During a recent panel discussion at the Texas Restaurant Association Show in Houston, Barry McGowan, chief executive officer of Fogo de Ch\u00e3o, said the industry is going through a renaissance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe industry is changing. Brands that are big that haven\u2019t reinvested in its people, products, its assets are fading away and being replaced with a lot of new concepts,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n
New data from Revenue Management Solutions supports an increasingly bifurcated industry, and the brands that are winning are taking market share at an accelerated pace. A higher percentage of restaurants \u2014 37% \u2014 are healthy and growing. However, systematic decline has tripled throughout the past year, from 6% to 19%, signaling structural pressures for underperforming brands, according to Richard Delvall\u00e9e, senior vice president, consulting services, RMS.<\/p>\n
Systematic decline is defined as concepts experiencing both traffic and check decreases.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the last 12 months, customers have become more selective about where they spend their money. Brands that balanced the value equation and continued to innovate are recognizing positive traffic trends. Conversely, based on our observations, the brands with higher share of restaurant locations in the systemic decline category are seeing an average traffic loss of -7% year-over-year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n