CEC Entertainment Inc., the parent company of US restaurant and play facility chains Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza, has created a committee to explore restructuring and financing opportunities, according to a regulatory filing made earlier this month.
CEC Entertainment, Inc., a leader in family entertainment and dining, reported that preliminary sales for the first quarter are down 21.9%. CEC has revealed it expects each of its 550 Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza venues to sustain a loss while on-premise dining, entertainment and arcade rooms are closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Company’s board of directors has appointed Paul Aronzon to the board as a director, as well as serving as chair of a special committee created to explore restructuring and financing opportunities. The board also appointed independent directors Peter Brown and Allen Weiss to the Restructuring Committee.
CEC has meanwihile taken action to mitigate the impact of venue closures, including operating 520 of its 550 Chuck E. Cheese and Peter Piper Pizza Company-operated venues in a third-party delivery and take-out capacity, reducing hours of operation and staffing levels at its venues, and furloughing most of its hourly employees and approximately 65% of its support centre personnel.
In other news, CEC has promoted Sherri Landry to chief marketingo, replacing Ashley Zickefoose. Landry has more than 20 years of brand marketing experience and is a strategic and innovative executive with proven business results across brand development, marketing strategy, new product introductions, marketing research and consumer behaviour.