990731 Foodmaker Changes Name to Jack in the Box

San Diego - Foodmaker Inc., operator and franchiser of Jack in the Box, announced that the corporation is adopting the name of its fast-food restaurants to ensure better name recognition as it expands nationwide.

The change to Jack in the Box Inc., which goes into effect Oct. 4, will mean a new ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange, JBX instead of FM.

“As we expand later this year into new Southeastern markets with the goal of becoming a national brand, we will leverage the strength of our brand with new consumers to distinguish ourselves from competitors,” said Robert Nugent, company president and chief executive officer.

The company operates and franchises about 1,500 Jack in the Box restaurants in 11 states, with its most eastern restaurant in St. Louis. Jack in the Box expects to open 110 restaurants this year, including stores in Nashville, Tenn., Charlotte, N.C., and Baton Rouge, La.

Charles Duddles, the company's chief financial officer, said the name change is intended to attract franchisees who may be more familiar with Jack in the Box than Foodmaker.

No changes are planned for the menu or the chain's advertisements, which stars the irreverent “Jack,” a mascot whose head is a giant ping-pong ball topped with a little yellow hat.

Jack in the Box has worked to improve its image since 1993 when four people died and several hundred became ill from E. coli bacteria linked to contaminated and undercooked hamburgers at Jack in the Box restaurants.

The bacteria problem resulted in more than 100 lawsuits. Beef suppliers last year agreed to pay $58.5 million to Jack in the Box to end the litigation.

Jack in the Box has since created a food-safety program under which a corps of company inspectors monitor the food chain from cattle yard, bakery and lettuce fields to the take-out window.

The company, which has 37,000 employees, had 1998 earnings of $66.7 million on sales of $1.2 billion.

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