Papa John's CEO John Schnatter steps down

[Dave-W]

Papa John’s CEO John Schnatter is stepping down from his position, the company announced Thursday. He will be replaced on Jan. 1 by COO Steve Ritchie. Schnatter will remain chairman of the board.

Schnatter’s face is a fixture to TV-watching sports fans; he is best-known for peddling his pizza on Sunday TV spots featuring Peyton Manning and J.J. Watt.

Schnatter’s resignation comes weeks after he courted controversy by blaming the NFL’s handling of players protesting social injustice who take a knee during the national anthem for falling sales and tanking stock prices. Papa John’s stock has lost more than 30 percent of its value since the beginning of 2017.

“The NFL has hurt us by not resolving the current debacle to the players’ and owners’ satisfaction,” Schnatter said on a company conference call in November reported by Bloomberg. “NFL leadership has hurt Papa John’s shareholders. Leadership starts at the top, and this is an example of poor leadership.”

Papa John's CEO John Schnatter steps down weeks after wading into NFL anthem controversy

 

[HereIStand]

I saw that. Bad move for Papa John's. NFL attendance is way down. Ad revenue will eventually take a hit.

 

[inquiring mind]

Maybe the company has mistakenly blamed his stance as the reason for their falling stock price, instead of dwindling sales due to less people (and subsequent pizza consumption) watching NFL games as a protest against the ‘taking a knee’ issue.

 

[Hank77]

Maybe the company has mistakenly blamed his stance as the reason for their falling stock price, instead of dwindling sales due to less people (and subsequent pizza consumption) watching NFL games as a protest against the ‘taking a knee’ issue.

. Papa John’s stock has lost more than 30 percent of its value since the beginning of 2017.

It appears that their losses began before the football season started.

 

[inquiring mind]

It appears that their losses began before the football season started.

You're right... when you look at a 5 year chart it looks like it may even be doing one of those 'cyclical' things.

 

[Yarddog]

You're right... when you look at a 5 year chart it looks like it may even be doing one of those 'cyclical' things.

That is most likely what is happening. It's higher to day than it was 2 years ago. This is not the 1st time that he stepped aside from the CEO position. I thinks that he is flipping positions with his buddy Steve Ritchie. He'll still be the face of PJ's, especially with the face lift or botox injections that he had. His ego won't let him step on the side lines completely.