WEBVTT

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- Darden Restaurants.

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The parent company of Olive
Garden has struck a deal

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with Uber to launch a new
delivery service shares

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of Darden drawn to by 7%
following the announcement

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during pre-market trading.

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The initiative will begin

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as a pilot program at Select
Olive Garden locations across

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the US in late 2024, with
plans to roll out the service

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to all 900 restaurants nationwide

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by May, 2025 if the pilot is successful.

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Darden, CEO, Rick Cardenas
said in a statement,

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guests have been asking us
for home delivery options

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and they continue to show
they are willing to pay

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for the convenience.

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The announcement comes on the heels

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of the company's lower than
expected first quarter sales

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and profit expectations, largely due

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to a decline in customer
traffic from diners facing

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persistent inflationary pressures.

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Florida based Darden,

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which Owens Longhorn Steakhouse
reported a 1.1% decrease in

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same store sales across
all its brands compared

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to a 5% increase the previous year

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as diners cut back on dining out.

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The significant step down in
our traffic during July led

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to our first quarter earnings
being lower than expected.

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Carius said, noting

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that following softness in
July sales have improved.

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The company reaffirmed
its annual guidance.

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Darwin reported revenue
of two point $76 billion,

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about a dollar 75 cents per share.

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For the first quarter. The
street had forecasted it would

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report revenue of $2.8 billion.

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About a dollar and 83 cents per share.

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According to FactSet, sales
at Olive Garden fell 2.9%,

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while the parent companies
fine dining chains,

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including Ruth's Chris

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and Capital Grill, saw a 6% decline.

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Longhorn Steakhouse, on the other hand,

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experienced a 3.7% increase
in same restaurant sales.

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I'm Francisco Velasquez
reporting for Quartz.

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Thanks for watching and stick with qz.com.