JD Wetherspoon (JDW) takes the McDonald’s approach to food menu development, chairman Tim Martin has told MCA.
Following the pub operator’s full year results yesterday (7 October), in which it recorded a pre-tax loss of £30.4m, Martin said the business would look to try and improve sales through focusing on several key areas, including coffee, real ale and food.
He said that it had been a “painstakingly slow” recovery in sales for some operators after Covid, due to consumers becoming accustomed to buying cheaper beer from the supermarket.
Martin suggested that those pub groups whose customers span a wider spectrum of age groups have seen a slower return to pre-pandemic sales than those orientated towards the younger market.
However, while like-for-like sales were down 4.7% for the 53 weeks to 31 July 2022, they have risen to +10.1% in the nine weeks to 2 October 2022, suggesting a turnaround in performance is in progress.
On the contributing factors towards the rise in sales over the summer, Martin said that the introduction of products such as Au Vodka, and similar drinks, had “been a hit”. “Real ale is making a comeback after a slow start, and food has been very strong in the last couple of months.”
Several new chicken dishes on the menu have been doing well, as have its pizzas and curry club on Thursdays, he added.
Martin said future development of the food offering was likely to come from a combination of some new dishes but also tapping into different day parts.
“In general, we try to stick with successful dishes forever, taking a leaf from McDonald’s book, so improvements or modifications and only very occasional new dishes,” he added.
‘Still on the lookout for new sites’
JDW recently placed 32 pubs on the market, due to their proximity to other Wetherspoon venues. Martin said the opening of larger pubs, at a considerable distance from each other, reflected a long-term strategy, rather than a reaction to trading difficulties.
He told MCA there were no further pub divestments currently being considered, but that good sites at the right price were hard to find, in terms of its property requirements.
“Openings have reduced from 100 a year 20 years ago, to a dozen or so pre-pandemic as we have now opened in most major locations. But we are still on the lockout…”
