Steven Cox

A Local Pub Tries To Keep Up With Changing Preferences

Jim Foster and his father started an Irish pub, The Selwyn Pub, in an upscale neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina. Originally envisioned as a casual dining restaurant with an Irish pub like atmosphere, Jim and his father soon discovered that their customers were looking for a place to drink beer and eat pub food. Recently, they noticed a shift in the customer demographics and drinking preferences at the Pub. Seeing a significant growth in the number of women that frequented the pub and the number of times they requested wine, Jim decided to expand the wine offerings in their pub. The problem was that neither Jim nor his father had much experience with wine, and they had a young and rather inexperienced wait staff who were also unfamiliar with wine. Consequently, challenges with the category arose. The case examines a fundamental question for any business; whether to grow into new and unfamiliar product categories in order to meet changes in customer preferences or to continue with the existing core competencies?