Slugs: Not just for girls
It's a warm Tuesday evening in May, and on the big screen Chelsea are ignominiously dropping out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage, thanks to Liverpool's rather unsporting decision to practice penalty-taking in advance.
A group of City boys are watching the match, which is nothing unusual for the pubs and bars around London's Fleet Street and Fetter Lane. Except in this case, the bar in question is a Slug and Lettuce, and boys - even reasonably well behaved pin-striped boys - are not what the Slug is supposed to be about.
That, however, is an old-fashioned view. Changing the way we all think about a number of key high-street brands is something Suzanne Baker has been working hard on since she took over as commercial director of Laurel Pub Company almost a year ago.
"There's nothing wrong with boys in a Slug," insists Suzanne. "In fact, the girls seem to quite like it." While retaining its female-friendly credentials, the brand has been given a makeover to help update its appeal and broaden its reach in a city centre market that is definitely not getting any less competitive.
Slug and Lettuce sits in Laurel's portfolio as one of four key brands in the pub and bar empire assembled over the past couple of years by Robert Tchenguiz's investment vehicle R20. Alongside it are Yates's and Ha! Ha! Bar & Kitchen - both acquired through the takeover of Yates Group - and La Tasca, R20's newly acquired Spanish restaurant operation, which formally becomes part of the family this month (June).
Other brands, such as Hog's Head and Slug's former SFI stablemate Litten Tree, while not entirely disappearing, are seeing less emphasis on expansion.
As a case in point, the Fetter Lane Slug was a Hog's Head until its revamp at the start of the year, one of a number of converted Laurel sites that have contributed to the expansion of the brand from 50 outlets at the start of the year to the current 70, with a target of 100 by the end of the year.
"We've refreshed the design and the drinks range," says Suzanne. "For example, we've added London Pride, which is important in keeping it firmly as a bar rather than a restaurant. Cask beer sends a clear message."
Which is not to say that food is being neglected in any way - quite the opposite. Although Suzanne's responsibilities as a board director on her appointment were described as purchasing, procurement, marketing, food, mood management and property, it was clearly the food part of the brief that made industry watchers sit up and take notice.
During her 13 years with JD Wetherspoon, Suzanne oversaw the phenomenal development of the group's food operation. In that period, food sales increased from five per cent of Wetherspoon's turnover to 27 per cent, and a whole range of innovations such as the weekly Curry Club were launched.
"Food is very important to all our brands," she says. The emphasis is on freshness and seasonality, with the Slug and Lettuce summer menu and related point-of-sale material featuring a very fetching clutch of asparagus. Ranging from starters, salads and sandwiches to mains and sharing platters, the menu is clearly still built around Slug's core female customer, but has more to interest a wider target market.
That includes Sunday lunch, a breakfast offer and even a children's menu. "We're also serving food later, until 10pm, which has proved to be a successful move," adds Suzanne. There are similar innovations across the group - Yates's now has a children's menu to go with a revamped design which will be rolled out to five sites in the next few months.
Meanwhile, Ha! Ha! has subtly changed its name from 'canteen' to 'kitchen' to reflect an even stronger emphasis on food.
The smoking ban is, of course, informing much of this activity. "We definitely see it as an opportunity," says Suzanne, "Food will be important, but so will having a quality drinks range and a great environment. We're investing across all those areas, and what's great is that with R20 there's the will to do it. It's great to be able to go to the board and get a 'yes' straight away."
