Up for the Cup

The World Cup is almost upon us. So now's the time for licensees to erect the flags and bunting and think about some of the things that might have been overlooked.

If England does as well as some pundits predict - semi-finals at least - then pubs will be awash with supporters clamouring for nice cold beers. So, are your chillers up to it?

Ann-Marie Clarke, from chiller supplier Husky, advises licensees: "You can never have too much cold storage. Customers demand cold drinks and almost every product you sell is now refrigerated, so speculate to accumulate."

Husky recommends that the maximum possible area is dedicated to chillers. Clarke says: "If there is not enough room front of house, then place further refrigerators in cellars or bottle rooms.

"Remember customers will return beer 'not cold enough' and every bottle returned destroys the profit from several sales and, perhaps more importantly, damages your reputation."

She adds: "Allow adequate time for your chiller to refrigerate. Bottle up the night before; not just before the game. Most coolers when fully laden with new stock will take almost 24 hours to cool down."

Free-stock deals on offer

Customers buying a Husky chiller are offered free stock. The same goes for Foodfresh, where managing director Simon Gordon says: "Free-stock deals are important. A number of companies offer this deal, but restrict the customer to a particular type of beer. Our customers can choose whatever beers they want and can mix the cases."

Foodfresh is currently offering five free cases of beer with a single-door chiller and 10 cases for a double or triple-door cabinet. Gordon adds: "If the beer is sold at £2.50 a bottle, this equates to £300 or £600 respectively, and goes a long way towards paying for the cabinet."

If the licensee's tenancy agreement prohibits accepting the beer, the company can supply a free ice maker or free counter-top fridge or offer a "cabinet-only" price.

Security is also an area that licensees need to think about. It's a sad fact that England matches sometimes bring out the worst in the behaviour of the country's supposed football fans. The unrest in several towns and cities and the full-scale riot in Boston, Lincolnshire, that followed England's exit from Euro 2004 are a salutary reminder that licensees will have to be on their guard.

But, while it's timely to check that pub security is up to scratch, licensees can take comfort from the fact that the extra trade that is expected as fans flock to the pubs could well help pay for the cost of installing a CCTV security system.

For example, a digital video recorder with two external and two internal high-resolution cameras, plus all the connections and ancillary bits, can be had for as little as £438 from Cricklewood Electronics. Cricklewood director Chris Grocott says that the reliability problems with some of

the earliest digital systems have now been eliminated and more features are available with current models. These features include "triplex" that

permits three functions to be undertaken at the same time - playing back footage while still recording and hooking up to broadband internet access, which allows, for example, licensees on holiday to see exactly what's happening in their pubs at any time.

The length of recording time available depends on a number of factors, principally the capacity of the hard drive and the recording speed, which can be varied from two fps (frames per second) to 25 fps - the latter equivalent to real time with no time lapse between images.

Cameras where cash is involved

Cardiff-based Camera Tech Solutions generally advises licensees to locate one camera at the entrance with others trained on areas where cash is involved, such as the bar/till area and gaming/dispense machines.

Office manager Abi Richards says CTS has installed CCTV in 150 pubs, with the vast majority opting for a lease agreement. Four-camera installations cost £12.50 plus VAT per week over a six-year lease, with an eight-camera system costing £20.50 plus VAT a week over the same period. Both options come with a 42-inch plasma TV screen. Installations can usually be undertaken within one week of placing an order.

Richards says: "The picture quality is just like watching BBC1. And digital recorders are so easy to use and they have a built-in CD rewriter, which makes copying dead easy."

Also offering a rental service is DCS (Digital Camera Security). Prices start at under £5 per day and DCS uses motion sensor cameras, which means that viewing recordings is less time consuming than systems that continually monitor the premises. Up to 60 days' recordings can be stored and the company claims that the system is also a powerful deterrent in the war against cash and stock theft, which can be as much as £100 per week in an average pub.

Poseurs - ideal for idle corners

If all goes to plan it will probably be standing room only for many customers during the World Cup, and with that comes the problem of where they can place their drinks. The most space-efficient solutions are fixing shelves to walls and internal columns and providing poseur tables. Neil Bettson, contracts manager with bar furniture supplier Drakes, notes: "Poseurs are ideal for idle corners in a pub and are good at getting people away from the bar area."

Drakes can supply a complete range of bar tables and chairs as well as fixed seating, sofas and settees with products either manufactured at its headquarters in Huddersfield or imported. For those in a rush, Bettson says: "We boast a 24-hour delivery service."

As well as an extensive choice of tables and chairs, West Midlands-based Sprite Leisure offers three different styles of poseurs. More traditionally-styled poseurs are available in wood and cast iron and Sprite's owner Frank Hipkins says a retro-style poseur made from nickel chrome is particularly suited to sports bars. The Black Country firm can also supply bar stools and Hipkins says five or six can be comfortably arranged around a poseur.

Fly the flag and create an impression

If you want to create an impression, consider displaying the flags of all 32 nations competing in the finals. For £99, Peeks of Chichester is offering 5ft by 3ft flags of all 32 nations, which marketing director Nick Peek says: "Should catch the eyes of customers and passing traffic and show you are taking the World Cup seriously."

For £35, Peeks can supply an England supporters' pack containing rosettes, bunting, garlands, balloons, St George's flag, bowler hats and inflatable hands."

Peek says decorating a pub is usually left until the last minute as licensees have more on their minds, like organising extra beer and food deliveries or arranging extra staff. Peek believes this can result in the pub not being marketed to its full potential or not generating an air of excitement during the lead-in to the finals.

He suggests hosts should put up some decorations and posters in plenty of time, say up to one month before the first match on 9 June, but leave the rest of the decorations until match days to add to the sense of theatre.

Meanwhile, House of Flags (HoF) has put together three special promotional packs. It's

St George's Party Pack consists of three lengths of bunting, three 0.7sq-m flags, eight table flags, and 10 hand wavers.

The Party Pack Plus contains all the items in the Party Pack plus a PVC banner for external promotion and a celebration flag pole. The company's individual Supporter's Pack contains a hand waver, one 0.7sq-m flag and giant red and yellow cards.

HoF's Clare Southard says: "The Supporter's Pack can be used as an incentive or prize or be sold to customers to boost revenue." She adds: "Pubs need to promote the festival during early May to kick off the goodwill feeling. They should get the banners and flags out, then leave them up for the duration of the whole festival."