TL;DR
The COVID-19 pandemic has propelled businesses into the future, with 67% of US retail companies reporting stress, and the restaurant industry is expected to emerge stronger after the pandemic. Several companies have made recent acquisitions, including Flynn Restaurant Group and Wendy's Corporate buying NPC's Pizza Hut and Wendy's for $800 million, and Capriotti's acquiring Wing Zone.
As we enter the latest phase of Life Under Covid (“Yeah, the vaccines are here, but where’s mine?!”) along with a new President and Congress, we dig into what’s new, what’s trending, and what’s happening in the first month of 2021. As someone pointed out after the invasion of the Capitol, “2021 has been a hell of a week.”
Moving ahead, here’s this month’s roundup of news, trends, and predictions for the coming year. Take what you need and leave the rest. And best wishes to us all for a better 2021!
COPING WITH COVID – REOPENING & RECOVERY Covid-19 Propelled Businesses Into the Future, Ready or Not Research: 67% of U.S. Retail Companies Reported They Are Under Stress 6 Surefire Opportunities for Restaurants in a Post-Covid World NRA: 10 Trends That Helped the Restaurant Industry Survive in 2020 Pandemic Recovery Will Be Uneven, But Restaurants Will Emerge Stronger Third-Party Food Delivery: From Consolidation to Reconciliation?
Restaurant Stocks Rose in 2020 Despite the Pandemic Small Businesses, Hit Hard by the Pandemic, Are Being Starved of Credit Webinar: 2021 and Beyond: What’s In Store for Retail? Webinar – Jan. 26: Thinking Beyond, with Panera Bread & Paytronix CEOs Webinar – Feb.
24: Managing Change in 2021: Systems, People, and How They Must Work Together MARKETING TECH, TRENDS, TOOLS, & REPORTS Why Penn Station East Coast Subs Killed Its App A Beginner’s Guide to Performance Marketing: Everything You Need To Know 5 Consumer Trends Performance Marketers Must Watch in 2021 Forrester: How Consumer Expectations for Brand Experiences and Personalization Are Changing Report: 9 Tech Trends for 2021 (Deloitte) What’s on Digital Marketers’ Minds Entering 2021: 5 Key Trends How Subscription Services Are Helping Revive Restaurants You Can’t Be Customer-Centric If You Can’t See Customers’ Journeys Why Attribution May Be the Secret to Tripling Your Marketing Budget Creating the Right Omnichannel Strategy for Today’s Consumers 6 Top Ways To Market Sustainably on Social Media in 2021 Applebee’s Now Testing Its First Drive-Thru Location McDonald’s Officially Joins the Chicken Sandwich Wars on Feb. 24 Vitality Bowls Launches Social Media Contest Through Its Loyalty Program Email Marketing Optimization: A Research-Based Guide for Marketers (Ascend2) Proven Website Marketing Tactics—6 Quick Case Studies (Marketing Sherpa) Covid’s Home-Workout Trend May Be Here To Stay Why Marketers Must Evolve Their Outlook on Gender — Or Lose Out Webinar – Jan. 28: 2021 SEO Predictions (Searchmetrics) COMPANY NEWS Sale of NPC’s Pizza Hut & Wendy’s to Flynn Restaurant Group & Wendy’s Corporate Approved for About $800 Million Capriotti’s Acquires Wing Zone, Creates $150 Million Company Peak Rock Capital Buys 300-Unit Shipley Do-Nuts BoxUnion Acquires Title Boxing Club Neighborly Acquires Precision Door Service, Grows to 28 Brands Saladworks Parent Centre Lane Partners Buys Garbanzo Mediterranean for $1.
In this story
This story was originally published by Eddy Goldberg in Franchising.com on January 26, 2021. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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