Location, location, location. That's a real estate sales mantra that transfers easily into the concessions industry. In an environment where the sales window is short and the crowd is varied from day to day, carts and portables can provide you with the means to meet the changing concessions needs of your customer.
Portable carts have been around for a while, but the demand for these concessions on wheels has never been stronger. With increased demands to raise per capitas and customer preferences for larger menus, carts and portables are a cost-effective solution.
Mobile concession units are popping up everywhere, featuring all types of menu items. In fact, a group of portables together can form a defacto food court.
Versatile Resources
Perhaps the most important feature of concession carts and portables are
their flexibility. Not only can they be moved from place to place, but
also can often be modified to support changing menus.
"With the addition of portable food and beverage carts, you can get to areas in the facility that are more convenient to the consumer," states Mark Mansfield of Corsair Display Systems, Canadaigua, NY. Corsair designs and manufactures carts and kiosks for major stadiums, arenas, amusement parks, and other facilities.
And convenience is the backbone of the concessions sale. With a usual sales window of only a few minutes, convenience can make the difference between making a sale and losing it. Carts and portables can bring the concession stand, or at least part of it, to the customer, providing the chance for an impulse sale or winning back a lost sale due to time constraints or long lines. Carts can often be set up in areas that would be too small for a normal concession stand, or even bring the food directly to the customer, much as a hawker in a stadium does.
"Using portables is primarily business-driven," states Wally Helton, CCM, vice president concession operations for United Artists Theatre Circuit, Englewood, Colo. "If we know it will be busy, we'll pull out carts and take them up and down the theatre aisles, or put a cart in front and have order-takers come to the seats. In those cases we generally sell one size of popcorn, one size soft drink, and a couple of candies."
The portability of these units means that they can be moved not only for specific events, but within the event itself. Traffic patterns, weather, the quality of the event, and other factors can affect concession sales. A quick-thinking concessions crew with portable units can capitalize on changing dynamics at a moment's notice.
Portables
can also bring sales to places where there would normally be none. On
warm summer days, or in warm weather locations, United Artists has found
that sales can be made even before the customer enters the theatre. "We
will take a cart outside to sell beverages, like the Coke contour bottles,
to those standing in line. Selling beverages outside has been the most
profitable way we've used portables."
This is
a partial version of the complete story that appeared in the Spring 2001issue
of Concession Profession, the magazine for NAC members. To
become a member of NAC
click here. Members that would like to receive the complete story
can call the NAC office at (312) 236-3858.