Archive
Top chains see like-for-likes up 1.3% in February
15 March, 2010
The UK eating and drinking-out market moved back into positive territory in February – or at least the country’s leading restaurant and pub operators did. The 15 major companies participating in the Coffer Peach Business Tracker collectively saw like-for-like sales up 1.3% against the same month last year. Total sales were ahead 3.0% on February 2009.
Why Wetherspoons is an early riser
14 March, 2010
Wetherspoon is to open all its pubs from 7am from 28 April to cash in on the strength of breakfast and coffee sales. Its ultimate ambition is to challenge McDonalds as the country's favourite breakfast destination. It is already number two in the market.
La Tasca highlights healthier menu options
14 March, 2010
La Tasca has introduced a 'healthier choice' selection on its spring and summer menu, made up of 10 existing and new dishes chosen for their lower calorie and fat content, alongside its 'chef selection' dishes.
A sea change in franchise relations?
14 March, 2010
A new approach to franchising is gathering sway that treats the relationship less like ’master and servant’ and more like a marriage of equal sides. Giving franchisees more input has its pitfalls, argues an insight in Marketing Week magazine, but brands are finding the benefits outweigh the negatives. Are there perhaps lessons here for pubs as well as restaurant operators?
Starbucks to open 30 UK drive-thrus
14 March, 2010
Petrol station operator Euro Garages has signed a deal with Starbucks to open 30 drive-through coffee stores following a successful pilot in Cardiff. It will create 600 jobs.
Work experience at McDonald's to lead to GCSE-equivalent qualification
13 March, 2010
McDonald's has become the first UK employer to offer young people on work placement the chance to complete a qualification equivalent to a GCSE grade B.
Missed this? - the best bits from elsewhere
Catch up on the industry-relevant stories from other media websites, including Panera first in US to go national with calorie info, Everard's to expand micro-brewer support project, FSA sparks new attack on Scores on the Doors, Proposed New York salt ban 'absurd', and Prof Nutt designs ‘harm-free’ alcohol
How M&S aims to be world's 'most sustainable' store
8 March, 2010
Marks & Spencer has launched a programme to make it the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015, introducing 80 major new commitments under M&S’s eco and ethical plan, 'Plan A.'
Three cheers for Nando's - top employer
7 March, 2010
Nando's has been named the Sunday Times 2010 Best Big Company to Work For - striking a major victory for the reputation not just of casual dining but for the hospitality sector in general.
Why training doesn’t work…and what to do about it
1 March, 2010
For the last 25 years I’ve worked for successful restaurant companies and helped others to be more successful - and if you truly want to improve your people, performance, and profits, I’ve learned two key lessons: training is your secret weapon; but most foodservice training just doesn’t work, writes Jim Sullivan.
Staff morale high on recovery agendas
1 March, 2010
Chief executives right across business are prioritising their people agendas as a way to recover and grow their operations, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). There are also questions about the role of HR itself.
Jim Sullivan back in UK - BOOK NOW
4 May, 2010, Victoria Park Plaza Hotel, London
Legendary US restaurant guru and Peach Report columnist Jim Sullivan is back in London on May 4 for his 2010 UK Workshop. The practical, hands-on programme is designed specifically for operations teams in the restaurant and pub sector. The event is already 70% sold - so book your places NOW.
Peach Consumer Insight & Marketing - LIMITED PLACES ONLY
24 March, 2010, Soho Hotel, London
Emma Woods, the driving force behind Pizza Express's marketing initiatives, will be a headline speaker at Peach Network's annual consumer and marketing seminar on March 24 at London's Soho Hotel. The invitation-only, 'off-the-record' briefing will focus on what the latest consumer trends and complexities mean to the UK eating and drinking-out market, and how they will shape the way restaurants and pubs are being marketed and developed. However, only a limited number of seats remain.
Peach 2010 Business Leaders Survey
16 February, 2010
It’s all about the customer. Service levels and food quality will be this year’s top investment priorities for industry bosses, according to Peach Report’s 2010 Business Leaders survey. They believe what customers require most is quality of experience and service. David Martin analyses the results
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Website, Magazine, Events, Research
Peach Factory is an innovative media, insight and networking business – providing unique analysis, intelligence and market access in the UK eating and drinking-out market.Peach Report is a subscription-only business-focused website, magazine and e-zine package, loaded with the latest market insight, operational intelligence and valuable hard... more...
Why is sustainability so important?
16 February, 2010
We asked Henry Dimbleby, boss of Leon, the London-based ethically-focused fast casual chain, who is also one of the leading forces behind the creation of the Sustainable Restaurant Association. Here are his typically robust thoughts
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- Mark Derry: on Fridays, fish and Raymond Blanc
- Secret of selling fish: supply, simplicity, sustainability
- Derry: the Whitbread legacy
- Jean-Michel Orieux - on dim-sum, growth and franchising
- On video: Philip Thorley on energising the pub
- Hard work key to business survival say Wetherspoon and McDonald's bosses
- Steve Richards - on people, late nights in London and the art of selling
- Tim Bacon - on entrepreneurial opportunities
- Eren Ali - on people, culture and energy
- Jillian MacLean - on launching in London
- Profile: Steve Hill, CEO Wagamama
Taste for Italian undiminished
22 February, 2010
Italian food is still at the forefront of eating out. Four different London restaurants demonstrate how the style is adapting - from Italian tapas to pay-by-weight pizza. All are worth a visit.
more...
Starbucks to open 30 UK drive-thrus
14 March, 2010
Petrol station operator Euro Garages has signed a deal with Starbucks to open 30 drive-through coffee stores following a successful pilot in Cardiff.
It will create 600 jobs
more...
- Why Wetherspoons is an early riser
- Don’t let supermarkets win on service as well as price
- Bloody burgers
- Customer experience needs more executive focus
- Discounting: a victim of its own success?
- Teaching managers to embrace change
- How to lose friends and alienate people
- Would you like job satisfaction with that?
- The power of CANI and the five Ps
- The path to national recognition
- All together, the great outdoors beats the boardroom
Costa launches new loyalty card
8 March, 2010
Costa Coffee has introduced what it says is the most comprehensive loyalty scheme in its sector. The Coffee Club loyalty card will give customers five points for every £1 spent in its stores, with every point worth 1p.
more...
- The men behind Harden's
- Wagamama launches new iPhone app
- So what exactly do you want to know?
- What Michelin can teach us about social networking
- Starbucks' Schultz puts new focus on marketing
- Pizza Express signs up top chef Francesco Mazzei
- Domino's launches Facebook 'superfans' social media push
- Guess who came to dinner for Table Table
- Top Facebook fan sites
- Ping Pong goes Underground with new ad campaign
- Domino’s brave new marketing world
La Tasca highlights healthier menu options
14 March, 2010
La Tasca has introduced a 'healthier choice' selection on its spring and summer menu, made up of 10 existing and new dishes chosen for their lower calorie and fat content, alongside its 'chef selection' dishes.more...
- Panera first in US to go national with calorie info
- How M&S aims to be world's 'most sustainable' store
- Now supermarkets start opening pubs
- Drinking experience going up-market
- Public ignoring healthy eating messages
- Why is sustainability so important?
- Top chefs putting their food on the streets
- Report highlights cities set to succeed - and struggle
- Government launches ad campaign to get parents talking about alcohol
- Restaurants going back to the bar
- Coffee going from strength to strength
- The search for affordable luxuries
- Alcohol: news from the frontline
- A new look at obesity
- What consumers think about brands
Work experience at McDonald's to lead to GCSE-equivalent qualification
13 March, 2010
McDonald's has become the first UK employer to offer young people on work placement the chance to complete a qualification equivalent to a GCSE grade B.
more...
- Nando's takes top employer award
- Staff morale high on recovery agendas
- Realpubs discriminated against gay, finds tribunal
- Employees? There’s an app for that…
- Restaurants and pubs bottom of pay league
- What it’s like to work at Hall & Woodhouse
- What you get paid for: an open letter from the owner to the crew
- Keeping in touch - with ex-employees too
- KFC looking at social networking to recruit
- Skills Academy launches Disney webinars
- Being ready when the upturn comes
A sea change in franchise relations?
14 March, 2010
A new approach to franchising is gathering sway that treats the relationship less like ’master and servant’ and more like a marriage of equal sides. Giving franchisees more input has its pitfalls, argues an insight in Marketing Week magazine, but brands are finding the benefits outweigh the negatives.
more...
- In-N-Out Burger - the inside story
- Carluccio's named top fundraiser at Restaurants Against Hunger awards
- Calorie counting confusion
- Peach 2010 Business Leaders' Survey
- Taking guard against the spinners
- M&B strategy shift see brands and marketing put centre stage
- Public's appetite for McDonald's unquenched
- Starbucks Schultz out to woo Britain
- Under starter’s orders
- Luminar hears the mood music
- Holiday trading boost for many
- Fixing the fundamentals
- Food politics, knowing how to compromise
Peach Team
The Peach Report is brought to you by Peach Factory, the leading media, events and insight business, providing unique analysis, intelligence and access to the eating-out and drinking-out markets.
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Like-for-like sales sink 5% under January snow
14 February, 2010
Severe weather during early January took its toll on Britain’s eating and drinking out market. Leading pub and restaurant groups collectively saw like-for-like sales dip 5% against the same month last year, as people stayed home rather than brave the snow, according to latest Coffer Peach Business Tracker figures.
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Panera first in US to go national with calorie info
14 March, 2010
Panera Bread , the fast-casual bakery chain, announced tit will post calorie information alongside its food menu at all of the its company-owned stores starting on March 24.
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Hot Concepts: to check out
Peach Report regularly highlights some of the newest, hottest and most interesting concepts out there in the market - with the suggestion that you and your team might like to go to see them for yourselves.
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Jim Sullivan back on May 4 - BOOK NOW
4 May, 2010, Victoria Park Plaza Hotel, London
Legendary US restaurant guru and Peach Report columnist Jim Sullivan is back in London on May 4 for his 2010 UK Workshop. The practical, hands-on programme is designed specifically for operations teams in the restaurant and pub sector.
more...
Time for a marketing rethink
16 February, 2010
Marketing is the discipline that senior executives in the eating and drinking-out sector believe they most struggle with. Don’t worry. The whole of the business world is due for a rethink of the way it approaches marketing, according to the influential Harvard Business Review. So there’s an opportunity to catch up quick.
more...
Why training doesn’t work…and what to do about it
1 March, 2010
For the last 25 years I’ve worked for successful restaurant companies and helped others to be more successful - and if you truly want to improve your people, performance, and profits, I’ve learned two key lessons: training is your secret weapon; but most foodservice training just doesn’t work.
more...
National Skills Academy for Hospitality
The National Skills Academy for Hospitality was established in England in 2008, marking the dawn of a new era in education and training for the industry. The Academy forms a key part in the National Skills Strategy, and is backed by leading sector employers. Our mission is to "Develop a brand which is universally trusted as the benchmark for excellence in...
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