MAGAZINE

Too competitive

I attended an Arena event in the summer – one of many organised by the association that specialises in networking for the foodservice and hospitality industry. It was fun. Good company, nice lunch, a decent panel debate and fully functioning air conditioning. 

What stuck in my mind though was a point around the competitive socialising market raised by Reuben Pullan of CGA by NIQ, who was there to talk about how operators navigating cost, time and regulatory pressures are reshaping their priorities. When outlining how each area of the hospitality sector was performing, he offered that the competitive socialising boom may be over, primarily because of consumers not wanting to commit to the same activity time and again, as well as the saturation being caused through the arrival of one concept after another. 

But if the demand isn’t there, why do so many concepts keep materialising and then, eventually, expanding? On top of that, we’re seeing pub and bar operators that aren’t known for this offer introducing it into current operations. Urban Pubs & Bars, Inception Group and Market Halls are just three London examples in recent memory. I think the key to the latter is these businesses realised they were losing sales to activity-led socialising, be it darts, cricket or axe throwing. 

What’s more, these activities tend to take place in dayparts where business may be a little quieter, so why not sweat the asset and create an additional revenue stream? After all, the last few months alone have seen the arrival of more Roxy Ball Rooms, Five Iron Golf, Poolhouse, Mega City, Lucky Goat… the list seemingly still goes on. 

My take from Pullan’s presentation is that the competitive socialising market has boomed and continues to grow, but at a much slower pace – the jostle for market share in itself is too competitive. You wonder if the growth in this area is soon only going to come from operators diversifying their offer. If that’s on your radar, then flick to page 40 for a few more thoughts on the subject.

Tristan O’Hana - Editor