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| Hospitality Today | Aug/Sept 2016
The lively and fun brand is unique and can
go anywhere, successfully taking a massive
amount of share wherever it opens and
rating an impressive four out of five on
Trip Advisor. Richards confirmed that next
week, Las Iguanas will enter the leisure
park market, in Braintree, Essex, with great
expectations.
During the question and answer session,
Steve Richards revealed that what Tim
Martin has done with Wetherspoon is
something to be admired; if a brand is going
to have more than 100 stores it has to pass
the ‘Wigan test’; Casual Dining Group is
keen to stay in the tapas space, but La Tasca
will not be called La Tasca going forward;
and home delivery is in the early stages
with the signs good so far, however, quality
of food is paramount and if it will be pulled
if he suspects it is damaging a brand.
Ambitions
Casual Dining Group is the fourth largest
restaurant business in the UK and there
is a clear desire to grow. The vision is to
double profit and reach 650 stores in the
UK, and Steve believes this is achievable.
It has great growth prospects across the
globe and operating abroad is a very
serious ambition, with Bella Italia already
open in Deli and Saudi, and a Café Rouge
and an office (be it only four desks at
present) open in Dubai.
Looking forward, it’s all about supporting
the growth plan of investing in people,
brands, guests and property. Casual Dining
Group is looking for new brands to acquire
and develop alongside continued organic
growth. Richards conceded that Brexit has
forced the foot to be put on the door for
a short time while the dust settles. The
property markets are uncertain so it’s all
about seeing what happens in six months
and taking the opportunities. The trackers
have shown a decline in restaurant visitors
over the last eight weeks, but no one can
be sure why. Steve put to the audience
the possibilities of the weather, England’s
disastrous performance in the Euros
and the fear factor brought on by Brexit.
Richards also believes that the impact of the
predicted recession will depend on when it
happens, how deep it is, and the recovery
style. He ended by reminding the audience
that the casual dining sector proved itself
very resilient in the last recession as people
didn’t stop going out to eat, choosing
instead to cut back on big ticket expenses.