Sing when you’re winning

Another weekend, another set of headlines –“the casual dining crunch”, “the great chain restaurant rip-off”.

The eating and drinking out sector, and casual dining in particular, has received more than its fair share of negative press over the past few weeks. The high-profile restructuring processes underway at some of the biggest names in the sector have inevitably led to speculation about the health of an entire sector. The problems at Jamie Oliver’s c40 restaurants, for example, have been painted as symptomatic of an entire industry.

Of course, it would be ridiculous to pretend problems do not exist in the sector. MCA’s audience is all too familiar with the obstacles facing operators – both external and through a natural evolution of the market – and there is no need to repeat them here.

However, there is a real risk of the sector getting consumed by the headlines and beginning to talk itself down.

Instead, we should be focussing on the success stories of this sector. This weekend, for example, MCA revealed that Hawthorn Leisure had appointed advisors, not to restructure, but to seek new investment to drive forward the company’s ambitious growth plans. This is a company that has been built up from scratch less than four years ago to now be valued in the region of £115m to £130m. It comes on the back of several high-profile deals in the tenanted and leased sector, but when Gerry Carroll set up the company in 2014, there was little positivity about that segment of the market.

Last week also saw Wagamama confound the cynics with another set of buoyant sales figures, with like-for-like sales figures up 8.2%, marking 197 weeks of trading ahead of the competition.

While not as eye-watering, the positive sales figures for Bella Italia and Café Rouge operator, the Casual Dining Group, in its most recent financial year are a cause for cheer.

Elsewhere in the sector there is no shortage of operators continuing to grow sales and outlets – look at the plans for the next year for Five Guys, the Ivy Collection, New World Trading Company, Honest Burgers and the Alchemist, to name just a few, and tell me there’s no confidence on the sector.

This week, we at MCA host our 20^th annual Retailers’ Retailer of the Year awards, where we will highlight more of these success stories.

It’s worth taking a moment to look at the list of finalists as a reminder of the wealth of talent on show within this industry.

In best company for example we have JD Wetherspoon; Leon; Loungers; Nando’s: Pret A Manger and Wagamama. All six are now established leaders in their fields but all continue to innovate – just look at JDW’s investment in its technology and menu offers, Leon with its new Thai concept or Wagamama’s use of an innovation lab to gauge customer feedback on new menu ideas.

In emerging concepts, we look at the operators who are likely to shape the industry for years to come and here again we find bravery in innovation and execution. Grind, for example, recently announced a partnership with SSP to take it into transport hubs at the same time as smashing its crowdfunding target. Meanwhile, Mowgli and Patty & Bun are both seeking to break new ground, with the former eyeing an entry into London and the latter having just opened its first regional outpost.

Meanwhile, in the Evolution category we celebrate established companies who have refused to rest on their laurels and continued to keep their businesses fresh, whether a potentially game-changing deal, such as as YO! Sushi’s acquisition of Bento Sushi or through the scope of ambition, such as Liberation’s ambitious plans for its Butcombe estate.

These are just a selection of the great operators we will be celebrating on Wednesday night. There simply isn’t space to highlight all of those I admire.

The bad press the sector is receiving will inevitably fade as business reporters return to bashing supermarkets or fashion stores, or whatever is seen as not in vogue that particular week.

A good sense of perspective is perhaps to look at the regular predictions over the past 40 years of the death of the cinema. In the early 80s particularly, with the increasing popularity of videos, it seemed inevitable that the act of going out to the movies was about to become obsolete. There was plenty of evidence to support this theory as well, as cinema audiences slumped from a one-time high of 1.6 billion (in 1945) to 54 million. Over the intervening years the doomsayers have continued to write cinema’s obituary – the rise of Netlix and other streaming services seen as the most recent nail in the coffin. In fact attendances have steadily risen since the 80s to a peak in 2002 of 175 million, and stayed relatively flat ever since.

Despite cultural shifts, technological advancements and changing times, the appetite for going out remains buoyant. Those who adapt to the times and keep their offers fresh for an increasingly demanding audience continue to thrive, as we have seen.

At RROTY on Wednesday we will celebrate the successes of this vibrant sector in the 20^th year of these awards. Over that time operators have come and gone, the economy has risen and fallen, but great brands and great venues have endured. At MCA we look forward to reporting the next 20 years of successes.