Even "Experts" Can Be Wrong

There is a very popular chain of steak restaurant here in Bangkok called El Gaucho. But one restaurant location on “Soi 11” [street number 11] seems to be languishing. After an auspicious start, it is now almost empty with few customers.

What happened?

Several years ago, El Gaucho had another restaurant at the entrance of this same street. That restaurant also did not do so well and eventually closed.

But now here is the interesting thing: Down at the end of Soi 11, the street is filled with cheap bars and small restaurants. Hundreds of people go there for entertainment at night.

The owner must have surmised that the location at the end of the street was much more popular than the mouth of the street, so he decided to open up another El Gaucho down there. 

Alas, even with more people, the restaurant in its new location is suffering.

Well, the owner was correct in changing to a better location to boost sales. The problem was that the people who visited the Soi 11 neighbourhood, no matter where they were along the street, were uninterested in the type of food and service that El Gaucho offered. They preferred cheap booze, food and entertainment.

In the retail & restaurant business, the wisdom of the adage: “location, location, location” not only refers to the importance of a place where there are a lot of people, it means a place where there are a lot of the right kind of people.

Sometimes even experts learn the hard way.