Rank expands Hard Rock Cafe International by acquiring Peter Morton's Hard Rock America.ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 1996--Just one week before its 25th Anniversary, the Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of casual dining restaurants. It was founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, and their first Hard Rock Cafe opened near Hyde Park Corner in London, in a former Rolls Royce car dealerships showroom close to Hyde Park, where in 1979 they began to became a single entity again today when The Rank Organisation PLC acquired Peter Morton's Hard Rock America, expanding its Hard Rock Cafe International chain to 58 restaurants worldwide. Hard Rock Cafe International President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. James Berk said, "Unification of the Hard Rock Cafe brand provides an unprecedented opportunity to fully capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. an internationally recognized and respected brand." "We are going to make the Hard Rock brand synonymous with synonymous with adjective equivalent to, the same as, identical to, similar to, identified with, equal to, tantamount to, interchangeable with, one and the same as music and entertainment worldwide," said Berk. "We will take this opportunity to grow the present Hard Rock businesses and expand into new ventures to bring the Hard Rock Cafe experience to more places and more people than was ever before possible." In 1990, The Rank Organisation -- a leading operator of leisure and entertainment facilities in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, including the U.S. -- acquired the Hard Rock interests originally owned by Tigrett. The acquisition gives Rank Morton's 13 owned and four franchised cafes, in addition to the 15 Rank owns and 26 it has franchised. "This is an exciting opportunity for us to control 100% of the Hard Rock business worldwide," said Andrew Teare, chief executive of The Rank Organisation. "It has become a very substantial leisure retailing business which has significant growth opportunities," added Teare. "We have aggressive plans to expand Hard Rock both geographically and through new related business activities and thereby enhance future shareholder value from this business within The Rank Organisation." Peter Morton Peter Morton (born Chicago in 1946) was the co-founder with Isaac Tigrett of the Hard Rock Café. His father is Arnie Morton, founder of Morton's, and his son is Harry Morton, founder of Pink Taco restaurants. was a co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe in London in 1971 with Isaac Tigrett. In 1985 Morton and Tigrett agreed to a territorial plan that allowed each to develop Hard Rock Cafes in specific regions. The new agreement gives Morton a licensing arrangement with Rank to operate Hard Rock hotel casinos in his previous territories. Morton currently operates the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is a hotel-casino located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The property has a 646 room hotel and 30,000ft² (3,000m²) casino. The hotel will undergo a major expansion to be completed in 2009. in Las Vegas. Rank paid $410 million in cash for tangible assets valued at $30 million. Morton's business had an operating profit Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. of $26 million on sales of $109 million in the year ended Dec. 31, 1995. Rank's Hard Rock Cafe International made an operating profit of $66 million on sales of $231 million in the same year. In 1995, Rank's 15 owned Hard Rock Cafes alone sold an estimated 3.5 million hamburgers to 10 million visitors. They also sold 4.7 million T-shirts, which, folded and stacked, would reach 40 miles high. Hard Rock Cafes acquired from Morton include U.S. locations in: Aspen, Chicago, Hollywood, Honolulu, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Maui, Newport Beach, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Diego and San Francisco. International franchised cafes in Morton's system include Melbourne, Sydney and Surfers Paradise in Australia and Tel Aviv, Israel. Orlando-based Hard Rock Cafe International units international units, n.pl a unit of measurement that evaluates the potency of a substance. Because it measures potency instead of quantity, there is a different international unit-to-mg conversion ratio for each particular substance. include the original in London as well as locations in: Atlanta, Berlin, Boston, Copenhagen, Dallas, Madrid, Miami, Myrtle Beach, Nashville, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Orlando, Paris, San Antonio and Washington, D.C. Franchisees of Rank operated cafes are in: Acapulco, Antwerp Bali, Bangkok, Beijing, Buenos Aires, Cabo San Lucas Cabo San Lucas (popularly known as just Cabo) is a small city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula at , in the municipality of Los Cabos in the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico. , Cancun, Cozumel, Hong Kong, Houston, Jakarta, Kowloon, Kuala Lumpar, Manila, Mexico City, Osaka, Puerto Vallarta, Reykjavik, Singapore, San Juan, Stockholm, St. Thomas, Taipei, Tijuana and Tokyo. Hard Rock Cafes are celebrating the worldwide unification of the trademark and the 25th Anniversary by rolling back prices June 14 to the original London menu and by hosting live concerts at each location. -0- Editor's Note: Corresponding Hard Rock Cafe logo graphic and photography is available on the Wieck Photo DataBase CONTACT: Susan Blond Inc., New York Susan Blond/Allysa Goldman, 212/833-7728 |
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