The Cheesecake Factory Reports Agreement to Expand in Asia

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (NASDAQ: CAKE) today announced that ithas entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Hong Kong-based Maxim'sCaterers Limited, a diversified operator of full-service and quick-servicerestaurants, as well as bakery and coffee shops, in Asia, to build and operateThe Cheesecake Factory® restaurants. The agreement provides for thedevelopment of a minimum of 14 restaurants over the next 10 years in HongKong, Macau, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, with the opportunityto expand to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The firstrestaurant is expected to open in fiscal 2015.“Our brand has experienced a tremendous level of success outside of the U.S.A.and we are excited to announce another step forward in our global expansionefforts. Our strategy of entering into license agreements with highlyqualified, experienced restaurant operators that have broad geographiccapabilities is proving to be an excellent way to expand our complex, highvolume concept internationally. The agreement with Maxim's provides anincredible opportunity for us to develop in Asia with an established,multi-unit restaurant operator that has nearly 60 years of operatingexperience in the region,” said David Overton, Chairman and CEO.“International expansion will become an increasingly meaningful driver toachieving our goal of delivering mid-teens earnings per share growth over timeas the number of restaurants operated by our licensees gradually increases.Together with our ongoing development of Company-owned restaurants andconsistent increases in sales from our existing base of restaurants, we arepoised to continue to deliver high-quality and dependable financialperformance for many years to come,” concluded Overton.