All Wagamama articles – Page 10
-
NewsSay hello to the newest version of Yo!
When Yo! Sushi arrived in the UK in 1997 it was everything casual dining wants to be in 2019. Colourful, fun, innovative and fresh, it also had entertainment on the side thanks to the novel kaiten conveyor belt that served up plates of food. Remarkably, the novelty hasn’t worn off, even after 22 years. Yo!, which dropped the ‘Sushi’ from its name in September to send a message to the squeamish that it offered more than just raw fish, reported a UK sales hike of 5% to £88.9m in July.
-
NewsCaravan appoints Hollinshead ops director
Caravan has appointed Graham Hollinshead, formerly of Quentin Restaurants, as operations director, MCA understands.
-
NewsYapster raises £2.6m
Yapster, a communications platform for hospitality workers, has raised just over £2.6m as the company looks to deliver on its ambitious growth plans for 2020 and beyond.
-
NewsDelivery versus in-house: What’s the difference in price?
I had a Deliveroo from Pho the other day. As nice as the Vietnamese curry always is, I was charged £11.25 for a dish that costs £10.50 in their Guildford restaurant. This started a small chain reaction of looking at other Pho price differentials, and then a few other restaurant chains. At Pho, the use of higher prices on Deliveroo was pretty much universal. Starter prices were typically 20p-30p dearer on dishes that mainly range between £4.95-£6.95, equating to a 4-6% premium on delivery.
-
OpinionWoods: ‘Proper innovation can be a game-changer for growth’
Innovation is not just about developing new things, it’s about developing things that customers actually want – and there is a big difference, according to Emma Woods, chief executive of Wagamama.
-
NewsIn pictures: MCA Restaurant Conference 2019
Delegates gathered for the annual MCA Restaurant Conference on 18 September, at the Marriott Grosvenor Square in London’s Mayfair, for a packed speaker line-up which included Alasdair Murdoch, chief executive of Burger King UK and Emma Woods, chief executive of Wagamama. Here are just a few of the pictorial highlights from the day.
-
NewsWagamama partners with Gousto
Wagamama has partnered with recipe box company Gousto to supply recipe boxes for some of the restaurant’s favourite dishes.
-
NewsInvestors willing to pay premium for best in class operators
Despite the greater prevalence of distress transactions, investors are willing to pay top valuations for businesses that are best in class, according to Graeme Smith, MD at AlixPartners.
-
Analysis & Insight‘TRG now has a future’
The legacy of Andy McCue’s truncated time as chief executive of The Restaurant Group is, as well all know, the £559m acquisition of Wagamama. When the deal squeaked through last year, there was widespread scepticism over the longevity of its stellar like-for-like sales growth.
-
NewsWagamama spin-off Mamago - what’s the verdict on the logo?
MCA revealed the new logo for Wagamama’s food-to-go spin off Mamago last week. So while we wait for the exact opening date, the operating hours, the menu, the pricing strategy and everything else to be revealed, what do some branding experts think about the logo ahead of the new opening, which could provide a real boost to the TRG estate if it takes off?
-
NewsMark out of ten - What’s Yo! name?
This week started with a banger of a PR stunt as I flicked through Twitter before I even put my specs on. Yo! (the artist formerly known as Yo! Sushi) has finally had enough of being pigeonholed by the nation as just a sushi chain and have changed their name ...
-
OpinionOpinion: TRG has a spicy star in Wagamama
There are 135 reasons why the new Restaurant Group CEO, Andy Hornby, can feel positive about the future. That’s how many Wagamama sites there are in the UK and each one is crucial to TRG (it also has five in the US and 57 franchises elsewhere around the world).
-
NewsNew Mamago logo revealed
The logo for The Restaurant Group’s spin-off Mamago has been unveiled, along with teasers of the new menu. The Mamago logo will use the same font as the original Wagamama logo, as well as the familiar red and white colour scheme, plus its signature single red star. Meanwhile the menu, specifically designed for the spinoff, looks set to include wraps packed with Pan-Asian ingredients and fruit pots.
-
OpinionJP Morgan and Goodbody on The Restaurant Group
The Restaurant Group’s (TRG) H1 results yesterday revealed a strong performance from Wagamama and plans to rationalise the Leisure estate. Analysts at JP Morgan and Goodbody give their take on the numbers.
-
Analysis & InsightMixed wag: TRG leisure estate continues to drag
Former HBOS boss Andy Hornby might have hoped for a smooth introduction to the sector yesterday after joining The Restaurant Group as CEO in August.
-
NewsRestaurant Group writes off £125m amid ‘structurally unattractive’ leisure estate review
The Restaurant Group has written off £125m - nearly £100m related to its leisure restaurant business - as it faces continued retail decline and saturated local markets.
-
OpinionAnalysts’ verdict: Goodbody on The Restaurant Group
In advance of The Restaurant Group’s H1 trading update tomorrow, analyst Goodbody says it’s expecting strong growth from Wagamama and evidence of stabilisation within its leisure division.
-
OpinionBones Daddies’ Ross Shonhan: ‘People think Japanese food is not evolving’
The restaurateur behind Flesh & Buns and Shackfuyu talks to Tom Lee, editor at MCA’s sister title Food Spark, about his latest concept, why bowl food is a lunchtime star and how to take Japanese cuisine beyond its traditional, old-fashioned image.
-
NewsSustainable Restaurant Association backs climate-friendly foods
The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) has launched a new initiative called Foodprint to help restaurants and foodservice companies to use more eco-friendly ingredients.
-
NewsBig names added to line-up for MCA’s Restaurant Conference 2019
Alasdair Murdoch, chief executive of Burger King UK, and James Spragg, chief executive of Casual Dining Group, are among a number of big names that have been added to the agenda for the MCA Restaurant Conference 2019.