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Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 10/13/2016 09:09 PM
Date: May 1, 2013
B E N J AM I N E. H E R M A L I N
Name Your Poisson: A Case of Fishy Decision-making
Poisson’s, a chain of large fish restaurants, had a problem1. Too much fish seemed to be going to
waste. As the CEO of Poisson’s, Christina Gauss said: “The data points to our throwing away too
much fish.”
History
The first Poisson’s restaurant opened in 1931 in Cauchy, California, a small seaside town. From the
beginning, Poisson’s specialized in fish. Taking advantage of the local catch, Poisson’s promoted
itself as the place for fresh fish. In 1933, with the end of prohibition, Poisson’s started selling beer. As
the restaurant’s popularity grew, it moved into a former cannery and was soon serving hundreds of
customers a night in a lively and raucous atmosphere.
In 1946, Pascal Poisson, the founder, sold the restaurant to Eric Weibull, who quickly began to expand
the company into a chain of restaurants throughout California, Oregon, and Washington. Pretty soon
the catchphrase, “If your fish’s not Poisson, it might as well be poison,” began to be heard over the
radio, and later television from San Diego to Seattle. Today, Eric Weibull’s granddaughter, Christina
Gauss, runs the chain. Each Poisson’s outlet is still, however, a large restaurant full of people having a
good time.
Organization
Unlike other restaurateurs, that franchised their restaurants, Eric Weibull decided the chain should
own all the restaurants, which it still does. Traditionally, though, it has given the managers of each
restaurant a fair amount of autonomy.
1
This case is fictional. It is based, however, on a real business situation.
Dickson Louie prepared this case study under the supervision of Professor Benjamin E. Hermalin as the basis for class discussion rather than to
illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation.
Copyright © 2013 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. No part of...