Turn Your Company Around
Golden Spike is a strategic planning and marketing firm for multiple-store chains. It specializes in reviving businesses in dire straits.
Golden Spike believes every company has a key set of factors that determine its position in the marketplace. To identify this "golden spike," the firm applies its proven audit techniques. It then uses the spike as a pivot point—as leverage to reposition the chain.
Experienced Multi-Store Executive
Golden Spike’s founder and principal is Stephen T. Pettise. Steve has an extensive background in strategic planning and marketing management. At the International House of Pancakes, he was instrumental in one of the biggest food service turnarounds ever.
Steve’s strength is his breadth of experience in the multi-store business. He’s worked closely with franchise owners and store managers and understands their day-to-day challenges. He knows what makes them tick and how to motivate them.
But he’s also worked at the CEO level, setting strategic policy for entire divisions or companies. He’s brokered acquisitions and started businesses. This combination of skills makes him almost unique.
Besides his business and marketing experience, Steve can draw upon a roster of resources for every situation. He marshals people with expertise in real estate, purchasing, operations, and other areas of multiple-unit management. Together, this talent makes up the Golden Spike team.
Typically, Steve and his strategic turnaround team study a chain from top to bottom. Especially important is a marketplace audit to assess the company’s marketing—its research, advertising, media buying, sales promotions, and delivery systems. This analysis generates a picture of the corporate image or "brand."
Armed with this knowledge, Golden Spike revitalizes and refocuses the chain’s strategy. It creates a brand identity with new meaning to the customer.
Proven Track Record
The results are nothing short of phenomenal. In its brief existence, Golden Spike has:
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Win with Proven Leadership for Change
The Golden Spike record builds upon Steve Pettise’s successes in his long career. During his 14 years as chief marketing officer at IHOP, Steve and his team increased comparative restaurant sales for 146 consecutive months, tripled average unit volumes to $1.2 million, and engineered sales turnarounds in 84 markets. His strategies included introducing more than 30 new products, branding menu combinations, and redesigning signs and logos.As a result of his vision, IHOP emerged from bankruptcy, survived a leveraged buyout, and executed an IPO that generated $66 million. During Steve’s tenure, the company’s net worth blossomed from a negative $20 million to more than $225 million.
Steve’s experience also includes three years at Rogers Merchandising as general manager of Western U.S. operations. There he headed a field staff of 20 and oversaw marketing for 60 Burger King markets. Before that, he managed the Spalding sporting goods account and helped introduce the Top Flite line of golf balls. Top Flite became the market leader within a year and remains so today.
As director of market development for Carl’s Junior Restaurants, Steve led the successful sales turnaround team for three expansion markets, making them all profitable within eight months. He also introduced Carl’s Junior to two new markets. His marketing blueprint resulted in an overall 10.8% increase in sales.
Among his other achievements, Steve conducted a market study and rollout for a major league soccer franchise. He developed the sales strategy and tools for a national franchiser of property and casualty insurance agents. Steve is a director of the National Restaurant Association and of DARE, the anti-drug peer-group program. He serves on the Board of Advisors for the School of Hotel & Restaurant Management (SHRM) at Cal Poly Pomona University.
Steve Pettise and Golden Spike offer leadership, innovation, and results. To learn how they can rejuvenate your business, contact Steve at (310) 441-8394 or [email protected].