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It was a difficult 2016 for businesses such as Buffalo Wild Wings in the food industry. The company had to resort to dozens of location shutdowns, while Ruby Tuesday is struggling to find new leadership. There are other players in the casual dining that are facing troubled times. This makes it clear that such restaurants are no longer having the necessary influence to lure in new customers. On the other hand, the CEO at Buffalo Wild Wings, Sally Smith, explained to shareholders that the lack of efficiency is due to changing tastes.
Buffalo Wild Wings Sees Millennials as Potential Customers with Changing Tastes
Over recent years, there have been a lot of changes within the market. Even though these are consumerism times, people are choosing their favorite brands through the way they decide to spend their financial resources. Therefore, the industries are already looking differently than before. Consumers are able to create a certain cultural background through their shopping sessions.
As a consequence, casual dining was left behind to the advantage of other food niches, such as food trucks. This branch developed in 2017 four times as more prosperous as it was back in 2012. Therefore, Sally Smith informed investors in her Buffalo Wind Wings company that the business decline is due to changing tastes.
Moreover, Sally Smith positioned millennials as the main cause of these hard times. To her view, the generation that is in power now would rather cook at home, order deliveries or appeal to fast service restaurants than go to casual dining restaurants.
Specialists Translate Industry Changes as a Compendium of More New Appealing Options
Nonetheless, there are many other factors that impacted this industry branch at such a high level. Victor Fernandez, an industry tracker at TDn2K, stated that the market had received many other options that align more or less with millennials’ needs.
One of the fiercest competitors to casual dining is the grocery chain. Thanks to their new technology and business strategies, supermarkets are offering consumers all they need to cook at home. This success consists of pick-up, delivery, discounts, competitive prices, and other perks that entice millennials.
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