Team Update January 17, 2014
CEO Newsletter
Te3am,
One thing that can never be missing in action at Centerplate is the Truth. It is important that we all see reality as it truly is, not a distorted version of the facts. The Truth in what we do and how we do it is important. We cannot be seen sitting, waiting or wishing. We are a company that is enterprise powered and locally driven. We are not a series of one-off’s but a collection of excellence. Unique of course, celebrating and accentuating the local but driven by the Centerplate operating system that I know is the best in the business. This is not my skewed view. This is the truth.
To illustrate my point this week the annual Auto Show rolls into Detroit. It is one of the biggest shows in the country and the local NBC station did a four minute evening segment on our hospitality program spotlighting our new “Detroit Made Kitchen” with four different retail options – pizza, polish, burger and deli – all featuring local, healthy and natural ingredients. The reporter was on hand when we offered all of the laborers and teamsters a free lunch as a trial run of our operation, “They slammed the staff to see if they could handle the volume. In an hour there wasn’t a glitch or empty stomach in the building.” We took this account over from Aramark and they commented that we were making a mistake. I’ll take these mistakes every day and twice on Sunday.
We are just two weeks away from opening our first new restaurant with Saks in Chicago. Sophie’s, named for designer Sophie Gimbel, is sleek and modern and affords wonderful views of Michigan Avenue. The restaurant will be open daily, available for private parties and feature a globally influenced yet decidedly American cuisine. Our team is in an excellent position to make this a truly remarkable opening and we expect big things from this opportunity.
With the Javits Center nearing completion of its state-of-the-art renovation we have partnered with Sonnier & Castle, a well-known and respected NYC purveyor of events and catering, to introduce the Center to a new audience and bring premium social events including film premieres, charitable and social events and corporate entertaining to the facility. We’re excited to be opening the doors to a new segment of business and to be once again raising the bar on our services for this long-time client.
Stadium Journey has posted its “Best Stadium Experiences of 2013 – once again Lucas Oil Stadium was awarded the top NFL spot, the University of Notre Dame was awarded top arena and top college stadium nudging the University of Alabama out of the top spot. Other venues included in the Top 100 are AT&T Park, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, BC Place Stadium, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Jeld-Wen Field, Colorado World Arena. Congratulations to all!
On the new business front we have started the year with an early win in the UK – Copper Box Arena, an Olympic venue that is now home to the London Lions Basketball team along with other sporting events, concerts and conferences. In North America we are pursuing several opportunities and we expect to have a banner year on both sides of the ocean. 2014 is another big renewal year and to date we have already secured, or are in the process of securing, fifty percent of our contracts. I salute all involved in making it happen. It is a very strong start and we are confident that our renewal rate will remain at our historical high level.
The E3 moment of the week is an odd one from Safeco Field that violently reinforces the Truth. The Seahawks played my family’s beloved Saints in Seattle last weekend. Our team played host to a pre-game celebration for 4,000 fans in The Pen, a place that provides welcoming hospitality. It is amazing that the Seahawks cannot get their service provider to develop an alternative but then we know that the Truth is they don’t even realize there is a problem with their operation. Take a look around to see if there is an opportunity to do something similar to a competing team in your town.
Looking ahead, we need to illuminate the Truth that Centerplate is the best of all Event Hospitality alternatives. The challenge is that we must be seen as the best hospitality provider in all markets we serve. Make this one of your team’s goals and send in updates and local stories so we can share with the wider enterprise. After all, success begets success. I’m personally counting on each and every one of you to be Making It Better To Be There for your guests, clients and employees.
I’d like to sign off with a great quote from Winston Churchill that I believe has meaning to Centerplate. Ultimately, we have been though a lot but with our recent performance improvements, our global expansion with the acquisitions of The Lindley Group and Heritage Portfolio and with the refinement of our brand message Making It Better To Be There, we are finally in a place to drive some separation from other would-be challengers. So from the Lord Mayor’s Luncheon held at Mansion House on November 9th, 1942 following the darkest days of the Battle of Britain …”Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
We now have the foundation from which to growth dynamically. We can and will change how people experience live events. Let’s do it. Ready for Act II!
Onwards!
Copper Box Arena 1.2.14 Javits Convention Center 1.7.14 Cobo Center Detroit Made Kitchen 1.17.14
