http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au
Crust Gourmet Pizza Bars’ six Heart Foundation Tick approved pizzas have been named the 15th most innovative product in Australia in Australian Anthill magazine’s inaugural ‘SMART 100’ index.
The pizzas were the highest ranking food products on the list which recognises the 100 most innovative Australian products on the market. Other food related products included on the list are a natural sweetener for foods and beverages (35), SumoSalad’s sumo sized salads made to order (50), and Native Sweets’ Alpine Rice (56).
Crust’s six Tick approved pizzas first launched in February 2008 and contain up to half the fat and saturated fat of comparable pizzas from other takeaway outlets, between 50-70 per cent less sodium, virtually no trans fat and each provide up to 80 per cent of the recommended daily fibre intake for an adult.
The SMART 100 list is the largest innovation award program in Australia, and was developed by Australian Anthill in collaboration with market research company Colmar Brunton to recognise extraordinary innovation as judged by 1,600 ‘mavens’.
Crust Managing Director, Costa Anastasiadis said Crust had always aimed to provide customers with healthier, high quality pizzas.
“We spent a considerable amount of time in product development to ensure that the Tick pizzas could offer a higher quality, healthier choice of takeaway to our customers while still tasting great,” said Anastasiadis.
“The feedback we have had from customers has been fantastic, and awards such as this are further testament to the fact that there is a growing market in Australia for healthier takeaway foods”.
Australian Anthill founder and publisher, James Tuckerman, said the SMART 100 aims to bring a greater commercial focus to the concept of innovation and return ownership of the principles surrounding innovation to the private sector.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Deadline approaches for young chef award
http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au
Who will be the ambitious young chefs who are able to outcook their peers and take the title of the winners of the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award?
Entries for the annual awards are now open and will close May 8.
The national competition for junior and apprentice chefs that tests culinary skills first at a regional level and through to the national finals cook-off for the best young chefs who make it through the rigorous process.
Young chefs must enter as a team of two, nominating a team leader and an assistant. On successful first-round entry, competitor teams will take their place at the regional mystery box ingredient cook-off challenge.
From there the best of the best will be selected to represent their region at the national final culinary cook-off battle in Sydney where an international travel training prize will be awarded to the winning team, worth $15,000.
At the national cook-off all competitors have the opportunity to win medals for achievement in culinary excellence to recognised standards in entrée, main and dessert course categories.
The competition offers an opportunity to showcase their creative gourmet skills and to be recognised as Australia’s most talented junior and apprentice chefs.
Those who’ve competed say the competition was an invaluable experience in their development as a chef.
Last year’s winning team leader Kylie Harris described it as “exhilarating”.
“It’s such a rush having the judges walking around, getting your dishes up on time and trying to get them absolutely perfect,” Harris said.
The competition is coordinated annually by the Australian Culinary Federation with support from industry sponsors including Nestlé Professional, Meat & Livestock Australia, Mirvac Hotels and Resorts and Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE.
To download entry details head to www.nestleprofessional.com or www.austculinary.com.au
Who will be the ambitious young chefs who are able to outcook their peers and take the title of the winners of the Nestlé Golden Chef’s Hat Award?
Entries for the annual awards are now open and will close May 8.
The national competition for junior and apprentice chefs that tests culinary skills first at a regional level and through to the national finals cook-off for the best young chefs who make it through the rigorous process.
Young chefs must enter as a team of two, nominating a team leader and an assistant. On successful first-round entry, competitor teams will take their place at the regional mystery box ingredient cook-off challenge.
From there the best of the best will be selected to represent their region at the national final culinary cook-off battle in Sydney where an international travel training prize will be awarded to the winning team, worth $15,000.
At the national cook-off all competitors have the opportunity to win medals for achievement in culinary excellence to recognised standards in entrée, main and dessert course categories.
The competition offers an opportunity to showcase their creative gourmet skills and to be recognised as Australia’s most talented junior and apprentice chefs.
Those who’ve competed say the competition was an invaluable experience in their development as a chef.
Last year’s winning team leader Kylie Harris described it as “exhilarating”.
“It’s such a rush having the judges walking around, getting your dishes up on time and trying to get them absolutely perfect,” Harris said.
The competition is coordinated annually by the Australian Culinary Federation with support from industry sponsors including Nestlé Professional, Meat & Livestock Australia, Mirvac Hotels and Resorts and Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE.
To download entry details head to www.nestleprofessional.com or www.austculinary.com.au
Seminars to ease licensing process for small bars
http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au
Sydney council is offering a series of free seminars in the latest step in its strategy to assist people interested in opening a small bar following the changes to liquor licensing laws.
The City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City had been “inundated” with inquiries for information following the roll out of the new liquor licensing regulations that aimed to make it less expensive to open a small bar business.
The City is also at the moment working with the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing to streamline information required for DA applications and the alcohol licence to avoid any duplication with "Community Impact Statements".
So far just two new bars have opened in the CBD under the new laws—Drink Station and Small Bar opened simultaneously in Erskine Street in Sydney's CBD in December last year.
Moore said another five development applications had been approved and an additional 10 were expected within the next month for new small bars in Glebe, Broadway, Ultimo and the CBD.
“The process though isn't always easy and these new Small Bar Seminars will provide advice, information and support to hopefully help people get started,” Moore said.
The Small Bar seminars will feature information about alcohol licences, processes, and some of the issues and benefits of small bars.
Speakers will include experts from the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing, financial areas, and planning, as well as a current small bar operator.
The council is also offering business development matched-cash grants of up to $30,000 to encourage the creation of small retail, service and hospitality businesses which are looking to set up in CBD laneways. The new business Small Bar which backs onto Sussex Lane was the recipient of the City of Sydney's first matched funding.
Moore said the new Liquor Act 2007 and changes to the City's Late Night Trading Development Control Plan are aimed at improving the anti-competitive nature of the hospitality industry by decreasing the cost of licenses and streamlining the application process, while at the same time increasing penalties for venue operators caught doing the wrong thing.
“We want to encourage a better mix of venues like small bars and provide opportunities and support for local and emerging entrepreneurs, by reactivating parts of the city centre at night and building a diverse, eclectic and unique culture.”
The seminars will be held April 27, July 28 and November 5. For further information and bookings contact smallbarsinfo@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Sydney council is offering a series of free seminars in the latest step in its strategy to assist people interested in opening a small bar following the changes to liquor licensing laws.
The City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City had been “inundated” with inquiries for information following the roll out of the new liquor licensing regulations that aimed to make it less expensive to open a small bar business.
The City is also at the moment working with the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing to streamline information required for DA applications and the alcohol licence to avoid any duplication with "Community Impact Statements".
So far just two new bars have opened in the CBD under the new laws—Drink Station and Small Bar opened simultaneously in Erskine Street in Sydney's CBD in December last year.
Moore said another five development applications had been approved and an additional 10 were expected within the next month for new small bars in Glebe, Broadway, Ultimo and the CBD.
“The process though isn't always easy and these new Small Bar Seminars will provide advice, information and support to hopefully help people get started,” Moore said.
The Small Bar seminars will feature information about alcohol licences, processes, and some of the issues and benefits of small bars.
Speakers will include experts from the Office of Liquor Gaming and Racing, financial areas, and planning, as well as a current small bar operator.
The council is also offering business development matched-cash grants of up to $30,000 to encourage the creation of small retail, service and hospitality businesses which are looking to set up in CBD laneways. The new business Small Bar which backs onto Sussex Lane was the recipient of the City of Sydney's first matched funding.
Moore said the new Liquor Act 2007 and changes to the City's Late Night Trading Development Control Plan are aimed at improving the anti-competitive nature of the hospitality industry by decreasing the cost of licenses and streamlining the application process, while at the same time increasing penalties for venue operators caught doing the wrong thing.
“We want to encourage a better mix of venues like small bars and provide opportunities and support for local and emerging entrepreneurs, by reactivating parts of the city centre at night and building a diverse, eclectic and unique culture.”
The seminars will be held April 27, July 28 and November 5. For further information and bookings contact smallbarsinfo@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Facebook, Twitter, other social media help drive business for small firms
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business
By Ann Meyer
Facebook, tweets, blogs help companies extend their reach
Charter reservations are sailing in for Free Spirit Yacht Cruises this year despite the turbulent economy, and co-owner Angela Motola-Donofrio attributes it to a social media push.
The company is tweeting regularly on Twitter and recently launched group and fan pages on Facebook, two platforms that didn't exist when she started in the charter business in the 1990s.
"Back when I first started, Yellow Pages was our main source of new business," said Motola-Donofrio, who owns the company with husband Joe Donofrio. The company is targeting 300 charters this year, up about 30 percent from 2008.
The Chicago-based company, which docks its two charter boats at Burnham Harbor, is among small businesses broadening their reach through social media and blogs.
While just a few years ago the mediums were associated with the teenage and 20-something sets, that's changed. Two-thirds of all online users visit social networks and blogs, according to data from Nielsen Online. And the largest growth in social media users last year came from the 35- to 49-year-old group.
With the average age of its readers approaching 40, BradsDeals.com didn't consider social media the best fit until this year.
"When we started on Facebook a few weeks ago, I wasn't sure we were going to connect with people because our demographic is older," said Brad Wilson, founder and editor in chief, who also began using Twitter recently.
The company has attracted 2,500 followers through Twitter since March 1 and nabbed 1,200 Facebook users since launching a fan page this month. Now, traffic to BradsDeals.com is streaming in at more than 1 million hits a month, up 150 percent from a year ago, Wilson said, adding that consumers' focus on frugality also factors into the site's growth.
Companies catering to younger customers are more likely to be veterans of social media marketing.
The Scion Group, a real estate services firm that owns and manages college housing, has morphed its blogs into a larger Facebook presence because that's where its college-student customers are, President Robert Bronstein said. It uses Facebook to announce events, such as a fashion show of student-designed apparel at Automatic Lofts last year that drew a standing-room-only crowd.
"It exposes the building in a cool, fun way," Bronstein said.
While most digital media cost little to use, they do require an investment of time, something many small-business owners are short on. That's why small businesses are turning to experts for help keeping up with blog entries, Facebook announcements and Twitter tweets.
Online test-preparation company PrepMe.com added Michael Marchese as vice president of consumer marketing this month, after the co-founders realized they didn't have time to handle online marketing themselves.
"I don't think you can do it halfway," said Chief Executive Karan Goel, who had been blogging. But with more than 20,000 students using PrepMe, and sales targeted to hit $1 million this year, the company plans to hire an online marketing manager dedicated to its online presence.
It launched a Facebook crossword game in 2007 and offers words of the day on Twitter. This year, it began group pages on Facebook associated with individual high schools that use PrepMe's services.
Deciding which online opportunities to embrace comes down to understanding your audience, experts said.
"Go where your customers already are. Social media is not about being the first one into some new technology," said Andy Sernovitz, chief executive of GasPedal, a Chicago consulting firm specializing in word-of-mouth marketing and social media.
If you don't know what social media your customers are using, check it out by searching for your company name on Facebook or others. When Motola-Donofrio first went on Facebook last year, "I noticed people talking about posting pictures of Free Spirit Cruises. That made me interested," she said.
Since the company launched pages on Facebook this year, it has received more comments and picture sharing. Free Spirit plans to upgrade its photos and add video, in response to feedback that the boats looked much better in real life than their photos conveyed.
Presenting honest information without directly trying to make a sale is an effective marketing approach using social media, Sernovitz said. Businesses should avoid using the hard sell, because participating in social media is like participating in a casual conversation.
"Nobody wants a salesman in the middle of their conversation," Sernovitz said.
But customers sometimes sell your product for you by talking it up among their Facebook or Twitter followers.
Customers who find a bargain on BradsDeals.com like to brag on their social network.
"There's no better reference than your friends telling you about something. It's that exact interaction that happens on Facebook," Wilson said. The company announces one deal a day on Facebook with a quick, informational approach.
Because of the viral nature of social media, companies that take the time to communicate are likely to see their goodwill spread. One simple technique for building relationships involves responding to positive mentions by saying "thank you" and following up on negative mentions with an apology and a solution to the problem, Sernovitz said.
"If someone is unhappy and you say, 'I'm sorry. I'd like to fix it,' those things add up pretty fast," he said.
mindingyourbiz@gmail.com
By Ann Meyer
Facebook, tweets, blogs help companies extend their reach
Charter reservations are sailing in for Free Spirit Yacht Cruises this year despite the turbulent economy, and co-owner Angela Motola-Donofrio attributes it to a social media push.
The company is tweeting regularly on Twitter and recently launched group and fan pages on Facebook, two platforms that didn't exist when she started in the charter business in the 1990s.
"Back when I first started, Yellow Pages was our main source of new business," said Motola-Donofrio, who owns the company with husband Joe Donofrio. The company is targeting 300 charters this year, up about 30 percent from 2008.
The Chicago-based company, which docks its two charter boats at Burnham Harbor, is among small businesses broadening their reach through social media and blogs.
While just a few years ago the mediums were associated with the teenage and 20-something sets, that's changed. Two-thirds of all online users visit social networks and blogs, according to data from Nielsen Online. And the largest growth in social media users last year came from the 35- to 49-year-old group.
With the average age of its readers approaching 40, BradsDeals.com didn't consider social media the best fit until this year.
"When we started on Facebook a few weeks ago, I wasn't sure we were going to connect with people because our demographic is older," said Brad Wilson, founder and editor in chief, who also began using Twitter recently.
The company has attracted 2,500 followers through Twitter since March 1 and nabbed 1,200 Facebook users since launching a fan page this month. Now, traffic to BradsDeals.com is streaming in at more than 1 million hits a month, up 150 percent from a year ago, Wilson said, adding that consumers' focus on frugality also factors into the site's growth.
Companies catering to younger customers are more likely to be veterans of social media marketing.
The Scion Group, a real estate services firm that owns and manages college housing, has morphed its blogs into a larger Facebook presence because that's where its college-student customers are, President Robert Bronstein said. It uses Facebook to announce events, such as a fashion show of student-designed apparel at Automatic Lofts last year that drew a standing-room-only crowd.
"It exposes the building in a cool, fun way," Bronstein said.
While most digital media cost little to use, they do require an investment of time, something many small-business owners are short on. That's why small businesses are turning to experts for help keeping up with blog entries, Facebook announcements and Twitter tweets.
Online test-preparation company PrepMe.com added Michael Marchese as vice president of consumer marketing this month, after the co-founders realized they didn't have time to handle online marketing themselves.
"I don't think you can do it halfway," said Chief Executive Karan Goel, who had been blogging. But with more than 20,000 students using PrepMe, and sales targeted to hit $1 million this year, the company plans to hire an online marketing manager dedicated to its online presence.
It launched a Facebook crossword game in 2007 and offers words of the day on Twitter. This year, it began group pages on Facebook associated with individual high schools that use PrepMe's services.
Deciding which online opportunities to embrace comes down to understanding your audience, experts said.
"Go where your customers already are. Social media is not about being the first one into some new technology," said Andy Sernovitz, chief executive of GasPedal, a Chicago consulting firm specializing in word-of-mouth marketing and social media.
If you don't know what social media your customers are using, check it out by searching for your company name on Facebook or others. When Motola-Donofrio first went on Facebook last year, "I noticed people talking about posting pictures of Free Spirit Cruises. That made me interested," she said.
Since the company launched pages on Facebook this year, it has received more comments and picture sharing. Free Spirit plans to upgrade its photos and add video, in response to feedback that the boats looked much better in real life than their photos conveyed.
Presenting honest information without directly trying to make a sale is an effective marketing approach using social media, Sernovitz said. Businesses should avoid using the hard sell, because participating in social media is like participating in a casual conversation.
"Nobody wants a salesman in the middle of their conversation," Sernovitz said.
But customers sometimes sell your product for you by talking it up among their Facebook or Twitter followers.
Customers who find a bargain on BradsDeals.com like to brag on their social network.
"There's no better reference than your friends telling you about something. It's that exact interaction that happens on Facebook," Wilson said. The company announces one deal a day on Facebook with a quick, informational approach.
Because of the viral nature of social media, companies that take the time to communicate are likely to see their goodwill spread. One simple technique for building relationships involves responding to positive mentions by saying "thank you" and following up on negative mentions with an apology and a solution to the problem, Sernovitz said.
"If someone is unhappy and you say, 'I'm sorry. I'd like to fix it,' those things add up pretty fast," he said.
mindingyourbiz@gmail.com
Restaurants concerned wage rises will place industry “under great pressure”
http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au
Isobel Drake
The leading industry body for the restaurant sector is worried about the potential impact of the Award Modernisation proposal on the industry next year.
“It is disappointing … that we are under great pressure from Australian Government reforms that could see the end of our industry, particularly in New South Wales,” CEO John Hart said this week.
The restaurant industry is slated for massive change in 2010, Mr Hart suggested, when wage costs (in NSW for a business open weekends and in the evening) will go up by at least 15%.
In brighter news, the industry body was delighted with the recognition of three of Australia’s restaurants in the extended list of 100 restaurants at the renowned S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards.
“Having presented yesterday at a Senate Inquiry defending the industry against a $150 - $250 Million impost through Award Modernisation - it is great to see that the industry is still performing,” Mr Hart proclaimed.
Restaurant & Catering Australia congratulated Tetsuya’s restaurant, Quay restaurant and Pier restaurant for making it onto “The S Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2008″ list. Tetsuya’s restaurant was placed at number 17 and Quay restaurant at number 46, while Pier restaurant - at number 94 - made it onto the extended list of 100.
“This is not really that surprising,” Mr Hart suggested. “We have the magic trifecta of ‘the most creative restaurateurs, the best produce and, of course, the friendliest staff in the world’.”
Isobel Drake
The leading industry body for the restaurant sector is worried about the potential impact of the Award Modernisation proposal on the industry next year.
“It is disappointing … that we are under great pressure from Australian Government reforms that could see the end of our industry, particularly in New South Wales,” CEO John Hart said this week.
The restaurant industry is slated for massive change in 2010, Mr Hart suggested, when wage costs (in NSW for a business open weekends and in the evening) will go up by at least 15%.
In brighter news, the industry body was delighted with the recognition of three of Australia’s restaurants in the extended list of 100 restaurants at the renowned S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards.
“Having presented yesterday at a Senate Inquiry defending the industry against a $150 - $250 Million impost through Award Modernisation - it is great to see that the industry is still performing,” Mr Hart proclaimed.
Restaurant & Catering Australia congratulated Tetsuya’s restaurant, Quay restaurant and Pier restaurant for making it onto “The S Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2008″ list. Tetsuya’s restaurant was placed at number 17 and Quay restaurant at number 46, while Pier restaurant - at number 94 - made it onto the extended list of 100.
“This is not really that surprising,” Mr Hart suggested. “We have the magic trifecta of ‘the most creative restaurateurs, the best produce and, of course, the friendliest staff in the world’.”
Are you ready to start a small business?
http://www.thestate.com/business
Michelle Woodbury, a business consultant with the Small Business Development Center, tries to help you answer the question: “Are you really ready to start a small business?”
When facing a pressing deadline or rude customer at work or the frustration of finding a job after a layoff, many people find comfort in daydreams of owning their own business.
What could be better than sleeping in late, working in your pajamas, calling all the shots, and getting all the glory?
If, like so many of us, you find yourself seduced by these dreams and are considering branching out your own, consider the following issues:
WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN CALLING ALL THE SHOTS?
If you think the pressure at a job is bad, imagine being responsible not only for your current position, but all the positions in the company.
You have to make all the decisions, and there’s no one to pass the blame to.
While you may have no “boss,” you still have to answer to plenty of people: your customers, suppliers, creditors, employees, and your family.
Ask yourself: Can you handle all that pressure?
BUT I’LL MAKE SO MUCH MORE MONEY!
Lots of people are drawn into owning their own business by this common assumption.
But before you set out for your own pot of gold, take a minute to seriously plan out your business’ financial future.
Do you have all the money you need to start a business?
If not, do you have good credit and at least 20 percent to 50 percent of the amount you need to start it?
Costs depend on whether you’ll need a physical location, inventory, equipment and employees.
If you plan on having a physical location, count on spending at least $50,000 in startup costs.
Even without one, forming and incorporating your business at least $600. You’ll also need to pay for legal time for forming contracts and lease, operating and partnership agreements.
How much are your monthly operating expenses going to be?
How many customers will you need to meet your monthly financial demands?
What taxes, licensing fees, and other fees will be applicable to your business?
How much do you need personally to survive, and will your business be able to provide that amount?
If you business fails, what will happen to you and your family? Know that half of startups are no longer in business five years after they open.
If you don’t know the answers to the questions above, please don’t start a business until you have thought these issues through, as financial problems can be the most tricky to overcome.
SO, WHEN SHOULD I START A BUSINESS?
If you feel passionately about something, take the time to write down a plan for your business:
• What its mission will be and how much money you’ll need to start it.
• Where it will be located.
• What it will be called and how it will be organized.
• What the short-term and long-term goals for the business are.
• What projected revenues and expenses look like for the next three years.
Taking the time to plan out your business will help prevent you from rushing in to something, only to find out later that it was not as profitable or interesting as you thought it would be.
Next, do a self-inventory.
• Can you make decisions under stress?
• Can you handle multiple deadlines and tasks?
• Do you work well with other people?
• Can you personally afford it if this doesn’t work?
After examining the issues above, share your ideas with others you trust and get their opinions.
Michelle Woodbury, a business consultant with the Small Business Development Center, tries to help you answer the question: “Are you really ready to start a small business?”
When facing a pressing deadline or rude customer at work or the frustration of finding a job after a layoff, many people find comfort in daydreams of owning their own business.
What could be better than sleeping in late, working in your pajamas, calling all the shots, and getting all the glory?
If, like so many of us, you find yourself seduced by these dreams and are considering branching out your own, consider the following issues:
WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN CALLING ALL THE SHOTS?
If you think the pressure at a job is bad, imagine being responsible not only for your current position, but all the positions in the company.
You have to make all the decisions, and there’s no one to pass the blame to.
While you may have no “boss,” you still have to answer to plenty of people: your customers, suppliers, creditors, employees, and your family.
Ask yourself: Can you handle all that pressure?
BUT I’LL MAKE SO MUCH MORE MONEY!
Lots of people are drawn into owning their own business by this common assumption.
But before you set out for your own pot of gold, take a minute to seriously plan out your business’ financial future.
Do you have all the money you need to start a business?
If not, do you have good credit and at least 20 percent to 50 percent of the amount you need to start it?
Costs depend on whether you’ll need a physical location, inventory, equipment and employees.
If you plan on having a physical location, count on spending at least $50,000 in startup costs.
Even without one, forming and incorporating your business at least $600. You’ll also need to pay for legal time for forming contracts and lease, operating and partnership agreements.
How much are your monthly operating expenses going to be?
How many customers will you need to meet your monthly financial demands?
What taxes, licensing fees, and other fees will be applicable to your business?
How much do you need personally to survive, and will your business be able to provide that amount?
If you business fails, what will happen to you and your family? Know that half of startups are no longer in business five years after they open.
If you don’t know the answers to the questions above, please don’t start a business until you have thought these issues through, as financial problems can be the most tricky to overcome.
SO, WHEN SHOULD I START A BUSINESS?
If you feel passionately about something, take the time to write down a plan for your business:
• What its mission will be and how much money you’ll need to start it.
• Where it will be located.
• What it will be called and how it will be organized.
• What the short-term and long-term goals for the business are.
• What projected revenues and expenses look like for the next three years.
Taking the time to plan out your business will help prevent you from rushing in to something, only to find out later that it was not as profitable or interesting as you thought it would be.
Next, do a self-inventory.
• Can you make decisions under stress?
• Can you handle multiple deadlines and tasks?
• Do you work well with other people?
• Can you personally afford it if this doesn’t work?
After examining the issues above, share your ideas with others you trust and get their opinions.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
How to prosper through a downturn
http://smallbusiness.smh.com.au
Michael Baker
In the famous Monty Python skit, a pet shop owner is confronted by an angry customer returning a dead parrot that had been nailed to its perch to make it look alive.
Unyielding even in the face of the obvious, the shop owner nonetheless makes a spirited attempt to dispute the fact that the parrot is really dead.
As consumers become more penny-pinching, their antennae are up for retailers selling their own versions of the dead parrot. The parrot may be a shoddy product, slow or indifferent service, greater reluctance to accept returns, or some other manifestation of expense cutting.
All of these things are dangerous to the image of a business.
Some retailers may also be tempted to abandon well-thought-out growth strategies that could prove to be even more effective if they are implemented in a soft retail climate than in boom times.
This is the beginning of a siege mentality, where smaller retailers see the larger chains cutting back and shelving growth plans, and think they too should be doing the same.
Of course, controlling expenses, managing inventories and making only prudent capital expenditures are no-brainers. But if you have a strong belief in your concept and you are already some way down the road on the implementation of a growth strategy, then staying the course rather than crawling into a bunker to wait for the storm to blow over will often be your best course of action. It will position you for a bonanza when the economy finally gets up and dusts itself off.
Angela and Con Vithoulkas - Vivo, Sydney
Angela and Con Vithoulkas, sibling co-owners of the Vivo Cafe in downtown Sydney, understand this well. Vivo has three locations, including a 300 square metre flagship at George and King streets.
Ms Vithoulkas says that more than 400,000 pedestrians walk by that intersection every week, so it's not too bad a place to have a café.
Still, they have seen food consumption patterns shift adversely over the past six months as the economic downturn has taken hold. It doesn't faze them.
Instead, they are targeting greater market share, partly through a newly-installed electronic coffee card loyalty program that works with their POS system and already boasts 2000 members.
Another important part of their strategy revolves around an imminent $900,000 makeover of the three cafes that will transform their visual dynamics. The refurbishment is intended not just to make the cafes more visually appealing, but also to simplify the decision-making process that customers have to go through when choosing what they eat, how they eat and where they eat.
Angele brothers - Brunetti, Melbourne
In Melbourne, it's also full steam ahead for the Angele brothers, Fabio, Yuri and Robert, co-owners of Brunetti, an iconic Melbourne establishment (caffè, ristorante, pasticceria and gelateria) whose desserts are the stuff of local legend.
Brunetti, like Vivo, currently consists of three restaurants. Apart from its Carlton flagship, a 1,000 square metre beehive of a place with three front entrances, there is also a smaller unit in the Melbourne CBD and a recently-opened one in the eastern suburb of Camberwell.
More are planned, and hardly a week goes by without the brothers being approached to take their brand and expertise to new locations, both in Australia and overseas. Brunetti's manufacturing capability is being beefed up to meet the expected increased demand.
They are finicky about where they open though and with good reason - Brunetti is a clearly differentiated brand that has staked out an upscale market position. The owners are not about to degrade the brand by bringing it to market in sub-prime locations.
Although Vivo and Brunetti have different growth strategies, neither is using the downturn as an excuse to change course. Nothing that has happened during the past six months has altered their focus on planning for long-term growth.
Simon and Joanne Chadwick - Stride with Confidence, WA
Sticking to the game plan doesn't mean retailers can't also be opportunists though. In WA, Simon Chadwick and his wife Jo-Anne run a premium footwear chain called Stride With Confidence, and although the business has been adversely affected by a decline in consumer discretionary spending since about the middle of last year, they have found ways of turning the situation to their advantage.
One is to use more favourable media advertising rates to help build the brand.
A second is to hunt for real estate bargains and that effort is bearing fruit, with Mr. Chadwick expecting to be able to open a fifth store shortly.
He believes that rental levels have further to subside over the next 12 months and that retailers who have invested in the long-term will be poised to take advantage of some attractive deals.
While frustrated by the events of last winter and the continued fallout on consumer sentiment, Chadwick is nonetheless philosophical: ''We do not expect to return to the boom times of the last few years for a good while. However the lessons of the last nine months, and the next six to twelve, have and will continue to make us better retailers.''
Retailers need to consider their strategies for the next 12-24 months carefully. The Vithoulkas, Angele and Chadwick families are among those who are not taking any prisoners. Plans that have been in the works for a long time will be carried out, with an eye to the longer term future of the businesses.
Other retailers may not be so aggressive. Some will modify or even abandon their growth plans despite more favourable market conditions for labour and real estate.
There may be perfectly good grounds for doing so in some instances. But please, no dead parrots.
Michael Baker is a global retail and property analyst and consultant. Mbakerconsult@gmail.com
Michael Baker
In the famous Monty Python skit, a pet shop owner is confronted by an angry customer returning a dead parrot that had been nailed to its perch to make it look alive.
Unyielding even in the face of the obvious, the shop owner nonetheless makes a spirited attempt to dispute the fact that the parrot is really dead.
As consumers become more penny-pinching, their antennae are up for retailers selling their own versions of the dead parrot. The parrot may be a shoddy product, slow or indifferent service, greater reluctance to accept returns, or some other manifestation of expense cutting.
All of these things are dangerous to the image of a business.
Some retailers may also be tempted to abandon well-thought-out growth strategies that could prove to be even more effective if they are implemented in a soft retail climate than in boom times.
This is the beginning of a siege mentality, where smaller retailers see the larger chains cutting back and shelving growth plans, and think they too should be doing the same.
Of course, controlling expenses, managing inventories and making only prudent capital expenditures are no-brainers. But if you have a strong belief in your concept and you are already some way down the road on the implementation of a growth strategy, then staying the course rather than crawling into a bunker to wait for the storm to blow over will often be your best course of action. It will position you for a bonanza when the economy finally gets up and dusts itself off.
Angela and Con Vithoulkas - Vivo, Sydney
Angela and Con Vithoulkas, sibling co-owners of the Vivo Cafe in downtown Sydney, understand this well. Vivo has three locations, including a 300 square metre flagship at George and King streets.
Ms Vithoulkas says that more than 400,000 pedestrians walk by that intersection every week, so it's not too bad a place to have a café.
Still, they have seen food consumption patterns shift adversely over the past six months as the economic downturn has taken hold. It doesn't faze them.
Instead, they are targeting greater market share, partly through a newly-installed electronic coffee card loyalty program that works with their POS system and already boasts 2000 members.
Another important part of their strategy revolves around an imminent $900,000 makeover of the three cafes that will transform their visual dynamics. The refurbishment is intended not just to make the cafes more visually appealing, but also to simplify the decision-making process that customers have to go through when choosing what they eat, how they eat and where they eat.
Angele brothers - Brunetti, Melbourne
In Melbourne, it's also full steam ahead for the Angele brothers, Fabio, Yuri and Robert, co-owners of Brunetti, an iconic Melbourne establishment (caffè, ristorante, pasticceria and gelateria) whose desserts are the stuff of local legend.
Brunetti, like Vivo, currently consists of three restaurants. Apart from its Carlton flagship, a 1,000 square metre beehive of a place with three front entrances, there is also a smaller unit in the Melbourne CBD and a recently-opened one in the eastern suburb of Camberwell.
More are planned, and hardly a week goes by without the brothers being approached to take their brand and expertise to new locations, both in Australia and overseas. Brunetti's manufacturing capability is being beefed up to meet the expected increased demand.
They are finicky about where they open though and with good reason - Brunetti is a clearly differentiated brand that has staked out an upscale market position. The owners are not about to degrade the brand by bringing it to market in sub-prime locations.
Although Vivo and Brunetti have different growth strategies, neither is using the downturn as an excuse to change course. Nothing that has happened during the past six months has altered their focus on planning for long-term growth.
Simon and Joanne Chadwick - Stride with Confidence, WA
Sticking to the game plan doesn't mean retailers can't also be opportunists though. In WA, Simon Chadwick and his wife Jo-Anne run a premium footwear chain called Stride With Confidence, and although the business has been adversely affected by a decline in consumer discretionary spending since about the middle of last year, they have found ways of turning the situation to their advantage.
One is to use more favourable media advertising rates to help build the brand.
A second is to hunt for real estate bargains and that effort is bearing fruit, with Mr. Chadwick expecting to be able to open a fifth store shortly.
He believes that rental levels have further to subside over the next 12 months and that retailers who have invested in the long-term will be poised to take advantage of some attractive deals.
While frustrated by the events of last winter and the continued fallout on consumer sentiment, Chadwick is nonetheless philosophical: ''We do not expect to return to the boom times of the last few years for a good while. However the lessons of the last nine months, and the next six to twelve, have and will continue to make us better retailers.''
Retailers need to consider their strategies for the next 12-24 months carefully. The Vithoulkas, Angele and Chadwick families are among those who are not taking any prisoners. Plans that have been in the works for a long time will be carried out, with an eye to the longer term future of the businesses.
Other retailers may not be so aggressive. Some will modify or even abandon their growth plans despite more favourable market conditions for labour and real estate.
There may be perfectly good grounds for doing so in some instances. But please, no dead parrots.
Michael Baker is a global retail and property analyst and consultant. Mbakerconsult@gmail.com
Overseas students are secret ingredient
By FoodWeek Online
Restaurant & Catering Australia says that cookery students from overseas are vital to Australia's restaurant industry.
Restaurant & Catering Australia, the peak national association representing the interests of Australia's 40,000 restaurants, cafes and caterers, is concerned at claims that the number of cooks, allowed to study and then work in Australia, should be limited.
Peter Doyle, president of the Association said 'we need cooks - we have had a severe shortage since 1956 and still have a shortage today'. 'There has been no slow-down in the demand for cooks and we are not getting the interest from young people locally to meet the demand'.
Restaurant & Catering Australia estimates that there is still a shortage of some 3,000 cooks from the Australian workforce. Students studying cookery account for the equivalent of over 1,000 full time placements into the industry every year. Each student is required, at this stage, to work for 900 hours as part of the qualification.
John Hart, CEO of R&CA said that 'these students are an important part of our workforce - we have a demand for staff in the kitchen that is unmet and overseas students are filling that demand'.
'Overseas students studying in Australia are not only an important part of the workforce of industries such as the restaurant industry, they spend a lot in the industry too', Hart went on to say. 'International students spent $4.3 Billion on food, drink and accommodation in 2007-08 - This is a significant top up for the industry'.
In 2007 there were 7,378 overseas students studying cookery courses. Cookery students are required to undertake a work placement as part of their studies and must do so if they are looking to pursue migration to Australia.
The Australian restaurant industry in total employs 784,000 Australians which is 7.25% of the workforce. The industry is still growing (despite economic conditions) and still has significant skill shortages.
Restaurant & Catering Australia says that cookery students from overseas are vital to Australia's restaurant industry.
Restaurant & Catering Australia, the peak national association representing the interests of Australia's 40,000 restaurants, cafes and caterers, is concerned at claims that the number of cooks, allowed to study and then work in Australia, should be limited.
Peter Doyle, president of the Association said 'we need cooks - we have had a severe shortage since 1956 and still have a shortage today'. 'There has been no slow-down in the demand for cooks and we are not getting the interest from young people locally to meet the demand'.
Restaurant & Catering Australia estimates that there is still a shortage of some 3,000 cooks from the Australian workforce. Students studying cookery account for the equivalent of over 1,000 full time placements into the industry every year. Each student is required, at this stage, to work for 900 hours as part of the qualification.
John Hart, CEO of R&CA said that 'these students are an important part of our workforce - we have a demand for staff in the kitchen that is unmet and overseas students are filling that demand'.
'Overseas students studying in Australia are not only an important part of the workforce of industries such as the restaurant industry, they spend a lot in the industry too', Hart went on to say. 'International students spent $4.3 Billion on food, drink and accommodation in 2007-08 - This is a significant top up for the industry'.
In 2007 there were 7,378 overseas students studying cookery courses. Cookery students are required to undertake a work placement as part of their studies and must do so if they are looking to pursue migration to Australia.
The Australian restaurant industry in total employs 784,000 Australians which is 7.25% of the workforce. The industry is still growing (despite economic conditions) and still has significant skill shortages.
Small business to get Government cash if ads are stimulating
By Antonia Magee
The Courier-Mail
LEADING advertising agencies say small and medium businesses can still attract a piece of the Government's $42 billion stimulus package without breaking the budget.
Starting this month, millions of working Australians will receive up to $900 in cash from the Rudd Government with the intention for the money to go straight into the economy.
Some of the nation's biggest retailers have advertised stimulus savings to attract customers receiving the cash to spend in their stores.
Upmarket department store David Jones got into the spirit of things last month when it advertised "Government Stimulus Savings" on anything from lingerie to washing machines. Chief executive Mark McInnes previously said the store missed out on the initial $10.4 billion package in December because it did not go to its customers.
Most small and medium business owners do not have hundreds of thousands of dollars in spare cash lying around to pay for full page advertising spreads to let the public know about special offers.
Australian Retailers' Association executive director Richard Evans says the worst thing businesses can do is stop communicating with their market and retract their advertising spend.
"They should be reviewing their spend mix - whether they're spending money on TV rather than radio or moving out of corporate style advertising and going on to product specific advertising,'' Mr Evans says.
Smart advertising agency chief executive Ben Lilley and Gill Walker, head of Melbourne-based Evergreen agency, say businesses can do several low-budget schemes to attract the Rudd Government's stimulus cash.
Mr Lilley says retailers that do not have an advertising budget, but have some shopfront exposure, should create their own stimulus specials.
"The stimulus package is going to be top of mind for people who have received the payment, so specials are a good way to attract people to spend it", Mr Lilley says.
"Our own advice that we give to clients who don't have the budget for a big ad campaign is to start with their own website activity and work out from there."
He says businesses should use things such as search engine optimisation and change aspects of their websites to better market themselves online to people who are receiving the stimulus package. He also recommended Google Ad words to direct web users to business sites.
The Courier-Mail
LEADING advertising agencies say small and medium businesses can still attract a piece of the Government's $42 billion stimulus package without breaking the budget.
Starting this month, millions of working Australians will receive up to $900 in cash from the Rudd Government with the intention for the money to go straight into the economy.
Some of the nation's biggest retailers have advertised stimulus savings to attract customers receiving the cash to spend in their stores.
Upmarket department store David Jones got into the spirit of things last month when it advertised "Government Stimulus Savings" on anything from lingerie to washing machines. Chief executive Mark McInnes previously said the store missed out on the initial $10.4 billion package in December because it did not go to its customers.
Most small and medium business owners do not have hundreds of thousands of dollars in spare cash lying around to pay for full page advertising spreads to let the public know about special offers.
Australian Retailers' Association executive director Richard Evans says the worst thing businesses can do is stop communicating with their market and retract their advertising spend.
"They should be reviewing their spend mix - whether they're spending money on TV rather than radio or moving out of corporate style advertising and going on to product specific advertising,'' Mr Evans says.
Smart advertising agency chief executive Ben Lilley and Gill Walker, head of Melbourne-based Evergreen agency, say businesses can do several low-budget schemes to attract the Rudd Government's stimulus cash.
Mr Lilley says retailers that do not have an advertising budget, but have some shopfront exposure, should create their own stimulus specials.
"The stimulus package is going to be top of mind for people who have received the payment, so specials are a good way to attract people to spend it", Mr Lilley says.
"Our own advice that we give to clients who don't have the budget for a big ad campaign is to start with their own website activity and work out from there."
He says businesses should use things such as search engine optimisation and change aspects of their websites to better market themselves online to people who are receiving the stimulus package. He also recommended Google Ad words to direct web users to business sites.
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