News
Independents losing out to casual dining chains in the battle for footfall
By Neil Gerrard
Independent restaurants are rapidly losing ground to casual dining chains, with visits to the former dropping by 1.4 billion over the past six years, as visits to the latter rose by 900 million. That’s according to new figures from the NPD Group, which compared figures to March 2015 with the state of play in the year to March 2009. Over a tough six-year period, which included the recession, visits to the British foodservice sector in general fell by 500 mil- lion. However, casual dining op- erators’ ability to offer value and a consistent customer service ex- perience appear to have helped them pull ahead at the expense of their independent rivals. In the year to March 2015 vis- its to independent restaurants stood at 5.1 billion. Visits to chain restaurants over the same period hit the six billion mark, meaning that they have gradu- ally overtaken independents as the recession has worn on. The news came as NPD revealed that casual dining chains are topping the food- service sector when it comes to customer satisfaction.
Its research found that con- sumers said they felt “strong overall satisfaction” in 77% of visits to casual dining chains, for the year ending March 2015. The figure, which means restaurant guests rated their overall experience as either “very good” or “excellent”, rep- resents an increase of 10 per- centage points since the year ending March 2009. Branded pubs came in at sec- ond place (“strongly satisfied” in 73% of visits), while quick service restaurant (QSR) chains scored 67%. The figure for branded pubs is 10 percentage points up since year end March 2009, while the QSR rating is 14 percentage points better.
6 | The Caterer | 31 July 2015
Michael Caines’ ‘dream’ hotel gets go-ahead
Planners have now approved two-Michelin-starred chef Mi- chael Caines’ plans to trans- form Courtlands House in Lympstone, Devon, into a luxury hotel and restaurant. The
decision had been
delayed pending a site meeting at the Grade II-listed Georgian mansion by the development management
committee on
East Devon District Council. Caines (below), who has been executive chef at Gidleigh Park for more than 20 years, can now proceed with plans to convert the wedding venue into a 21-bedroom country house hotel and 60-seat fine-dining restaurant. The work will also include staff accommodation, kitchens and the landscap- ing of the 28 acres of grounds, including a nature trail, tennis court and croquet lawn. The purchase was subject to planning permission, so Caines can now take possession of the property on 7 September as scheduled.
Casual dining chains like Pizza Express have remained popular
“Customers are less willing to accept an average experience” Cyril Lavenant
Overall satisfaction was driven up by several aspects of a visit to a foodservice outlet, including the quality and taste of food and drink, the quality of service, ambience, and whether the customers felt valued. However, there were areas for improvement, NPD said. In QSR chains, more than one third of visits (36%) did not provide “strong” quality of ser- vice, according to the survey. Meanwhile, for branded pubs, 38% of visits fail to offer “strong” speed of service and a “strong” level of satisfaction with cleanliness is missing in 35% of visits.
“We believe our data shows that consumers are increasingly demanding and less willing to accept an average experience,” said Cyril Lavenant, NPD’s director of foodservice for the UK and France. “They are much more prepared to try new brands, which means attract- ing and retaining consumers is growing increasingly for operators.
difficult
“The choice of an outlet either for food or beverages is driven less by the need for convenience or by ‘habit’. Consumers are more likely to make decisions based on quality and variety of food, as well as price. Foodser- vice outlets need to understand those are all parts of creating that sense of ‘overall satisfaction’ if they are to drive footfall. If you provide great food, but your service does not follow, you are likely to lose customers.”
neil.gerrard@
thecaterer.com www.thecaterer.com
“The next stage is to organise a programme of works. We are not going to rush at this. It is the realisation of my dream,” he said. Caines added that work is to start on the renovation and extension of the property in October and the hotel will open in early 2017. It is believed
he will remain at
Gidleigh Park until the project is close to completion. Funding is being provided by private investors, though Caines wouldn’t reveal further details.
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