The Consultant - Q1 2009 - (Page 16) PERSPECTIVES asia-pacif ic restaurants; after all, bankers and corporate accounts make up the largest proportion of their customers. With the rapid retrenchments and slashing of bonuses, spending has become limited. “Without corporate spending, it is an uphill climb. The restaurants are so quiet now. While our lunches and dinners on Christmas and New Year are usually fully booked with two turns, we are only full during Christmas this year. And this was only because the reservations were locked in before the economic recession,” shared a restaurateur of two fine dining establishments in Singapore. Unwilling to be named, he added that diners in Singapore tend to be more forgiving when spending on corporate accounts, and are more demanding when they pay on their own. “They don’t understand why fish at our restaurant will cost more; it’s a good fish that we have specially flown in from a specific region for authenticity. Unfortunately, they are still not as discerning as diners, say, in London, and it may be harder to convince them of the value factor in fine dining restaurants in the near future,” he analyzed. However, not all restaurants have observed a dip in their sales. Smaller outfits in the mid-priced sector are still thriving. In Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia, the wine-centric restaurant, Tasting Room, with a wine retail shop, Wine Cellar, has found business has been as brisk as ever. Owner Ron Khoo suggests that part of the immunity is the restaurant’s philosophy of focusing on high quality Angus tenderloin (they use only chilled meats), pastas and tapas. Wines are sold at retail prices (instead of restaurant prices with high mark-ups) and they offer over 30 different house pours. The unassuming, friendly concept of the restaurant, including such extra features as wine flights that include 3-to-5 sample-sized portions for guests to MARKET The Wine Company group of restaurants in Singapore, which also offers retail wine sales, is using an extensive marketing campaign including a prize of a trip to a South Africa winery in order to boost take home sales of wines. INTERNATIONAL taste has also helped in raising the sales figures. “Our target market is quite specific – food and wine lovers. Most of our customers are existing customers of the wine shop, which was opened years before the restaurant. So we know them, and it’s become a community of sorts. This loyalty could have helped us buffer the effects,” Khoo shared. Teng Wee Jeh, restaurateur of Chinoiz – a stylish Mediterranean casual dining restaurant, observed that sales have remained constant, even though he expects sales to drop by 10-20% during the lull period after February. His two outlets – one in Suria, in KL city centre, and the other in The Gardens Mid Valley, also in KL, have been around for 10 to 15 years. They have weathered major crises, such as the SARS outbreak. Surprisingly, the restaurants are trading at “historical figures” thus far, which he attributes to the “atypical locations” of his restaurants. “Generally, the market sentiment is that sales have been down by 10-20%, although we are lucky to not have been affected yet,” he shared. Whatever the reason, Teng is not resting on Chinoiz’ laurels. “Value for money is extremely important, even in premium sites,” he explained. “The market is in oversupply mode and whilst quality in food and service are always valued by the consumer, we feel that value is still, unfortunately, what the customer is looking for.” His team is prepared to introduce value for money menus, such as Prix Fixe lunches, as and when needed. Capitalizing on this value for money philosophy, Khoo has also introduced a wine buffet at Tasting Room, where customers can drink unlimited glasses of wine from 30 16 theconsultant
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