Chipotle Sales Plunge as Troubled Chain Gets Federal Subpoena

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., struggling to rebound from multiple outbreaks of foodborne illness, reported a bigger plunge in fourth-quarter sales than the restaurant chain expected and said it got served with a subpoena in a federal criminal investigation.

Same-store sales -- a closely watched benchmark -- tumbled 14.6 percent in the period, the Denver-based company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. The decline, Chipotle’s first quarterly drop as a public company, was previously projected to be as much as 11 percent. The grand jury subpoena, meanwhile, stemmed from a probe into a norovirus outbreak by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the central district of California, which is working with the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations.



Chipotle’s reputation has been hammered in recent months by an outbreak of E. coli that afflicted at least 53 people in nine states. That was followed by a norovirus contagion at a Boston location that sickened more than 140 college students. A new spate of illnesses in three additional states was announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late last month.

The shares fell as much as 5.5 percent to $424.40 in New York after the filing was released, reaching their lowest point in more than two years. The stock declined 30 percent in 2015. ....................(more)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-06/chipotle-says-sales-dropped-even-more-than-expected-last-quarter

[ShrimpPoboy]

1. Chipotle was always overrated IMO

and I'm not surprised theyre having problems, regardless of the E Coli issue. Their food is mediocre at best but with higher prices and far less options than similar places (Izzo's, Moe's, etc). Having been once, I have no interest in going back.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

2. Checoli.