The restaurant trade is notoriously tough, but according to hospitality expert and entrepreneur Arif Efendi, it has arguably never been tougher. Accountants Price Bailey stated that nearly 2,000 restaurants entered insolvency in 2023 in the UK, averaging out at five closures a day, with the number of insolvencies up 45 per cent compared to 2022.
While there is little doubt some of these closures are on the back of the COVID lockdown hangover, restaurants have continued to face challenging economic conditions. These have included strong inflationary forces and high interest rates, adding fuel to the cost-of-living crisis fire and leading to a significant increase in costs, causing in some cases existential business risk.
The Economy is Tough on Restaurants
Against the backdrop of a difficult economy, restaurants are having to adapt their business strategy to survive and thrive. Competition is fierce and consumer habits are evolving. Businesses are having to adjust their approach and tactics to win – and keep – ever more demanding customers. Arif Efendi says that only those adapting to a new reality are winning.
One such brand in the UK, Wingstop, is firing on all cylinders and is a compelling case study of a restaurant chain understanding its customer base and the wider hospitality market and building its strategy around it. The business launched in the UK in 2018 after acquiring the exclusive master UK franchise rights from the US group of the same name, which stands as one of the most successful publicly traded restaurant businesses across the pond worth well over US$10bn.
Wingstop’s UK entity now boasts 45 restaurants across the country, with 18 in London, along with over 20 ‘ghost kitchens’, servicing a growing appetite for takeaways via its exclusive partnership with Deliveroo. The company employs nearly 2,000 staff in the UK and is seeking to expand its restaurant count to over 100 in the coming five years. The revenue growth to date is exponential.
What has been the Driving Force of this Success?
Firstly, its management, with a background in private equity and real estate, has a meticulous focus on cost control. Everything, from supplier agreements to property leases, is carefully negotiated and monitored to ensure optimal value and the most competitive pricing.
On an individual restaurant level, technology is being utilized to enhance the customer experience and streamline costs yet further, using intuitive digital menus, which have the added benefit of appealing to the generation of youthful customers Wingstop is targeting.
Secondly, the company takes an innovative approach to its marketing. It seeks to reach the end users – and particularly its target market of 16- to 20-year-olds from “Gen Z” – through its use of social media marketing, particularly Tik-Tok, and by its association and partnerships with leading influencers, celebrities, and companies, such as JD Sports and Foot Asylum, who chime with their customer base.
This is achieved through painstaking planning and an understanding of its audience and what they engage with and respond to in what is, largely, a stagnant industry often relying on traditional grey marketing and promotion.
Thirdly, the business has paid great attention to customization – Wingstop offers a tailored menu to a customer base that demands personalization. The menu has variety offering everything from bone-in and boneless chicken to burgers with 10 different flavors, including exotic variations such as Brazilian Citrus Pepper and Hickory Smoked Barbeque.
Finally, and without over-exhausting the ‘location, location, location’ phraseology, Wingstop pays meticulous attention to where individual restaurants are opened, driven by a thorough data-backed process, factoring in demographics offset against cost considerations. The result? An impressive average per site revenue of £2m.
With a proven successful model for Wingstop’s UK rollout, its expansion plans go beyond these shores, with an ability to push into new markets, including in Europe, which could propel the business onto new heights.
Arif Efendi’s Bottom Line
With the economy showing no signs of much beyond a few green shoots for at least the medium term, the hospitality sector will need to respond and adapt to a growing desire for innovation, personalization, value, and a unique brand proposition.
As far as Arif Efendi is concerned, individual enterprises, such as Wingstop, have demonstrated that if you can achieve the right blend of the above while maintaining cost discipline, you can stand out from the crowd and achieve success.
