Content area
Full Text
RALEIGH, N.C. - It's been a year since Ted Fowler received the 2003 Gold Plate from the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, and yet, at Golden Corral Corp., it's been business as usual.
The company reported 2003 year-end systemwide sales of $1.247 billion, a rise of 7.9 percent over last year's figure. Same-store sales for 2003 were up 3.9 percent and in the fourth quarter gained 5.7 percent.
"We've had a good year. We had a record year," notes Fowler, Golden Corral's president and chief executive. "Our customers were served, and revenues came in, so it was a really good, really rewarding year."
That kind of modesty is in line with Fowler's business motto: "The road to success is always under construction. You just can't be complacent. ... It's always in a process of decay and renewal."
In other words, yesterday is over; what's on tap for tomorrow?
"The best way to describe him is very humble," says Judy Irwin, Golden Corral's vice president of human resources and training. "I told him sometimes when you give him a compliment, you actually think you've insulted him."
She credits his "incredible vision" with Golden Corral's success: "He really pushes us to think beyond what's going on right now: let's...