The retail
landscape denial at Denny’s by the CEO
John Miller simply mirrors restaurant industry trade magazines last gasp at
retaining a following while denying that restaurant sector brand protectionism
has become boring, yesterday’s news, and a food positioning disadvantage for
consumers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA
based Foodservice Solutions®.
Consumers are dynamic
not static.The fact is consumers are moving from the restaurant sector where
company after company touts their brand power all the while year over year customer
counts continue to dwindle.
Regular readers
of this blog know consumers are migrating from the restaurant sector to C-store
foodservice that is expected to grow another
6% in 2019. They are also going to new points of fresh food distribution
the ilk of IKEA, Nordstrom, Ralph Lauren, and Club Store Costco as fresh food
and coffee as preferred destinations. O’ yes recently legacy grocery sector
service deli’s with redefined missions have elevated meals and meal components
from bucks to fresh prepared food garnering customers.
So, let’s look
at what Denny’s CEO said and you will then get our view. Miller said:
1. Grocery stores like Whole Foods and Kroger
have restaurants 'beating each other's brains out'
2. Restaurants
are competing to keep prices as low as possible and offering more deals, even as
labor costs rise.
3. "We're
beating each other's brains out," Denny's CEO
John Miller said of the restaurant industry's attempts to undercut rivals'
prices.
4.Low
grocery prices are contributing to restaurants' drive to keep
prices cheap.
The fact
is Denny’s and most U.S. legacy chain restaurants including the ilk of TGI
Friday’s, Olive Garden, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Carrols, Burger King and Pizza Hut
look a lot like they did in 1989 than with the exception of a new furniture,
paint, some technology that was add late in the cycle much still frustrates consumers
according to Johnson.
Restaurant
sectors CEO’s moto of do no harm has created a retail platform of yesterday,
lacking the attributes of an evolving consumer. Restaurant sector CEO’s are not “beating each
other’s brains out” as Miller said. They
simply are acting like Neanderthals doing what they did in 1980, 1990, and 2000
and expecting that business model to work.
Customers have move on. Today’s restaurant
sector needs to evolve with a customer focus not a focus on Wall-Street metrics
of the past according to Johnson.
All the
while over-priced C-stores have put the roller grill on the back burner,
lowered prices, introduced fresh food fast, at competitive price garnering consumers
attention driving incremental customer migration from both the grocery sector
and restaurant sector.
The consumer
price,
service, value equilibrium has evolved the problem with many in the
restaurant sector they are raising prices on yesterday’s products, refusing to
innovate, rather than evolve their brands with customer relevance they continue
to practice brand protectionism.
Our
Grocerant Guru® has spoken at leading restaurant industry events
including MUFSO, NRA and the National Restaurant Show has a ‘NRA Grocerant’
section. Restaurant sector leader are
well aware of the undercurrents of the evolving retail food market place. However, it is easier for a Restaurant sector
CEO to blame someone else or a competitor than to drive change within an
outdate labyrinth of a legacy chain restaurant apparently.
The grocerant niche products and service
provide the restaurant sector with a platform of options to deal with an
impending increase in the minimum wage, for product stagnation, day-part
customer malaise, and edifying the brand with customer relevance.
Foodservice Solutions® specializes in
outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify
additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and
brand and menu integration strategy. Foodservice Solutions®
of Tacoma WA is the global leader in
the Grocerant niche visit Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, www.Linkedin.com/in/grocerant/ or www.twitter.com/grocerant/
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