All Opinion articles – Page 9
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OpinionWhitbread F&B – some extra meat on the restaurant bones
MCA market insight director Steve Gotham asks why Whitbread is so shy about discussing its substantial restaurant and pub portfolio. He delves into the available data to see what can be gleaned about Whitbread’s F&B brands and their resonance with consumers
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Opinion
Mark out of Ten: Zizzi doing it for the ‘Gram
This week the Azzurri Group became the first UK restaurant group to hire a dedicated Instagrammer, to promote its Zizzi chain. In his latest MCA column, Mark McCulloch – the brand and marketing guru behind Supersonic Inc – gives his view on the appointment and asks why the sector as a whole has been so slow to embrace this sort of innovation.
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Opinion
The end of the beginning
Loungers’ admission to AIM at the end of last month caps a remarkable 17-year growth story, but as chief executive Nick Collins and chairman Alex Reilley tell James Wallin, they are only just getting started. They discuss the learnings from the IPO and the next steps for Loungers, including the potential for further sites in big cities as well as an eventual entry to the Scottish market.
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Opinion
Satisfaction or sales – how can you measure success?
New ways to “measure the unmeasurable” mean that satisfaction data could start to rival sales data as a key metric for operators, according to Gary Goodman, chief executive of Yumpingo.
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Opinion
Analysts corner: When will the wheels fall off the Waga?
Peel Hunt analyst Douglas Jack gives his view on the prospects for The Restaurant Group, which is due to report on Q1 trading next week. He says that while Wagamama’s like-for-like sales are likely to flatter for a while yet, the cost of labour inflation and broadly flat lfls in the rest of the company leaves the brand with little room to slow. He also asks whether it is time for companies like TRG to break out their in-store and delivery revenues and lfl sales.
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Opinion
Second coming
Taco Bell may be a well-known brand by name, but it’s only been in the past five years that it has made its mark on the streets of Britain. Georgi Gyton meets with general manager for Europe, Jorge Torres to discuss why the brand has an advantage over other operators and how social media is enabling is to tap into its target fan base.
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Opinion
Disrupting the monthly pay cycle
With increasing pressure to retain staff, operators are seeking out innovative new ways to meet the demands of an evolving workforce. MCA’s Finn Scott-Delany looks at how employer demand and emerging technology is opening the door for flexible income.
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Opinion
Burger battleground in Covent Garden
MCA market insight director Steve Gotham examines the fierce competition for the patty pound in one of London’s busiest markets and asks whether Covent Garden can be viewed as a microcosm of the wider market.
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Opinion
Analysts corner: TRG
Analysts at Shore Capital and Goodbody give their views on the appointment of Andy Hornby as the new chief executive of The Restaurant Group.
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Opinion
Heating up: Itsu’s growing hot food sales
The grab-and-go chain’s group marketing director speaks to MCA’s sister title Food Spark about how past successes are informing future menu development.
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Opinion
Simple Simmons
Lonsdale-backed bar group Simmons has spent the past 12 months getting its house in order and is now ready to kick off the next stage of its growth plan. Georgi Gyton spoke to chief executive Nick Campbell about its journey since entering the world of private equity and why keeping it simple doesn’t have to mean boring.
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Opinion
Soft skills development is vital for multi-unit managers
Promoting a general manager to one with multi-unit responsibilities is not always as straight forward a process as operators may think, if the employee is to perform at their best. Former Turtle Bay operations director and founder of Purple Story, a people-focused consultancy, Karen Turton discusses why soft skills are so important in the experience economy.
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Opinion
NPS – A taster menu of brand winners, losers and risers
MCA market insight director Steve Gotham gives an overview of the eating out sector through the prism of Net Promoter Scores, revealing the brands who are truly winning with customers and those still in need of improvement.
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Opinion
Wallet winners have the Woo Factor
Fierce competition in the eating out market coupled with the increasing promiscuity of consumers has meant that operators are having to fight harder than ever to make their offer standout. MCA market insight director, Steve Gotham, examines which brands have proved most effective at wooing hard-to-get customers.
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Opinion
Mark out of 10: People Power gets you a free Nando’s
When Nando’s decided to remind its customers about cashing in their loyalty points, it went big. Its stunt of erecting billboard-sized tear-down loyalty cards won it publicity across the media mix. In his latest MCA column, Mark McCulloch – the brand and marketing guru behind Supersonic Inc – looks at how Nando’s hit the PR jackpot.
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Opinion
Coronation street
For any company succession planning is an absolute priority but for founder-led businesses it can present particular challenges. How can you ever replace a founder and how should they be involved in the process? MCA editor James Wallin talks to recruitment experts to get their view on the pitfalls of managing succession. They discuss what the sector can learn from examples such as Loungers as well as examining a high-profile internal promotion yesterday, in James Spragg’s succession to chief executive at Casual Dining Group.
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Opinion
Island Poke: 'We are really trying to change the landscape of grab and go'
Poke has long been considered one to watch, though had yet to make in-roads in the UK – until recently. Leading the charge and looking to redefine lunchtime is Island Poke, whose founder James Gould-Porter speaks to Finn Scott-Delany about establishing the Hawaiian speciality as a new genre of food in London.
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Opinion
Caravan: ‘Pressures on the sector are forcing everyone to look at new formats’
Almost nine years since the Caravan team opened their first restaurant at Exmouth Market, they are still winning awards for their concept, collecting the Retailers’ Retailer Evolution Award last month. Co-founder Miles Kirby spoke to MCA’s sister title, Food Spark, about the brand’s constant thirst for innovation.
