Chipotle 2008 Annual Report Download - page 10

trademarks of Chipotle. We have filed trademark applications for a number of other marks in the U.S. In addition
to our U.S. registrations, we own the trademarks for “Chipotle Mexican Grill” in Australia, Brazil and Mexico
and for “Chipotle” in Australia and the European Union, among other countries. We have filed trademark
applications for “Chipotle” and related marks in a number of additional countries, including Canada and the
European Union.
We also believe that the design of our restaurants is our proprietary trade dress. From time to time we have
taken action against other restaurants that we believe are misappropriating our trademarks, restaurant designs or
advertising. Although our policy is to protect and defend vigorously our rights to our intellectual property, we
may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property, which could harm the value of our brand and
adversely affect our business.
Information Systems
Chipotle uses an integrated information system to manage the flow of information within each restaurant
and between the restaurants and the corporate office. This system includes a point-of-sales local area network
that helps facilitate the operations of the restaurant by recording sales transactions and printing orders in the
appropriate locations within the restaurant. Additionally, the point-of-sales system is used to authorize, batch and
transmit credit card transactions, to record employee time clock information, and to produce a variety of
management reports. Select information that is captured from this system is transmitted to the corporate office on
a daily basis, which enables management to continually monitor operating results. We believe that our current
point-of-sales systems will be an adequate platform to support our continued expansion.
Employees
As of December 31, 2008, we had about 20,400 employees, including 2,090 salaried employees and 18,310
hourly employees. None of our employees are unionized or covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
Available Information
We maintain a website at www.chipotle.com. The information on or available through our website is not,
and should not be considered, a part of this report. You may access our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports, as well as other reports
relating to us that are filed with or furnished to the SEC, free of charge at our website as soon as reasonably
practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC.
ITEM 1A.RISK FACTORS
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This report includes statements of our expectations, intentions, plans and beliefs that constitute “forward-
looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are intended to come within the safe harbor protection provided by those
sections. These statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, relate to the discussion of our business
strategies and our expectations concerning future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity and capital
resources and to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of
amounts not yet determinable. Forward-looking statements include our estimates of the amount of certain
expected expenses for 2009, projections of the number of restaurants we expect to open in 2009 and potential
changes in our comparable restaurant sales during 2009, statements of our intention to open restaurants in one or
more specified particular locations, and statements regarding the potential impact of the current economic
downturn on our business. We have used words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,”
“anticipate,” “believe,” “think,” “estimate,” “seek,” “expect,” “predict,” “could,” “project,” “potential” and other
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Annual Report