Chains swallow up independent restaurants, 20 DTC CEOs spill on skyrocketing growth, and everything else you need to know in the world of retail.
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
Happy Friday!
New name, same routine — Kate Taylor here with your weekly roundup of everything that happened this week in the world of restaurants and retail. Sign up here to get BI Retail's newsletter in your inbox every week. Now, let's get into the news!
iStock/Getty Images; Samantha Lee/Business Insider
Irene and I dove into why the restaurant industry is looking like it will be dominated by chains after the pandemic. Executives at Dunkin', Chipotle, and Domino's have all painted real estate opportunities as the silver lining of the restaurant apocalypse. But, where does that leave independent restaurants that are struggling to survive?
Elliott Nelson, who currently owns 20 restaurants in Oklahoma and Arkansas and has been approached by a major chain about selling locations, said that he expects many independent restaurant owners to simply give up.
"It's going to be hard to muster up the energy to want to keep going and do it again," Nelson said. "How would you feel if the biggest thing you worked really hard on was replaced by Taco Bell? So much of your soul goes into building unique stuff, and if you see it become so homogenous, that's especially heart-wrenching."
Samantha Lee/Business Insider
Of course, not every chain is thriving. Irene has been closely following the collapse of Ruby Tuesday, which has closed more than 150 locations in 2020 out of about 450 global restaurants this year.
Workers told Irene that Ruby Tuesday is not notifying all employees of planned restaurant closures, resulting in some showing up to work only to find out they're out of a job.
"If a store is shutting down permanently, Ruby Tuesday never, ever, ever, ever gives notice to anyone," said one Ruby Tuesday server. "The district manager will call the general manager literally the night before and say, 'Hey, you're being shut down. Tonight is your last day of being open. Don't tell anyone until tomorrow.'"
Happy V; Safe + Fair; Blueland; Compartés Chocolatier; Yuqing Liu/Business Insider
Shoshy talked to 20 DTC CEOs on why they believe that their companies growth will continue after the pandemic. Some attributed success to their business model, while others pointed to permanent shifts that have taken place over the last few months.
"We believe 'work from home' casual is one of those permanent fixtures and will come to define product strategy and success for DTC brands across the spectrum — loungewear and exercise apparel, to personal electronics and, of course, flip flops," said Lila Stewart, co-founder and co-CEO of flip-flop startup Hari Mari.
See how all 20 CEOs responded here.
Hipcamp
Catherine talked to Hipcamp founder Alyssa Ravasio about the company's explosive success.
Hipcamp announced its first international expansion this week, with the acquisition of Australian private land booking platform Youcamp. To date, the company has received $40 million in funding.
"So many people are just fighting so hard right now for change," Ravasio said. "You can't fight all the time, you need to rest. And so I think providing a place for rest and relaxation, a place for people to heal and connect with themselves and their friends and family feels really powerful and important."
Irene Jiang/Business Insider
