Identifying the market winners

Inside Track by Mark Stretton As some of the weekend FA Cup results so clearly demonstrated, trying to pick winners in sport, or business, is a hazardous pursuit – one strewn with the debris of tarnished reputations. It is why we at M&C Report don’t even try. We leave it to the industry experts – the leaders of the eating and drinking-out market – to tell us who they think are the industry’s best, through the Retailers’ Retailer of the Year (RROTY) Awards. We were once again able to measure market opinion, and who the people that run this industry think are the best, when last week, after collecting nominations and votes from hundreds of senior executives, the results for this year’s RROTY Awards were unveiled at a evening dinner in central London. It provided an important opportunity to celebrate the sector’s achievements amid what is certainly a more challenging time for the wider economy and for consumer-facing businesses, including the pub and restaurant industry. The top accolade – that of Best Individual – went to Graham Turner, chief executive of Café Rouge-operator Tragus Holdings, who emerged from an illustrious group that also comprised Rooney Anand, John Hutson, Simon Kossoff, Julian Metcalfe and Ian Neill. It was good to see Turner recognised. When he took the job at Tragus, there was a good deal of scepticism given his financier and leased pub company background. Everyone knew he was an astute businessman but he has also proved himself a leader, someone who through the ongoing resurgence of the Tragus business has demonstrated he can build value through operational excellence. When awards are dolled out from a dry process that involves sifting application forms and conducting paper judging with self-appointed experts in sterile meeting rooms – possibly like a certain Best Company to Work For list published yesterday – they can rightly be taken with a large dollop of salt. But when you are told you are in the eyes of your peers among the very best, there is probably no greater honour. Turner and his Tragus colleagues also shared another prize, that of best deal for the £140m purchase of Strada, with the ex-Strada management team, led by Andy Bassadone, while Richard Caring, who backed Bassadone at Strada and is doing so again with Cote Restaurants, was named Investor of the Year. The Rising Star prize – designed to recognise emerging talent within the senior tier of the industry – went to two of the entrepreneurs who have brought the Canteen British casual-dining concept to the market, Patrick Clayton-Malone and Dominic Lake. One of the big surprises of the night was McDonald’s triumph in the rivitalised brand category. I was glad it was chosen. It’s sales figures look as strong as ever and the fact is that McDonald’s is where people eat – it remains one of the most popular eating-out destinations in the UK, and when people go, they still tend to eat burgers, rather than any of the healthier fare that has been added to its menu in recent years. The business was a worthy winner. McDonald’s provided an interesting juxtaposition with one of our other winners, Best Concept Gaucho Grill, which is at the other end of the eating-out spectrum, pushing the boundaries in terms of average spend per head in a chain restaurant. The London focused Le Pain Quotidien collected Emerging Concept. Le Pain, which was founded in Belgium and now has sites in several European countries and America, successfully trades through all day parts, and to me taps into the desire among consumers for a third space. It is a more sophisticated Starbucks. Alma de Cuba, a cocktail bar and restaurant housed in a 200-year-old church in Liverpool city centre, saw off perennial finalist the Wolseley to collect best venue. If you haven’t been yet, it’s well worth a visit. For some, the Retailers moniker that these awards carry is curious, given that they are not about Marks & Spencer or Sir Philip Green, but The Retailers’ Retailer of the Year Awards take there name because they are designed to identify the premier retailers in this market – those with great propositions, attention to detail, excellent standards and training, and probably most importantly, flawless execution. And once again, those identified as winners, all have the hallmarks of great retailers, within their respective market segments. As I said on the night, this is undoubtedly a more testing period for the sector. But while things are clearly tough for wet-led businesses, the fundamentals driving eating-out growth are still in place. Besides the sector has always faced challenges and its business leaders have always confronted these challenges head on. Looking at the list of winners and finalists, it is clear that the industry is in good hands. A word of thanks to our Retailers’ Event Partners for their considerable support. They are Brakes, Brulines, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Hobart UK, KPMG, Sapient Corporate Finance, Torex, and Wells & Young’s Brewing Company.