Читать книгу Intellectual Property - Russell L. Parr - Страница 11

John H. Schnatter is the founder of Papa John's International, Inc. He assumed the position of Papa John and was featured on national television commercials for the business. The company slogan is Better Ingredients, Better Pizza. Schnatter stepped down as CEO on January 1, 2018, after comments he made criticizing National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell for not doing anything about national anthem protests.

In late 2016, some NFL players had started to kneel before the start of a game during the playing of the national anthem. The protests by players about racial injustice were divisive. While many people across the country, especially NFL fans, acknowledged the players' rights to protest, they also strongly felt that kneeling during the national anthem was beyond inappropriate. Members of the military and veterans thought the move by the players was disrespectful to their sacrifices. NFL leadership found itself in an impossible position and were slow to take a stand on the issue and even slower to develop a compromise.

In the fall of 2017, Schnatter, then-CEO of Papa John's, blamed the company's poor quarterly earnings report on the “controversy,” saying it was an aftereffect of the league's “poor leadership” and “should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago.”⁴ Papa John's had been the NFL's official pizza sponsor since 2010 and advertised heavily during games. The company reacted to Schnatter's statement by removing him as CEO on January 1, 2018.

Another scandal broke out over use by Schnatter of a racial slur during a conference call, while trying to minimize controversy over other politically charged comments. Schnatter later asserted that Colonel Sanders had used the slur and it had not affected his popularity. Schnatter also apologized for the slur, saying it was “inappropriate and hurtful.”

Making matters worse, Schnatter's comments were praised by white supremacists, and Papa John's responded by saying it did not want white supremacists or their groups buying its pizzas. Mr. Schnatter, an outsized figure at the company who appeared frequently in its commercials and owns 30 percent of its stock, stepped down as chief executive and resigned as chairman of the board in May 2018.⁵

Papa John's International, Inc. operates and franchises pizza delivery and carryout restaurants under the Papa John's trademark in the United States and internationally. It operates through five segments: Domestic Company-Owned Restaurants, North America Commissaries, North America Franchising, International Operations, and All Others. The company also operates dine-in and delivery restaurants. As of December 31, 2017, it operated 5,199 Papa John's restaurants, which included 743 company-owned and 4,456 franchised restaurants. The company was founded by John Schnatter in 1984, after selling his car and borrowing money to start his first pizza place.

In mid-January 2018, shares of Papa John's traded at $68.62 per share. As turmoil swirled over the comments by Schnatter and his removal as CEO and resignation from the board, the share price dropped to $38.94 by August 8, 2018; a 43% drop in only seven months. With 31.62 million shares outstanding, the $29.68 per share drop in value equaled a loss of $938 million.