Ex Punch boss: don't play the blame game

We can only solve the trade's complex problems by working together, says former head of Punch leased division Deborah Kemp.

Why, you might ask, do I feel compelled to write this article on Saturday evening while watching the spectacle that is the Eurovision song contest?

Is it because, like me, it's the reason many potential punters aren't down the pub this evening? How could my local, the White Lion, compete with an experience involving a troop of Russian women, dressed in wet T-shirts, frolicking in a suspended tank of water!

Or maybe it's my empathy with Terry Wogan, both of us for the first time sat on the sidelines observing the inevitable. Terry with Eurovision, me with the Bec enquiry.

Well, I'm saddened and angry by some of the commentary in recent weeks. Much of it as a result of the stage being monopolised by a minority group of bigoted and ill-informed MPs, egged on by a small number of self-interested pressure groups.

Hence, the views expressed are exaggerated and not representative of the many successful, talented and hard-working people that I have had the privilege to work with in this industry.

I'm not denying that individual licensees aren't struggling. No free-market business model is immune to economic downturns or changing consumer trends. Their plight is unfortunately not unique when compared with the rest of society, a large percentage of whom also "exist to pay their bills" at the minute.

Much of it as a result of the stage being monopolised by a minority group of bigoted and ill-informed MPs, egged on by a small number of self-interested pressure groups.​Deborah Kemp

During my career I've often used Darwin's principles of nature to highlight "it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the species most responsive to change''. This applies equally to licensees, pub companies, trade bodies and government.

No matter how much we try to intervene in nature, coastal erosion occurs, while new land masses and communities are created elsewhere along the coast line. Equally, the "Great British Pub" will continue to evolve whereby the weakest operators will fail, creating opportunities for new, more creative and competitive businesses to set up in their place. Throughout my 25 years, this has always been the case and no amount of intervention, legislation and protectionism prevents it. Neither should it, as this is what has ensured its survival over hundreds of years.

Evolution brought about as a result of natural market forces may take longer, but is far less disruptive and over time more sustainable. Revolution brought about by ill-conceived statutory intervention only serves to distort the market, often harming more innocent bystanders in the process. Increased competition for good licensees has meant that pub companies have had to evolve and improve their leased and tenanted offer. More investment — £290m since 2004 at Punch alone — agreements in plain English, enhanced licensee training, menu development — you name it, pub companies do it.

Everyone should accept blame​

To achieve my fairytale Eurovision, change will, in the words of Nick Hewer at the BII lunch, take "determination". It will require collective responsibility and empathy among everyone in understanding the real causes of our difficulties. Responsibility cannot just be laid at the door of Enterprise, Punch and the beer tie; criticism should be accepted across all areas of the industry.

Maybe it's a female thing to talk about mediation not arbitration, responsibility not blame, or maybe I used to just get on with sorting things out rather than arguing over who was going to do it.

Everyone has a part to play. The pub groups have to come together with the fractious group of trade bodies to unite with one collective voice. People selling their pub businesses must ensure full disclosure and act with integrity with regard to accounts, staff and repairs. Licensees must be more demanding of BDMs, asking to see their rental calculations when discussing reviews and renewals.

Anyone who advocates that the removal of the tie and the introduction of more external independent arbitration will resolve the complex relationship between pub companies and licensees is both naive and misguided. For any changes to be sustainable they must be economic for both parties, based on mediation not arbitration so that it is by agreement not imposition.

More rule books and expensive external advisors will not miraculously improve licensees' earnings and profit. Everyone has to invest in the retail experience with activities that grow sales, while ensuring coaching on good operational disciplines to convert sales into profit. This support is out there, it just needs to be implemented more consistently by the pub companies with more licensees being prepared to attend educational workshops and hunt out the support they want.

Some might say I do live in a fairytale world, but at least I never gave up trying to improve the complex relationships involved in the pub company model.

To quote Tolkien: "Little by little, one travels far." The UK's improved performance at the Eurovision song contest came about as a result of collaboration within the music industry, determination and hard work on a pre-marketing tour, and ultimately a great performance on the night — helped along, of course, by minimising the politics through a slightly evolved voting system. Maybe we could learn from this.

What do you think? Have your say by hitting Post a comment​ below.​