I read the report “Chain Restaurants in the US” by Nima
Samadi. The report displays information
about the chain restaurants in the US restaurant industry. The report includes eat-in restaurants such
as Olive Garden or Longhorn Steakhouse and does not include fast food
restaurants like McDonald’s and Burger King.
The domestic
market for chain restaurants is getting saturated because it is a mature
industry. This has caused the existing
restaurants to become more competitive in pricing and product. Because of the saturation, many of the major
chain restaurant companies, such as Darden Restaurants, are now focusing more on
international expansion. I found this
interesting because it creates more obstacles for companies and encourages more
original ideas.
I am
interested in learning more about how the restaurant industry works behind the
scenes. I want to explore how they
decide when or where to expand and when to hold on to what they have. In addition to that I want to understand how
they choose which other restaurants they should buy and which they should sell. I also want to learn more about the
companies’ marketing strategies and how they differ nationally and
internationally.
The
industry seems to be recovering from a recent decline in revenue and profits
due to decreased consumer interest in expensive chain restaurants. Many consumers are also becoming more health-conscious
about where and what they eat. Both of
these instances have caused restaurants to change their menus to better reflect
the needs of the market through both creating healthier dishes and promoting
low cost meals. The report projected more growth for this industry in the
coming years, but it will be difficult.
They will need to continue to be competitive when fighting for
consumers.
I found it
very interesting that 64 percent of the market consists of people with and
annual income of $75,000 or more. I also
found it interesting that most of the age groups spend relatively the same amount
on eating out. The highest percentage
of income spent on dining out was 18- to 25-year-olds who spent 46.4 percent of
their income, and the lowest being people older than 65 who spent 37 percent of
their income.
Your article complements what my industry report said about chain restaurants, so I enjoyed reading your blog. I feel that what you found about the demographic groups and the amount of money they spend on eating out speaks to the fact that the demand for the food industry is large.
ReplyDeleteThat is actually really interesting. The fact that most people, no matter the age group, relatively spend the same amount eating out is definitely something I was not expecting. Same with the idea that chain restaurants attract people with the $75,000. I would think that more lower income families would prefer these types of chain restaurants. But at the same time, it does make sense because most families want a quick, cheap meal and those who do not make $75,000 do not eat out often.
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