Venus rising
Fly Pink, a new women-only airline, takes to the skies later this year from Liverpool's John Lennon airport. The launch follows a wealth of other new female-friendly concepts, including a women-only "Pink Beach" near Rimini, in Italy, and female-biased car insurance company Sheila's Wheels.
With us ladies leaving it later to breed, we have become a financial force to be reckoned with - and a huge target for marketeers.
April's Economist magazine says: "Forget China, India and the internet - economic growth is driven by women." Datamonitor research claims that 46% of the 376,000 millionaires in the UK are female. Clearly, licensees can't afford to ignore this nation of sisters doing it for ourselves financially.
Many pub operators already target girl power: managed pubco Orchid has just launched two pubs aimed at a 40:60 male: female customer base.
At Orchid's Saint Mark's, in Surbiton, Surrey, interiors are decorated with in-vogue print wallpaper and duck-egg blue, cream, black and turquoise colours to create a tranquil, stylish setting.
The menu includes a range of female-friendly tapas plates and grazing dishes, while cocktails include a "build your own" mojito or bellini. Fairtrade hot beverages and glossy mags are also on offer. Great stuff.
While I am not suggesting that every pub should paint itself pink, show chick-flicks all day, offer manicures at the bar or insist on a beat-the-PMT bar-snack menu, it certainly makes commercial sense for operators to become more tuned in to the desires of female customers. Licensees ignore the new pink pound at their peril.
Service stars
The search is now on for the best food pub managers. If you have been an essential part of your pub's food success and have customer-service skills that sizzle, don't miss your chance to enter our Food Pub Manager of the Year award. For an entry form call 01293 610238, email sue.selby@william-reed.co.uk or visit www.pub-chef.co.uk
Jo Bruce, PubChef editor
Leave a message: 01293 610487 or email jo.bruce@william-reed.co.uk
Lucy Britner: 01293 610365 or email lucy.britner@william-reed.co.uk
