All Azzurri Group articles – Page 4
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NewsAsk fined £40,000 for lack of lobster
Ask has been fined £40,000 after selling a ‘misleading’ plate of pasta - although it got a discount off the bill for pleading guilty. The Italian chain, owned by parent company Azzurri, had been selling its £14.95 Aragosta e Gamberoni dish, described as lobster and king prawns in a tomato and chilli sauce, since 2014.
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NewsHow can tech ease the customer journey?
Greggs, Leon and Wagamama are just the latest to join the self-ordering revolution, with the latter’s new grab and go concept Mamago one of the most hotly discussed openings of last year. To share their early exeperiences and more, MCA brought together marketing, IT and digital leaders from across the sector to consider how new technology can help, and sometimes hinder, the customer experience
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NewsReview of the Year Part Two
When England achieved the impossible, and destroyed the indestructible All Blacks in the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup, it looked like it was going to be a bumper day for hospitality on the day of the final. The UK would wake up early and hit the pubs and bars first thing to watch England win the final, followed by trips to restaurants, followed by pubs, bars and clubs, before ending up slumped on the sofa trying to focus on the highlights and order a Deliveroo. All England had to do was win.
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NewsFast-moving grown-up Coco di Mama ‘can do’
Carbs and caffeine is a formula that has fuelled Coco di Mama’s expansion well. The fast-casual brand has been deftly serving long queues of office workers just that since 2011. This sweet spot customer, the 25-35-year-old affluent City worker, was the genesis of the brand in Fleet Street. While this core demographic served Coco well in its early years, a new management team last year realised it needed to broaden its appeal if it was to continue its expansion into adulthood.
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NewsM&A Review of the Year
It certainly hasn’t been a year in hospitality M&A for the faint hearted, but for those who have stuck with the sector and taken a long-term view, opportunity has knocked. Despite fears of an investor hiatus as a result of lingering uncertainty (ongoing Brexit delays certainly haven’t been helpful to M&A advisors!), the past 12 months has again proved the robustness of the M&A market in this sector, and points to further opportunities for 2020.
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NewsThe Dom Walsh Awards
Our monthly columnist from The Times hands out his annual awards to brands and operators who have made the past 12 months newsworthy – for better or for worse…
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Analysis & InsightWill we eat out more than ever in the future?
I was struck by the recent MCA interview with Azzurri Group CEO Steve Holmes, and particularly his concluding comment: “I think if you wind the clock forward, people will eat out more than ever.”
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NewsMercer to swap Coco di Mama for Swingers
Coco di Mama head of people Tom Mercer is set to join Swingers, MCA understands.
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OpinionSteve Holmes: ‘If you wind the clock forward, people will eat out more than ever’
Relevant operators can grind out profit growth, but it’s not an easy time, Azzurri Group’s Steve Holmes has told MCA.
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NewsAzzurri Group achieves lfl growth across portfolio
Azzurri Group has reported a group sales increase of 7% for the year ended 30 June 2019, to £299.4m, with like-for-like sales growth seen across its four brands.
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OpinionAlixPartners: Cause for cautious optimism
The M&A market for UK restaurant operators remains cautious, with distressed situations making up the majority of activity. However, several high-profile transactions completed in 2019, with investors still willing to pay a premium price in certain circumstances, says AlixPartners’ Graeme Smith
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NewsAzzurri studies Pod delivery hub model
The Azzurri Group will convert the first Pod store to Coco di Mama in around September, before switching three or four more before Christmas, CEO Steve Holmes has told MCA.
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NewsAzzurri acquires 13 Pod sites in pre-pack
Azzurri Group has confirmed it has entered into an agreement to acquire the business and certain assets of the healthy food-to-go chain Pod from its administrators RSM.
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NewsCosy Club and Zizzi among operators to open at Drake Circus
A number of restaurants, bars and leisure brands will be opening at a new leisure and entertainment development in Plymouth city centre, called Drake Circus Leisure.
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NewsAzzurri appoints digital director
Azzurri Group has appointed Sainsbury’s Joel Robinson to the new role of digital and technology director.
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OpinionMark out of Ten: Zizzi doing it for the ‘Gram
This week the Azzurri Group became the first UK restaurant group to hire a dedicated Instagrammer, to promote its Zizzi chain. In his latest MCA column, Mark McCulloch – the brand and marketing guru behind Supersonic Inc – gives his view on the appointment and asks why the sector as a whole has been so slow to embrace this sort of innovation.
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NewsAzzurri Group appoints ex Market Town Taverns MD
The Azzurri Group has appointed the former managing director of Market Town Taverns, Louise Middlemass, as it restructures its operational team for the Zizzi brand.
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NewsAlixPartners Growth Company Index 2019 Top 50
This year saw MCA once again team up with AlixPartners to identify the fastest growing companies in the UK eating and drinking out sector. The following is the top 50 in full.
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NewsRadio Alice secures third site
Radio Alice, the Azzurri Group-backed pizza concept, has secured its third site – after taking on the former GBK unit in Canary Wharf’s Jubilee Place, MCA understands.