Are millennials killing Hooters too? Not so fast.
Posted On November 7, 2018
Stop me if you’ve heard this, but guys still like eating chicken wings and looking at scantily clad women.
Hence, despite what Business Insider would have us believe are millennials’ best efforts, reports of the Hooters restaurant chain’s demise may have been greatly exaggerated.
Business Insider, which seems to blame millennials for killing off a different industry every other month, reported last year that Hooters was in trouble. The chain, known for its waitresses and their short shorts and tight, low-cut tops, had seen its U.S. locations decrease more than 7 percent from 2012 to 2016 and sales were stagnant.
Citing analysis from pornographic website Pornhub, of all places, it tied this to a perceived decline in interest by millennial men in women’s breasts.
Maybe Buffalo Wild Wings just had more TVs or better beer specials.
Whatever the reason, fast forward a year and Hooters apparently isn’t doing as badly as previously reported.
The locations lost in the U.S. have been more than made up with growth in foreign markets, as Time noted new locations in Germany, Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica and Japan in the first half of 2018, with still more to come in Spain and Portugal. And while most of those new locations are corporate-owned, sales are actually inching upward.
How have they done it, with so many other casual restaurant chains struggling and so many millennial men supposedly disinterested in short shorts and low-cut tops?
According to Time, they’ve done it the old-fashioned way – by adjusting to their clientele. Remodeled interiors, more TVs, an updated and expanded menu, increased take-out and delivery options.
Who’d have imagined it? The keys to surviving in the ultra-competitive restaurant industry are more about substance – a variety of tasty food, served in an inviting atmosphere in a convenient manner – and less about style.
And if it’s served by a pretty girl, most guys of any generation will take that as a bonus.