City Grill owner expects more customers, but similar turnover this year

Businessman Dragos Petrescu, owner of the City Grill-City Café chain and of Buongiorno, and Caru' cu Bere restaurants, which he manages through Trotter Prim company, last autumn forecast a prospective contraction in the period to follow, and adjusted his 2009 marketing plan in October, based on the expected changes. In addition to launching a loyalty card for all the five brands he owns, Petrescu halted price increases for the products on offer, and even operated price cuts for the lunch and dinner menus. "Today we have an equal number of customers, or maybe even 5% more customers in our independent restaurants, who are attracted by special offers, but spend 10% less than in 2008. We cut prices by around 10% on lunch and dinner menus. There have been no price increases so far, and we don't expect to make any before the end of 2009," said Dragos Petrescu. He does not see major changes in terms of turnover, either, on a market where many players have to cope with up to 30% sales declines. "This is the first year when we will not see a turnover rise, only a rise in the number of clients. We have budgeted a similar figure as last year, i.e. slightly over 15 million euros, which we hope we will achieve, with some luck," added Petrescu.