Restaurant Leadership Conference News
Value-oriented consumers, increased protein prices and the social media revolution were a few of the trends laid out during presentations by Technomic and GE Capital at the Restaurant Leadership Conference.
Growth in the restaurant industry will come near-term from grabbing market share from other concepts, said Warren Solochek, vice president of foodservice for The NPD Group.
It’s not like restaurants haven’t wanted to grow over the last year. It’s just nobody wants to lend the money for it.
The state of the industry, through Technomic and GE Capital’s eyes, is improving. Sloooowly.
Every chain has A, B and C units. A key to growth—without actually building new stores—can be in turning C’s into B’s and B’s into A’s.
Opening one of the restaurant industry’s largest conventions, commentator Laura Ingraham asked attendees of the packed Restaurant Leadership Conference to raise a hand if they were inspired by any of potential contenders for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. A hush filled the room and not a hand was raised.
Voicing agreement that the worst is over for restaurants, attendees of the Restaurant Leadership Conference said they came to the Scottsdale, Ariz., event with an ear cocked for insights into chains’ near-term prospects.