many customers are looking for immediate rejuvenation as pandemic winds down, others are looking for long-lasting impact.
“People kind of want to look their best now that they’re getting out of Covid. So they want to treat their skin, and they’re investing more into procedures that give them long-term effects versus just doing injectables to kind of give you only short-term outcomes,” Bernal said.
The personal services industry as a whole was hit hard at the beginning of the pandemic when establishments like salons, barber shops and spas shut down for weeks or months. The industry has since made a comeback, with growth in overall employment, new locations and output expected to outpace prepandemic levels, according to the International Franchising Association’s 2022 Economic Outlook report.
“I think we’re just looking at this as being a year where everything is going to get brighter and we’re going to get to another side that is even more exciting,” said Christina Russell, CEO of wellness franchise Radiance Holdings.

Flawless Medspa in East Syracuse, NY specializes in aesthetic procedures like body sculpting.
Courtesy: Medspa

A 2021 study, conducted by skincare brand StriVectin and surveying 2,000 Americans, found that Zoom calls have significantly impacted consumers’ attention to beauty and skincare. According to the study, 44% of consumers have researched how to look better in video calls, and 33% have been frustrated to the point of considering cosmetic procedures.
And the increased facetime has had spill-over effects, with a move toward more full-body beauty treatments.
Body shaping and contouring account for an 18.8% share of the global medical spa market, according to the ReportLinker industry report. One particular service, called Qwo, has seen a notable jump in interest.
Qwo, the first FDA-approved cellulite injectable — produced by pharmaceutical company Endo Internationaland cleared for use in the U.S. in July 2020 — is regarded as a cornerstone treatment for cellulite by the company.
Maneeha Mahmood, co-owner of Aesthetica Medspa in Paramus, New Jersey, says that the spa is seeing a lot interest in Qwo, leading up to the summer months.
“Previously cellulite was really hard to deal with because cellulite is not caused by how hard you work out or what you eat,” Mahmood said. “And a lot of people inject filler around their butt, but it never actually addresses the cellulite.”
Mahmood explained that cellulite is caused by fiber bands in the butt that give a rippling effect when they tighten up against the skin. After weight gain, fat cells can push up against the skin to give the appearance of dimpled skin.
Liposuction, a popular surgical body sculpting service, is also high in demand at medspas like Flawless Image Medical Aesthetics in East Syracuse, New York. 
According to owner Katie Din, liposuction demand, along with prescription weight loss treatments, among customers increased in the past year and hasn’t slowed since.
“Our weight loss section has been busier since the pandemic because a lot of people put on weight working from home, not having to go out in public,” Din said.

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China’s latest Covid lockdowns are a greater risk for global inflation today than they were in 2020, Bernstein analysts said.
The world has become more reliant on Chinese goods since the pandemic started in 2020, which means the latest round of lockdowns have a greater impact on global growth and inflation, they said.
Over the last several weeks, mainland China has tackled its worst Covid wave in two years with lockdowns and travel restrictions that foreign business leaders have described as tougher than in early 2020.

China’s automobile and component exports more than doubled in 2021 from a year ago, exceeding 30% growth in China’s exports overall, Bernstein analysts found.
Yi Fan | Visual China Group | Getty Images

BEIJING — China’s latest Covid lockdowns are a greater risk for global inflation today than they were in 2020, Bernstein analysts said.
That’s because the world has become more reliant on Chinese goods since the pandemic began, the analysts said in an April 8 note.

China’s share of exports globally rose to 15.4% in 2021, the highest since at least 2012.
China’s exports have surged in the last two years as the country was able to control the initial Covid outbreak within weeks and resume production, while the rest of the world struggled to contain the virus. China has maintained its zero-Covid policy, while other countries have relaxed controls in the last year.
Over the last several weeks, mainland China has tackled its worst Covid wave in two years with lockdowns and travel restrictions that foreign business leaders have described as tougher than in early 2020. The stay-home orders and virus testing requirements have particularly affected coastal economic centers like Shanghai.
“We believe, the macro impact of China lockdowns could be quite high and something which the market is not yet pricing in,” Bernstein’s Jay Huang and a team said in a report.

Compared to pre-pandemic levels, Shanghai export container costs are five times higher and air freight rates are two times higher, the report said, noting similar strains on supplier delivery time. “Hence, there would be higher export of inflation, especially to China’s large trading partners but at the same time delay China’s own demand recovery.”

Reflecting supply chain disruptions, Chinese electric car company Nio announced production halts over the weekend, with some production resuming Thursday. German automaker Volkswagen said its factories on the outskirts of Shanghai and in the northern province of Jilin remained closed through at least Thursday.

Given that these recent lockdowns are coming at a point when global supply chains are already strained … we believe the impact of this lockdown could be much higher on global inflation and growth outlook compared to what we saw back in 2020.

Bernstein’s analysis found that China manufactures the majority of overseas demand for containers, ships, rare earths and solar modules — along with the bulk of mobile phones and PCs.
Chinese factories no longer only complete the final assembly for those electronic products but also manufacture components like LCD panels and integrated circuits, the report said, pointing to faster growth in 2021 in exports of those parts.
China’s first quarter trade data showed steady growth in exports. The country’s producer price index and consumer price index rose faster-than-expected in March, according to data out Monday.

China, a rising car exporter

Since the pandemic began, China has become a significant manufacturer in the auto industry, especially in the electric vehicle supply chain, the Bernstein report said.
The analysts noted how automobile and component exports grew an average 119% in 2021 from the previous year, exceeding the 30% growth in China’s exports overall. The country accounts for roughly 74% of global battery cell production, the report said.
China is the world’s largest auto market and began to promote electric vehicle development and purchases in the last several years, primarily through subsidies. Foreign automakers attracted to the market have accordingly begun to launch electric vehicles for China in the last few years.

Now, Tesla, BMW and other automakers are increasingly making electric vehicles in China to export to other countries, the Bernstein report said. Including fuel-powered cars, Chinese state-owned automakers SAIC and Chery are the top exporters from China of passenger vehicles by volume, the report said, noting growing sales of China-made cars to Chile, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
While the report did not discuss the specific impact of Covid lockdowns on auto-related supply chains, the analysts pointed out a number of Korean and Japanese automakers faced production disruptions in 2020 when Covid forced Wuhan to lockdown.

Read more about China from CNBC Pro

In March, passenger car exports rose by 14% from a year ago to 107,000 units, with new energy vehicles accounting for 10.7%, according to the China Passenger Car Association. The report noted the impact of external uncertainties and declines in exports to Europe.
China vehicle exports accounted for around 3.7% of vehicle sales outside the country in 2021, albeit up from less than 2% in the two previous years, the Bernstein report said.
— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

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Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday offered a list of five industrial stocks investors should consider adding to their portfolios.
“After years where the market chased growth at all costs, we’re now in a post-momentum, pivot environment where Wall Street wants solid companies with easily justifiable valuations,” the “Mad Money” host said.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday offered a list of five industrial stocks investors should consider adding to their portfolios.
“After years where the market chased growth at all costs, we’re now in a post-momentum, pivot environment where Wall Street wants solid companies with easily justifiable valuations,” the “Mad Money” host said.

Cramer named five industrial stocks that fit this requirement.
Here is the list:

General Electric
United Rentals
Howmet Aerospace
Textron
Johnson Controls

To come up with this list, Cramer started with nine industrial names. He said he eliminated PACCAR and Cummins because the freight industry, including trucking rates, are experiencing a slowdown. He also axed Stanley Black & Decker and Fortune Brands Home & Security to avoid housing stocks while mortgage rates skyrocket.
The original nine industrial companies came from Cramer’s curated list of S&P 500 companies that were included for having reasonable valuations and great earnings growth. This is the same list Cramer used to pick the best travel and leisure, financial and semiconductor stocks earlier this week.
“I’ve spent a whole week highlighting these stocks, and now you’ve got 20 to pick from. I want you to keep them on the shopping list,” he said.

Here are all the growth at a reasonable price, or GARP, stocks Cramer highlighted this week:

Arrows pointing outwards

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Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 7:00 PM ET

It’s that time again! “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer rings the lightning round bell, which means he’s giving his answers to callers’ stock questions at rapid speed.

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