Five Factors That Contribute to the Failure of New Restaurants

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What Are Five Factors Which Contribute To The Failure Of New Restaurants?

Definition of Business Failure: Business that ceased operation following

assignment or bankruptcy; ceased operation after foreclosure or attaching;

voluntary withdrawal leaving unpaid debts.

It is a common assumption in the restaurant industry that restaurants fail

at an exceedingly high rate, the highest failure rates in the U. S. economy. In

researching this topic, statistics numbers and percentages fly around routinely.

All give somewhat the same concept; in the starting years, most restaurants fail.

The most often cited statistic is the 95/5 ratio. 95% success and 5% failure.

Conversely, another favorite concept exists. Somewhere between 50 to 80 percent

of all new restaurants which open this year will fail within the first 12 months

of opening their doors. The same conventional wisdom also suggests that about

50% of the remaining restaurants will fail in their second year of operation and

another 33% in the third year. This means that if 100 new restaurants were to

open this year, 50 to 80 would fail before their first anniversary. That would

leave 30 restaurants open in the year two. Half of these 30 would subsequently

fail in their second year, and a final third of those remaining would fail in

their third year. As a result, there is about a 90% compound failure rate over

the first 3 years of a restaurants lifespan. (Mullen & Woods, 61)

You are not alone if you feel intimidated by the numbers. They can be

quite blunt and negative which attributes to one simple fact - it takes planning,

research and risk to venture into the restaurant world. There are five major

factors which can lead to success or, in this case, failure of new restaurants:

capital, type of establishment, location, labor and management.

In order to start any business, an entrepreneur needs money or capital.

This capital could include all expenses, such as loans, rent, payroll, and

insurance. Some argue this is what causes restaurants to fail. Given the

information that restaurants are most likely to fail than succeed, it is always

difficult and often impossible to interest bankers in making loans to

entrepreneurs who operate in a high risk industry. Even when loans for

restaurants are available, restaurateurs often must pay higher interest rates or

provide more extensive collateral requirements to secure these “high risk” loans

than might be required for another “less risky” venture. (Mullen& Woods 61)

It is not difficult for a restaurant to fail when it has poorly planned

financially. Many times restaurateurs fail to accommodate the business with

enough cash flow to support the projected three year start period.

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