Inventive Leisure, the 70-strong high street bar operator, has introduced an off-shoot Revolution brand focused on the late-night market called Revolution Late at a handful of sites, chief executive Mark McQuater has told M&C Report.
Revolution Late bars do not open before 5pm. McQuater compared it to a Tesco Metro, with a more limited offer focused on a particular target market. It features a “reduced food menu”.
“Some of the bars are in locations, like Hull, that are basically evening locations, and we’ve taken the decision that for these seven or eight bars we’re going to have a sub-brand called Revolution Late. In Revolution Late they will be focusing on the after-five-o’clock experience.”
“It’s about recognising that not one size fits every bar in the estate.
“We trialled it in Swindon and that’s been hugely successful. Swindon town centre is a challenging town centre, but the guys can now, rather than having a fairly empty day pitch, close and spring to life - and all of a sudden, come the evening, it works.”
Wolverhampton and Walsall are among the other places to receive a Revolution Late, which operates in a separate space from the standard Revolution. Some of the bars are converted from its Revolucion de Cuba rum bar concept.
“They are some of the original small legacy bars in traditional late night locations where it doesn’t make sense to try and say, ‘you will trade the full brand 24/7’.
“It’s a much more profitable operation, taking out some of the seven-day-a-week brand requirements.”
There is flexibility around whether Revolution Late bars open in the early part of the week, McQuater said. There’s a lower cost base because they trade for fewer hours, he added.
