September 1, 2021
Back in the day most big cities had their own flagship department store. Growing up in the North West, for me that was Kendal Milne in Manchester, in Newcastle it was Fenwick’s and in Birmingham it was Rackham’s, not forgetting the likes of Harrods and Selfridges in London. The highlight of a visit to Read More…
August 10, 2021
Many years ago whilst working in the brewing industry, myself and a colleague were discussing the merits of one of our brands latest advertising campaigns. We were trying to determine what impact it might have on the performance of the brand in the coming months. As I offered up various alternative ways to estimate Read More…
July 6, 2021
For many operators once they have been open for a year or two they get into the swing of planning for key calendar events across the year. When they actually start their planning will vary from business to business but there is usually some sort of natural flow. The great advantage of course is Read More…
June 1, 2021
When talking to operators about their venues it is very easy to focus on the ‘big’ things. In food-led outlets this tends to revolve around what food should go on the menu and in wet-led venues its more about what drinks should be stocked behind the bar. And whilst these are clearly very important Read More…
May 5, 2021
After a three months absence due to Covid-19 restrictions the Premier League returned in June 2020, albeit under very different circumstances. Games were permitted to be played but effectively behind closed doors with only those deemed to be essential allowed in the stadiums. While the majority of games were being televised it was obvious Read More…
March 29, 2021
In March 2020 Pubs, Bars and Restaurants across the UK had to close their doors almost overnight in response to the Covid-19 lock-down. As a result operators up and down the country were left with huge amounts of food (and drink) they were unable to sell. To be fair to many businesses including football Read More…
March 1, 2021
Whether we like it or not as Heraclitus, the Greek philosopher so elegantly put it “The only constant in life is change”. While this maxim is true in all walks of life it is particularly relevant in the world of social media and in particular how pubs, bars and restaurants need to keep evolving Read More…
February 1, 2021
Back in the mid-2000s when I was at Coors UK, soon to be Molson Coors, I wrote a column in the quarterly internal newspaper – Cheers. The purpose was to provide bite sized insights and perspectives on what was going on in the UK beer market. As was my want, I usually included a Read More…
January 4, 2021
It doesn’t matter whether you run a fine dining restaurant or a local café you will probably have heard of the phrase “we eat with our eyes”. Whilst it may feel quite modern in its tone, it appears to date back to a 1st Century Roman, Apicius, who was what we would refer to Read More…
December 1, 2020
Over the years and before a change in ownership, I had the pleasure of working with a multi-site operator not that far from me. One project I particularly enjoyed revolved round their drinks offer or more specifically what wines they stocked and sold. While the main focus of the work was around pricing it Read More…