Cracker Barrel shed almost $100 million in market value after its stock plunged Thursday following the release of a new logo. The new design eliminates a longstanding drawing of an overall-clad man leaning against a barrel, in favor of a cleaner logo featuring just the chain’s name.
Shares of Cracker Barrel fell $4.22, or 7.2%, to $54.80 in Thursday trading, shedding $94 million in market value. The stock had dipped to a low of $50.27 earlier in the day, representing a loss of almost $200 billion in its capitalization.
Wall Street’s reaction to the logo redesign comes as Cracker Barrel has been working to refresh its image through new menu items and redecorated stores that eschew the 55-year-old chain’s old-timey approach in favor of a more modern look.
According to the company’s website, the man and barrel in the old logo represented “the old country store experience where folks would gather around and share stories.”
It’s unusual for a company’s share price to plunge dramatically due to a logo redesign, although marketing missteps can cause investors to question a company’ strategy. Cracker Barrel’s overhaul has been overseen by CEO Julie Felss Masino, who last year described the chain as “not as relevant as we once were,” and announced plans to update its down-home menu.
In a statement to CBS News, Cracker Barrel said that the man portrayed in the logo, known as “Uncle Herschel,” will remain “front and center in our restaurants and on our menu.”
“Our values haven’t changed, and the heart and soul of Cracker Barrel haven’t changed,” the company said.
The new logo, which will appear on menus and marketing materials, “is now rooted even more closely to the iconic barrel shape and wordmark that started it all,” the company said in an Aug. 18 press release.
Conservative commentators took issue with the rebrand, with right-wing podcaster Matt Walsh calling it “more generic” on social media. Marketing experts also criticized the company’s overhaul. Bolt Health founder Kevin Dahlstrom, who has served as a chief marketing officer at several companies in the financial industry, described Crack Barrel’s rebrand as a “fiasco.”
“The holy grail of marketing is to create a brand that customers give a damn about — and feel some ownership of. It’s exceedingly rare and when you have that — as Cracker Barrel did — you NEVER EVER abandon it, you only double down on it,” Dahlstrom wrote on social media.
Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
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