Inside Track by Mark Wingett
“Hang on a minute lads, I’ve got a great idea! Err…”, so utters Michael Caine in the final reel of the archetypal 1960s English caper, The Italian Job. Now if you were thinking of a great idea for the UK restaurant scene at the moment you would probably overlook our Michael and settle for something more Mexican, such is the momentum currently behind this category.
And to be fair, the younger boys in the casual-dining playground are definitely riding high at the moment with their new concepts. However, last week reminded everyone that the more experienced prefects and their classic Italian restaurant still hold sway at break time.
Two weeks ago Prezzo, the 160-strong Italian chain led by chief executive Jonathan Kaye, reported a 12% increase in pre-tax profit to £14.4m, and added that the first quarter of 2011 “has started in an encouraging fashion”. M&C Report understands that only two sites out its entire estate are currently trading below expectations.
The company opened 20 new restaurants in 2010 compared to just two in 2009, which it included its first acquisition of 11 former Caffe Uno sites. It plans to open at least the same figure again this year, with its pipeline for openings described as “encouraging”.
Fast forward to this week, and Tasty, the Aim-listed restaurant group and the operator of Wildwood and Dim T, announced its first pre-tax profit and revealed that trading had improved still further with a profitable first quarter in 2011.
Only launched in September, Wildwood, the pizza and pasta concept, has been the driving force behind the company’s move into profit, with its opening programme set to be ramped up over the next few years to recognise this.
With leading shareholder and industry veteran Sam Kaye taking an increasing role in the chain, the company is set to open at least six new sites this year under the concept.
It is in early negotiations regarding a site in Leicestershire, which would see the group break further out of its south-east heartland.
So the consumers’ appetite for all things Italian would seem as strong as ever, further highlighted by the continuing number of new concepts entering the sector, such as Coco di Mama and the Real Man Pizza Company.
Launched in London’s Clerkenwell last week, backed by Isle of Man-based finance and services group Rivington Street Holdings and to be led by ex-Indian Restaurant Group chief exec Amit Pau, Real Man Pizza Co plans 10 Italian restaurants in the capital over the next three years.
Moves by the category’s big hitters, such as Ask, Pizza Express, Strada and Zizzi to upgrade their offers, and in many cases launch new generation formats into the sector, also shows the continued importance, resilience and competitiveness of the Italian dining market.
Early indications are that all our happy with their upgrades, with trading in line, if not above expectations, at the majority of the sites given makeovers.
Indeed, the Gondola Group is to roll out the next generation format of its Pizza Express brand across its entire c.380-strong estate, after the success of its “Living Lab” test site in Richmond.
M&C Report also understands the company is looking to up the ante further in the pizza sector by trialling online ordering at its Baker Street site. Ordered from the comfort of your office or home, your pizza will be ready at the set time you want to pick it up from a dedicated section of the restaurant.
Of course the game changer in the category and indeed for the majority of the restaurant market has been the impact of the Jamie’s Italian juggernaut. Currently standing at 17-strong the chain is set to hit 25 sites by the end of the year.
As a bullish Simon Kossoff, chief executive of Carluccio’s, told my former colleague Mark Stretton in the latest issue of M&C Report, “I wish he (Jamie Oliver) would open more businesses next to us, because when he does, our business goes up.”
What Jamie’s has done is provide a shot in the arm to the sector and given true confidence to all the market’s players – unlike the participants at the end of The Italian Job.
