Earlier this month, Bob Ivell followed YO! Sushi’s Robin Rowland and Deltic’s Peter Marks in joining the board of the ALMR, a move that further underlined the traction the organisation has gained across the sector, especially in the last few years.
Ivell says: “My key question was what do they want to achieve? My view where the ALMR is and where I think all the bodies in the industry are, is that we still have lots of people doing lots of different things. I still feel the Government looks at that and believes it can divide and conquer. I haven’t been up close with any of the discussions with Government over the last few years but I do think the little I have seen, you do get that “well I hear you said that, but another group told us this” from them. Against this, the retail sector lobby as one.
“They convinced me that I could help raise the profile of the ALMR, particularly from a Government perspective, because obviously M&B are a big player in the market. I have said for a long time that the industry has to come together to speak as one voice. When I have said that over the years, people have said why don’t you do something about it, which is a fair comment. I have never felt that there was a role I could really do that but I think we are now at a point with the ALMR where we/I can add some value.”
Ivell agrees that the ALMR is in a good place at present. He says: “It has grown in new membership and got some key big players in. The key talking to Kate (Nicholls) was how does it get the balance between representing these bigger, national players with the needs of the smaller businesses.
“The reality is that going forward in the sector everyone has to do more of everything in terms of their operations, which is further blurring the lines between pubs, restaurants and coffee shops, and bringing the needs of each category closer together. The ALMR is now in a better position than ever to be that one voice. We do now have a real retail business. Hopefully because I am responsibly well known by the other organisations in the sector and been around long enough, perhaps I can facilitate some discussions between us. I am happy to try and do that.”
Ivell says there is also a focus on reaching out to the younger businesses and showing them that “the ALMR is as relevant to them as it is to its more traditional members”. He says: “A key part for me is about how we broaden our appeal right across the sector and satisfy all our members.”
There is also the question of where does the organisation evolve. Ivell says: “It is still very early days for me, but it is something I think I can add value too, bringing my experience and a fresh pair of eyes to the table. It has grown very fast and is at a point where we need to ASK where are we and where are we going from here, do we need to be more focused. This is a maturing and evolving organisation.
“We need to provide a consistent message to the Government about what this industry’s strengths are. For example, one we are a great employer, two we are a big part of the tourist market, which you invest huge sums of money on to attract people into the UK. We need to have three or four key messages that we keep banging back at Government, because if you flip flop then it makes it easier for them to duck the issues. There needs to be alignment across the sector’s organisations to be able to achieve that.”
