Another Sign of the Times

The unique economic environment we are facing seems to have new ways of presenting itself. I looked at the top five gainers and losers in the market yesterday (Nov.19).

The “gainers” caught my attention. The top two were barely positive, third place had no change in stock price and the last two were NEGATIVE.  In other words, they just did not drop as much as all but three of the other restaurant stocks!

Right now, it is hard to find anything positive to hang onto, but in terms of other retail categories, we do have two things going for us.  First, restaurants tend to be a leading indicator for the economy. While we are the first to feel the pain, we also will likely be the first retail segment to see customers return. 

Second, unlike many other retailers, we do not have the high seasonality around the Holidays.  If customers start spending again in May or June, they are not going to go out to buy the Holiday presents they would have bought in the next 6 weeks. Retailers will still have lost their biggest sales season. 

But people are still going out to eat—even though it’s not as frequent, and they are not spending as much as before. There are still a lot of dining room chairs being used. You need to be able to attract them to your dining room chairs. Don’t be timid about tactics.