Harvester brand hit by families' belt-tightening
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has admitted its Harvester brand’s sales performance has been hit by spending pressure on families, particularly in the south-east.
Harvester: hit by the credit crunch
The brand’s performance contrasts with the strong sales figures for M&B’s value formats such as Pub & Cavery and its premium formats such as Vintage Inns.
Chief executive Tim Clarke would not give specific figures for the 156 Harvesters, whose heartland is around the M25, but said that the slowdown “has been pretty material”.
Clarke said the company was focusing on Harvester menu changes in the same way it had focused on Vintage Inns last year when sales began to flag — Vintage Inns is a “star performer” this year. Like-for-like sales were up 1.3% overall in the nine weeks to 20 September.
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