P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. chief operating officer Richard Tasman is leaving the company at the end of the fiscal year, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week.
No explanation for his departure was given and company officials did not return calls by press time.
Tasman has served as COO of the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based casual-dining chain since July 2007. He previously served as a regional vice president for the brand, a position he began in 2004, the company said in the filing.
Before that, Tasman was a P.F. Chang’s market partner and helped develop the chain’s first units in Illinois and Michigan.
The filing comes a month before P.F. Chang’s is due to report third quarter earnings on Oct. 27.
For the company’s second quarter ended July 3, P.F. Chang’s reported a 29-percent drop in earnings and downgraded its outlook for the year, saying earnings would be between $1.60 and $1.70 per share, compared with earlier projections of $2.15 to $2.20. Same-store sales for the year were expected to fall 2 percent to 3 percent.
RELATED: P.F. Chang’s outlines turnaround plan
Rick Federico, P.F. Chang’s chair and chief executive, outlined a series of initiatives designed to turn around sinking results, including tinkering with entry-level pricing, testing soup and sandwich wrap lunch offerings at the bistro concept, a new call center for phone-in orders, and accelerating remodeling.
At the end of the second quarter, P.F. Chang’s operated 201 locations of its namesake China Bistro brand, as well as 173 fast-casual Pei Wei Asian Diner units.
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