M&M Custard, one of the largest franchisees of Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas.
The Overland Park, Kansas-based company operates 31 Freddy’s locations in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee, with assets of $5.2 million and liabilities of $27.7 million owed to more than 100 creditors.
In court documents, CEO Eric Cole called the company’s 11 Chicago stores “toxic assets” that generated negative EBITDA and became a financial burden on the entire portfolio. M&M’s purchased six Chicago stores for $1 million in 2021, with an additional commitment to develop 13 more locations in hopes of dominating the market. Three years later, Kohl’s blamed Chicago’s “heavy regulatory and tax environment” for its declining sales.
What this hedge fund billionaire did differently to fix his NFL disaster
When David Tepper bought the Carolina Panthers for a record $2.3 billion in 2018, he took a hands-on approach, moving through seven coaches and 10 quarterbacks. The strategy failed as the team won only 33% of its games and never made the playoffs. Tepper also threw a drink on a fan and was fined $300,000.
Now the $24 billion hedge fund manager is doing something completely different: retreating. Tepper hired new coaches and a GM, let them rebuild the roster without interference, and invested heavily in analytics and facilities. outcome? The Panthers are 6-5 this season and are in the playoffs.
“You really know you’re successful when you know what you don’t know,” Tepper explains. the new York Times In a rare interview, admitting his early mistakes.
‘Complete Idiot’s Guide’ franchise gets Hollywood deal
Photo by Edward Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images
Those yellow and black ‘how to’ books that taught millions of people to fake everything are coming to your screens.
Amasia Entertainment Bus Franchise rights taken away The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Adapting the Series from Penguin Random House to Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, and Streaming Content. The deal covers both scripted and unscripted projects across all platforms, including social media.
The move underscores Hollywood’s obsession with mining nostalgic IP for sure-fire content – because why create something new when you can repackage a 32-year-old book series that everyone already knows?
AI teddy bear powered by ChatGPT pulled from shelves for saying inappropriate things
Photo by Blurra/Getty Images
A $99 talking bear for kids turns the conversation into graphic sexual content and offers tips on where to find dangerous household items. a monitoring report,
Kumma Bear, manufactured in China and sold by Singapore-based Foltoy, uses OpenAI’s GPT-4 chatbot. Researchers from the Public Interest Research Group found that the bears discussed sexually explicit topics. It also worked voluntarily in places where children could find knives and matches around the house.
The findings shed light on how adult-facing technology from AI companies is repurposed for children’s products without adequate safeguards.
Larry Wang, CEO of Foltoy told CNN The company is “conducting an internal security audit” after removing its AI-enabled toys from sale. OpenAI has not commented on how its technology ended up in a children’s toy.
M&M Custard, one of the largest franchisees of Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Kansas.
The Overland Park, Kansas-based company operates 31 Freddy’s locations in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee, with assets of $5.2 million and liabilities of $27.7 million owed to more than 100 creditors.
In court documents, CEO Eric Cole called the company’s 11 Chicago stores “toxic assets” that generated negative EBITDA and became a financial burden on the entire portfolio. M&M’s purchased six Chicago stores for $1 million in 2021, with an additional commitment to develop 13 more locations in hopes of dominating the market. Three years later, Kohl’s blamed Chicago’s “heavy regulatory and tax environment” for its declining sales.
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