Pitcher & Piano

Brindley Place, Birmingham When a pub is just a few minutes walk away from the UK's most densely-pubbed circuit, namely Broad Street in Birmingham, it's hardly surprising that sales can be hit, and hit hard, by all of thecompetition.

That was the dilemma facing the Pitcher & Piano outlet nestling by the canal-side in nearby Brindley Place.

When first launched, the Pitcher & Piano concept set new standards as being female-friendly venues.

But by last May, the 18-year-old Brindley Place outlet was feeling the pinch from a combination of factors ­ the place was getting tired looking, there were modern imitators on its doorstep, and a vast number of local bars heavily discounting to attract customers.

Owner Wolverhampton & Dudley's answer to reversing declining sales was to close the bar for six weeks while giving it a £500,000 refurbishment and thereby create the first "second generation" Pitcher & Piano.

If the project proved successful, Brindley Place would provide the model for revamping the rest of W&D's30-plus branded estate.

Since reopening in mid July, the results have more than vindicated the investment, as general manager Steve Spooner explains: "Every week, we have beaten our sales targets and have been much busier that we ever imagined.

Before we reopened, we thought £25,000 to £30,000 per week was a reasonable target, but we were hitting £40,000 to £45,000 as soon as we started trading."

Putting this in perspective, total turnover was up 55% for the six-week period immediately after the refurbishment compared with the same period 12 months earlier, with food sales rocketing by nearly 90% and wet sales up 45%.

The transformation in trading has been matched by the transformation of the ambience of the venue.

The upstairs bar is now more of an eating area, while downstairs has been redesigned and converted into an inviting place to drink and socialise with plenty of semi-private corners for customers to relax in.

Before any work began, customers were invited to forums to let W&D know what they wanted from the venue.

Steve says that apart from investing in the bricks and mortar, a lot has been spent on staff training.

Key members of staff were sent to London bars for training in how to cope with a busy environment.

Other initiatives included team-building exercises and a job rotation scheme so that everyone learns the skills of their colleagues.

Every day, bar and floor staff have a meeting to discuss what they learned the day before and raise any other issues that affect their jobs.

Steve says: "It was imperative to make sure the new design wasn't just a lick of paint, but brought retail values to the bar and succeeded in meeting the needs of our customers consistently."

The trading figures suggest the refurb has worked, so too does the fact that Steve says customers are walking past Broad Street to get to the Pitcher & Piano.