Focus South East: View from the Top

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness… it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way…'​

These famous words somehow seem as appropriate to the pub business today as they did to Dickens in 1859. For many within the industry, though, it's not so much A Tale of Two Cities as the stark realism of Hard Times. While some seem to have found the magic formula, others purvey their Bleak House with less than Great Expectations.

Those of us trading in the South have, for many years, felt untouched, somehow immune to downturns in the trade compared to other areas of the country, but this time we are all in the same boat.

The perfect storm of the smoking ban, the credit crunch, the great British weather, supermarkets, utilities prices, high rents - the list grows ever longer - has hit us all. From the rural village pub to the community local to the town centre bar, we are all feeling the pinch. But when the going gets tough it's time for the tough to get going.

As in any other industry, innovation will always be a key element to success.

Those quick to embrace the need to innovate will be best placed to face the challenges, not just those of us at the coalface but brewers and pubcos too. The time for partnership is upon us.

So how can we be innovative? Well, look around you. You'll see it happening across the region, whether it be new food menus that take advantage of the fantastic local produce available or taking a more interesting approach to drink - again, we are fortunate in the South to have some fantastic microbrewers.

But it doesn't stop there. We need to reach out to our customers. What can we do that others can't? Well, we can provide entertainment and service unrivalled by other sectors, and these days entertaining customers is key, whether it be live music, parties, or food and drink evenings. The possibilities are only limited by our own imaginations!

And we need to be innovative in how we communicate with our customers, too. The internet has opened up many ways of keeping in touch. Email and social networking give us the opportunity to get ourselves into our customers' front rooms.

Those who embrace this without forgetting traditional pub values will be the ones who can face the future with confidence.

All in the industry must join hands and act now. Those of us running pubs must move forward and those of us with landlords should expect them to assist us.

The time for words without actions has long passed and many are in danger of shooting the goose that laid the golden egg. Let's stop firing and start feeding - after all, it's what we do best. n

Nick Griffin is managing director of Brighton-based Pleisure Pub Company​