M&C Report reports from Intertain’s presentation for suppliers and hears from chief executive John Leslie and chief operating officer Simon Kaye about the evolution of the Walkabout operator and its plans for 2014.
Re-positioning
Intertain is looking to re-position its venues into a category the company has identified as “aspiration”, Leslie explained. At the moment it’s slightly ahead, in terms of customer group and spend, of the likes of Wetherspoons and Reflex and just behind Scream, Chicago’s and Varsity. Intertain is targeting the space of higher-spend rivals such as Revolution, Pitcher & Piano and O’Neill’s.
The firm defines “aspirational” venues as those with average weekly wet sales of £20,511, growing at 2.4% year-on-year, and food sales of £7,379 (+4.9%). Walkabout had an average weekly wet trade of £24,251, according to a company snapshot of trading in August, (a decline of 5% year-on-year) and dry sales of £2,353 (+15.1%). Lower, so-called “plastic value” brands are running at weekly wet sales of £14,277 (-1.8%) and food sales of £3,796 (+3.6%).
Leslie said that the absolute level of food spend is “pretty low”. “That tells us where the opportunity is.”
Drinks range
Kaye explained that the firm’s drinks range is split into three categories: good, better and best. The number of products has been reduced; Kaye said the feedback was that it was “confused” and with a “lack of focus”. He wanted to give space for the Australian and other brands “to breathe”. A number of craft brands have been added, both for beers and also ciders.
The new list, to be introduced in 2014, includes a number of new brands added and some major products de-listed. For example:
Draught beer and cider. Good: Carling, Fosters, Strongbow. Better: Becks Vier, Heineken. Best: Tiger, Aspall, Rekorderlig Strawberry. Removed: Coors Light, Stella Artois, Magners Golden Draught.
Packaged beer. Good: Fosters. Better: Corona, Budweiser, Victoria Bitter, Toohey’s Extra Dry. Best: Desperados, James Boag, Little Creatures Pale Ale. Removed: Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Becks, Heineken, Carlsberg, Becks.
Packaged spirits, ciders and others: Good: VK, Bulmers; Better: Smirnoff Ice, Kopparberg. Best: Hooch, Pipsqueak Best Cider. Removed: WKD, Brothers, Jeremiah Weed.
Kaye said a decision is still to be made about energy drinks and he admitted that soft drinks are an area Intertain “hasn’t nailed yet”.
Refurb impact
Kaye discussed the impact of recent refurbishment projects. Walkabout in Lincoln site, which re-opened two weeks ago, has seen a 47% sales uplift. Kaye lauded the “stunning results” at the venue, which he said is now taking over £30,000 a week.
Elsewhere, Blackpool is up 5.3% five weeks after its refurb, Carlisle is up 7.5% after 18 weeks and Derby up 24.5% after 20 weeks. At the same time, the upgrades have also brought a change to the sales mix at the sites. For example at Derby food sales have moved from 4% to 9%, wine and cocktail sales from 4% to 6% and day trade from 9% to 19%. At the Lincoln site, food sales are c£6,000, up from about £1,000 pre-refurb.
Leslie said eight of the nine refurbs undertaken in just over two years have been successful (Leeds has been the exception).
New appointment
Kaye announced that Intertain has appointed Brett Collier, former operations manager at Novus, to the role of operations manager for the Walkabout operator.
Sales ambition
Kaye said his aim for 2014 is to add 100,000 more customers and increase average spend per head by 20% to £12.
Digital innovation
The new website is also more effect on mobile platforms, Kaye said; 48% of views are on mobiles. The site is set up to identify where the user is located and will automatically load up the site for the nearest venue. The new website allows for things such as re-ordering of drinks and more effective booking facilities.
There’s also now more control over the use of social networks by employees. Kaye said they had a tendency to be “enthusiastic amateurs” previously Seven “golden rules” have been put together for social media: Don’t ‘yabber on’; Be honest; Stand for quality; Be active; Build a relationship; Uphold the law; and If in doubt, don’t post.
Customer satisfaction
Intertain pointed to a growth in customer satisfaction. In 2010/2011, 51% of customer agreed that they had a great time. For period 10 of the current year, it reached 65%. Kaye said “great strides” have been made in this area.
Retrofitting and future refurbs
Leslie told M&C Report that there are plans to retro fit some of the features from recent refurbishments into some of the older ones, namely Temple in London, plus Birmingham and Cardiff. The features include the use of open kitchens, improved toilets and a greater use of smaller tables.
Leslie said: “It’s really about getting some of the colours and imagery more in line with where the brand is now, and making it even more female friendly.” Men currently account for 61% of customers Leslie said another eight to nine refurbishments are planned for, ideally, the next 18 months.
Pre-booked sales
Kaye expressed his admiration for Novus when it comes to its pre-booking policy. He said he’d like to “move us down the curve that Novus pioneered, where 50% of the business is pre-booked”. “We very much want to participate in that journey.”
Big days
Intertain is targeting growth in payday weekend, which currently leads to a typical sales uplift of 17%. “What we want to do is make that 25% and 30%,” he said. “It’s really, really important and I think we are a bit behind the curve.” There will be greater focus on targeting customers on their birthdays.
Energy costs
Leslie said the company has been working with Energise for the past five years, over which time like-for-like energy costs have fallen by 27%, a figure he described as “pretty impressive”.
