4. Bucking the trend
The first decade of the new millennium was business as usual for most restaurant chains. Panera decided to break from the pack and focus intently on controlling costs. “We harbored our balance sheet and harbored our growth rate,” Shaich says. When the Great Recession hit in 2008, triggering a cost-cutting spree across the business world, Panera was in a position to invest in upgrading stores and service, Shaich recalls. Same-store sales grew in the middle single digits, even at the depths of the downturn. “We were contrarian,” he says. “Our stock price tripled.”