MULO Grows Up
What the heck is MULO anyway? MULO refers to multi-location businesses. They could be run by a corporate entity or franchises. MULO brands may be retailers, restaurants, health and wellness entities, personal services (like tutoring, tax prep, ear piercing, hair styling, or even podcasting) or even entertainment centers like those offering pickleball, golf, and baseball. […]
The MULO Dozen: January Brands in Review
2024 is off to a fast start! As MULO (multi-location) retailers, restaurants, and service businesses head into a new year, they face new challenges and opportunities. And, of course, “The Big Game,” when brands get to flex their creative and digital muscle. Here’s what we saw this month. Have news? Please e-mail me. Fridays is […]
10 Things We Saw in the Multi-Location Brand Space in 2023
Of course, we’ll be publishing predictions for 2024 and beyond, but here’s a brief recap of some of the major shifts (and tiptoes in new directions) in the MULO (multi-location) brand space in 2023. The pandemic is over…the virus remains…and some shopping and dining trends have forever changed. We’ll detail some of those evolutions (or […]
The 3 Technologies MULO Restaurant Businesses Need Today: A Chat with Eric Seymour
Eric Seymour is the VP of Channel Programs at me&u. The company provides tech-powered ordering to restaurants. He believes strongly that the right technologies, combined with the best possible human-customer interaction, can help solve many of the problems multi-location (MULO) restaurants face today in terms of service and satisfaction today. What are the top three […]
BOOM: Multi-Location (MULO) “Needles” Businesses: Part 1
The IV therapy industry is booming! From hangover cures to vitamin infusions, MULO (multi-location) and mobile businesses are cropping up to fill consumers’ bodies with various liquids designed to give them energy, help them lose weight, and recover from dehydration. The market is valued at approximately $2B and is projected to grow. REVIV was the […]
To Market, To Market: Trends in the MULO Grocery Store Industry
The multi-location grocery store industry is no longer just traditional grocers. Target, drug stores like CVS and Walgreens, and convenience stores now stock shelves with household staples. “Traditional” grocery stores have expanded their product offerings to include greeting cards, flowers, and hardware items. Specialty grocers abound, and many niche brands are expanding to new geographies […]
Fire Sale: How Multi-Location Businesses Should Handle Downturns and Fails
This year alone, more than 2,000 retail locations have closed. The major casualties include Party City, Jenny Craig, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Some multi-location restaurants are also slimming down, shuttering locations in markets that aren’t performing well. That doesn’t necessarily mean the beginning of the end for the brands. They may simply reduce expenses to […]
BOOM: Multi-location Target from 1902 to the Future
We have no shortage of companies that go BUST. Just in the past few days, we covered the demise of Bed Bath & Beyond and Jenny Craig. The failure of multi-location brands cannot be attributed just to digital options, consumer trend shifts, and bad hires or financial bets. More complex factors seem to go into […]
BUST: The Very Public Demise of Bed Bath & Beyond
Who will remember the brand Bed Bath & Beyond in a few years, and what will they say? Only time will tell, but in the interim, the retail media has had no fodder shortage over the past few weeks, dissecting how and why this iconic multi-location brand declined and ultimately declared bankruptcy. Monday morning quarterbacks […]
Where’s the Beef? Multi-Location Steakhouses Moove Forward
Despite the popularity of plant-based meat alternatives, the steakhouse category is far from dead. This week, Olive Garden owner Darden dropped a sizzling $715M to buy the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse chain, comprising 150 locations and generating $505M last year. It joins multi-location steakhouses Eddie V’s (29 locations) and the Capital Grill (65 locations) in Darden’s […]
Boom & Bust: Learnings from Multi-location Brands
What do Brooks Brothers, White Castle, and 7-Eleven have in common? They are among the multi-location retailers, restaurants, and convenience stores founded 50+ years ago and are still operating today. Restructuring, downsizing, and a move to omnichannel sales are inevitable. When you read about brands that have survived and even thrived over the decades, many […]
Celebrities Who Help Turn Multi-Location Food Brands Into Stars
Celebrities, including actors and athletes, have long invested in businesses that will help guarantee them a nest egg after their fame has waned. Many now even have their own investment firms. Some, like Mark Wahlberg and Michael Jordan, developed branded concepts, while others invested in multi-location brand franchises. Among the multi-location food brands with celebrity investors […]
Losers & Winners in Retail Today
New retail categories are emerging as companies like Bed Bath & Beyond, Party City, and others struggle to keep their doors open. The impact of online shopping, the pandemic, and supply chain issues (along with commercial real estate expenses) has seriously affected many brick-and-mortar store brands. Yet, new categories of multi-location retail and service businesses […]
Put a Pin in It: The Definition of a Place is Transforming
Domino’s just launched a new product (and is running campaign ads), enabling consumers to have pizza and other treats delivered wherever they “drop a pin.” It’s aptly called Pinpoint Delivery™. The definition of a “place” is transforming. Pre-Internet, it was simply a physical brick-and-mortar location. You went to those places to shop, dine, stay, meet, […]