Re: Red Lobster
Did you see this recent article? It makes a good headline: Restaurant brings back the thing that put them into bankruptcy in the first place. How could a company that offers endless shrimp NOT run out of money AGAIN?! But if anyone looked right beneath the surface, they’d be able to see that Red Lobster’s real downfall wasn’t offering endless shrimp — it was private equity’s endless greed. You see, a private equity firm bought Red Lobster in 2014, and did their thing: Looted profits, loaded Red Lobster up with debt, and saddled the restaurant chain with extra real-estate costs — following a model that reaps rewards for private equity owners but leaves communities, workers, and customers holding the bag. At the end of the day their menu items and promotions don't matter: that's not what sent them to bankruptcy. And Red Lobster isn’t the only victim of this blood-sucking phenomenon. Private equity’s harmful effects go far, far beyond the restaurant industry — from retail stores...