M&B scraps Vintage branding experiment
Mitchells & Butlers is to reverse an experiment that has seen new Vintage openings "unbranded".
The company has been evolving parts of the Vintage estate into three bistro formats that bridge the gap in price, sophistication and operational complexity between Vintage Inns and Project S, the gastro-pub concept that M&B has developed in conjunction with entrepreneurs Paul Salisbury and Paul Hales.
The up-dating of Vintage has also involved less overt brand cues.
Now restaurants division boss Adam Fowle has stated that an "unbranded" experiment involving 34 former Whitbread pubs converted to the Vintage trading style was to be scrapped - with Vintage signing returned.
Vintage Inns is thought to make a profit contribution of between £50 and £60m to M&B, making it one of the most profitable casual dining brands in Europe.
Income pressures
The company revealed last year that the brand had been hardest hit by the disposable income pressures on mainstream suburbia, where people are seeing the highest level of inflation, at around 6.2%, because of rises in interest rates and stealth taxes.
Vintage had also been hit by more competition from other pub food offerings.
A new menu had been introduced at the start of November last year, with a sacrifice of 2% of margin to improve menu quality.
Two weeks ago, M&B chief executive Tim Clarke said there has been "quite a powerful bounceback" at Vintage as well as Harvester an Toby Carvery since new menus had been introduced.
