4 key takeaways from Pub Retail Summit 2013

Last week, we attended the 2013 Pub Retail Summit. The conference was attended by senior figures and industry experts who discussed insights, latest developments and ideas.

Now the Pub Retail summit is over, we thought we’d share some of our favourite discussions from the event.

1)      An elite being out of touch provides opportunities in the market

Tim Martin from JD Wetherspoon gave some excellent insights into how and why Wetherspoon’s took off. He spotted opportunities by looking at existing problems in the pub industry. Wetherspoon’s analysed these problems and introduced pioneering ideas such as all day food and non-smoking areas.

2)      Targeting the female market

Many pub groups discussed how they were changing their whole appeal to target the female market. Mark McQuater demonstrated how Revolution evolved to focus on a new target audience. Customers want quality and value. They are still treating themselves but visiting fewer places. Customers are seeking one great experience.

3)      Get the party started

Why does Be At One exist? To get the party started! Steve Locke, Co-Founder of Be At One, believes the host is the key ingredient to any party. The successful bar chain spends 8 weeks training their staff to become the best party hosts. Locke and Be At One use the 5:60:30 rule. If a customer comes into a bar they should be recognised in 5 seconds. They should have their drink made in 60 seconds and have their change in 30 seconds.

4)      Craft Beer

What is craft beer? Craft beer has gone mainstream and is hugely popular. Pete Brown compared craft beer to indie music because they are both nearly impossible to define. There will never be a universally agreed definition of craft beer – do we need one?

What do you think?

Did you attend the pub summit? What did you learn from it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.