The Golden Boy

There was particular poignancy in the winner of the Tim Bacon Rising Star Award at last year’s Retailers’ Retailer awards.

The section was renamed following the death of the Living Ventures co-founder three years ago, in memory of his role in launching the careers of some of the sector’s leading operators.

Bacon would no doubt have felt hugely proud to see Simon Potts, who worked his way up from an LV general manager in 2009 to managing director of the Alchemist in 2015, pick up the award.

Having grown the brand from four sites at that point to 14 at present, and with more in the pipeline, Potts has long since stepped out of the LV shadow. With the backing of Palatine he has expanded the brand from a star of the north of England to a national force. He has also broadened its offer with the launch of sub-brand Aether, with a focus on live music and drinks.

The Alchemist is one of several leading operators expected to consider its options this year. While Potts refuses to be drawn on a specific plan, he admits: “We all know there is a window and the important thing is to be ready for when that window closes. That’s about having the right geographic spread, the correct processes in place and making sure your offer is resonating with consumers.”

New horizons

This year will be a big year for the group, with another two openings and a second in Birmingham – in the former Le Monde site in the city’s Brindley Place. Potts is also in negotiations on a “game-changer of a site” which will see the core brand pushed on in terms of design and ex-perience (“Alchemist 3.0”), as well as looking at a new territory on the south coast. On top of this there is an appetite to roll out Aether further.

Ambitious plans, but in uncertain times is this rate of growth really a safe bet?

Potts stresses: “One of the things we can probably learn from casual dining is that a lot of people got in trouble through committing to things a long way out. Then when they finally came to open, the market was in a different place. We stepped away from two sites last year because in one example we couldn’t get the licensing quite right and in the other we realised the site just wasn’t going to be profitable enough. There was some reported cost in there, but it’s small fry in the long-term compared to opening an unsustainable site. It’s important to have the courage to do that.”

Potts is also conscious that with growing brand awareness comes the danger of being seen as a juggernaut rolling into yet another new territory.

“That’s something we’ve had to tackle from day one,” he insists. “When I first came on board we had one site in London and there was a disconnect with the rest of the estate. It was a bit of an outpost. Eventually we took a GM who had already been working with us for years and brought him down here with the task of translating that magic to London.

“We’ve learnt from that and done it ever since. In this site (St Martin’s Lane in the West End), the GM had spent the previous six months working in our Bevis Marks site.

“We’ve become a well-oiled machine when it comes to openings and it’s really important having those experienced team members embedded in there. We used to do the first few weeks essentially as a soft launch but we are now so confident in delivery of that operational on-site training that we can open without missing a beat.”

Potts says he has also made a point of getting local operators on side in new areas, running joint promotions with them in the lead up to openings and trying to be seen as an addition to the circuit rather than an overt competitor.

In the case of its opening in Chester in 2017, Potts even diverted some of the group’s marketing spend to boost Gary Usher’s latest crowdfunding campaign as part of the Alchemist’s drive to be a good neighbour.

He adds: “It’s friendly competition and I think that one of the great things about this industry is that people are very supportive of operators who in theory they compete with. If you didn’t have competition you wouldn’t have anything to measure yourself against. Having someone nipping at your heels keeps you fresh.”

Fit for Millennial market

With its instagrammable, dry ice-heavy cocktails, the brand is an obvious fit for the Millennial market, but Potts is conscious that to be a success it needs a broader appeal.

He says: “I’m very aware of this sense of someone coming in for a quick pint and not being put off by that spectacle of mixing a cocktail. Similarly, we’ve worked very hard on making this an atmosphere where you’re not going to feel out of place however you’re dressed. You’re never going to be all things to all people, but we have to have inclusivity at the front of mind.”

That expansion of the scope of the brand extends to dayparts, with all sites now operating from breakfast to late night. Food now makes up c50% of sales – from 35% back in 2015 and while delivery isn’t a major growth driver, it now accounts for c4% of food sales.

With new territories in its sights and further growth in London on the cards, the group ultimately sees the scope for 65 to 100 sites. Having already doubled up in Leeds and with three in Manchester, Potts is confident about the ability to grow through hubs. Birmingham will be the next to test this approach and the addition of Aether adds to the company’s arsenal.

Meanwhile, Potts remains acutely aware that consumers and employees alike have never been more fickle.

He says: “There are things you simply have to do these days in terms of supporting your people that would barely have been considered just a few years ago. Now you have to find new ways to stand out. For me that’s one of the attractions of something like the Best Companies To Work For. It’s a way of looking at what areas you can improve on and how that changes year on year.

“It’s not just about something sitting on your email signature. All of these things are incremental parts of driving the business on. That’s a job that never ends, and hopefully one I’ll never get tired of.”