Name: 曾經的聚會首選「TGI Fridays」為何逐漸走向沒落？ (TGI Fridays: How the American Icon Became a Shell of Itself | WSJ What Went Wrong)
Uploaded: 2024-11-22T21:01:10.000Z
Duration: 6 min 23 s

Out here, it's Monday, in here, it's Friday.

在外面是星期一，在這裡是星期五。

In the 70s and 80s, TGI Friday's grew in popularity as the first singles bar in the U.S., a happy hour hotspot where the bartenders did tricks.

在上世紀七八十年代，TGI Friday's 作為美國第一家單身酒吧日漸走紅，成為歡樂時光的熱點，調酒師們在此大顯身手。

But TGI Friday's has since lost its flair, closing over 200 locations across the country since 2019.

但自 2019 年以來，TGI Friday's 在全國關閉了 200 多家分店，從此失去了往日的風采。

And in November, the restaurant chain filed for bankruptcy, citing a problematic capital structure and fallout from the pandemic.

11 月，這家連鎖餐廳以資本結構問題和大流行病的影響為由申請破產。

TGI Friday's went from being an American icon to being a shell of itself.

TGI Friday's 從美國的標誌性餐廳變成了一具空殼。

New York restaurateur Alan Stillman says he opened the first TGI Friday's in 1965 to meet the flight attendants in his neighborhood.

紐約餐館老闆艾倫-斯蒂爾曼（Alan Stillman）說，他於 1965 年開設了第一家 TGI Friday's（星期五餐廳），以滿足附近空乘人員的需求。

Is it fair to say you got into the business because you wanted to meet women?

可以說你是因為想結識女性才進入這一行的嗎？

Stillman says the restaurant started as a side hustle, funded by a $5,000 loan from his mom.

斯蒂爾曼說，餐館最初只是他的副業，資金來自他母親的 5000 美元貸款。

TGI Friday's really knew its niche, and that was the bar.

TGI Friday's 非常瞭解自己的定位，那就是酒吧。

The people that were coming in were young people, and they were looking to meet other young people.

來這裡的都是年輕人，他們希望結識其他年輕人。

In the early days, bartenders at the restaurant went through rigorous training that involved memorizing nearly 500 drink recipes and learning tricks to entertain customers.

早期，餐廳的調酒師都要經過嚴格的培訓，包括記住近 500 種飲品配方和學習招待顧客的技巧。

TGI Friday's is famous for having this annual bar championship where bartenders would compete and who had the best technique and skills.

TGI Friday's 以每年舉辦一次酒吧錦標賽而聞名，調酒師們會在這裡比試誰的技術和技巧最好。

Its bartenders also famously trained Tom Cruise for his role in the 1988 movie Cocktail.

它的調酒師還為湯姆-克魯斯在 1988 年的電影《雞尾酒》中扮演的角色提供了著名的培訓。

TGI Friday's opened its first franchise location in the U.S. in 1967, then expanded internationally in 1986.

TGI Friday's 於 1967 年在美國開設了第一家特許經營店，並於 1986 年向全球擴張。

They've had and had a big presence in lots of other countries, and I think that did help get its name established.

他們在許多其他國家都有很大的影響力，我認為這確實有助於其名聲的建立。

It kind of became synonymous with this American vibe.

它成了這種美國氛圍的代名詞。

The company started to shift its strategy in the 90s and 2000s, away from bar and grill, to focus more on catering to families.

公司在上世紀 90 年代和 2000 年代開始轉變戰略，不再經營酒吧和燒烤店，而是更加註重為家庭提供餐飲服務。

Some industry experts say this was a mistake because it made the brand's messaging less clear.

一些業內專家認為，這是一個錯誤，因為這使得品牌資訊不那麼清晰。

Its U.S. sales peaked in 2008 and fell continuously after the recession.

其美國銷售額在 2008 年達到頂峰，經濟衰退後持續下滑。

Then in 2014, two private equity firms bought TGI Friday's.

2014 年，兩傢俬募股權公司收購了 TGI Friday's。

TriArtisan later bought out Sentinel in 2019.

TriArtisan 後來在 2019 年收購了 Sentinel。

There were changes that were made, like unlimited app deals.

有一些變化，比如無限量的應用程序交易。

無窮無盡的應用程序變得更加無窮無盡。

More focus on some kind of deals to try to get more than just the happy hour office crowd.

更多地關注一些優惠活動，試圖吸引更多的人，而不僅僅是歡樂時光的辦公室人群。

All day, every day drink specials, only at Friday's.

全天候特飲，只在星期五餐廳。

In 2017, TGI Friday's signed a financial agreement known as whole business securitization.

2017 年，TGI Friday's 簽署了一項被稱為全業務證券化的金融協議。

This is where investors lend money to a company in exchange for bonds.

這就是投資者借錢給公司以換取債券。

In the case of TGI Friday's, these bonds were secured by its franchisee royalties.

就 TGI Friday's 而言，這些債券是以其特許權使用費為擔保的。

Whole business securitization is something that some other restaurants like Domino's and Jimmy John's had experimented with in the 2000s and 2010s.

多米諾餐廳和吉米約翰餐廳等其他餐廳在 2000 和 2010 年代也曾嘗試過整體業務證券化。

It's a great way to borrow up front, but there's, you know, covenants and risks if something goes wrong.

這是一種很好的前期借款方式，但如果出現問題，就會有契約和風險。

And the big thing that went wrong for TGI Friday's was the pandemic.

TGI Friday's 出問題的最大原因是大流行病。

In 2020, the company closed around 50 U.S. restaurants, and its total sales fell below the standards it had to keep under this financial agreement.

2020 年，該公司關閉了約 50 家美國餐廳，總銷售額也低於該財務協議規定的標準。

This meant that all the royalties that franchisees had paid to the company had to go toward paying back investors.

這意味著加盟商向公司支付的所有特許權使用費都必須用於償還投資者。

An actual silver lining for TGI Friday's after the pandemic hit was they were very quick to reopen.

在大流行病肆虐之後，TGI Friday's（星期五餐廳）迎來了一線生機，那就是他們很快就重新開張了。

But then other chains opened up as well and other restaurants, and that siphoned off some of this business.

但後來，其他連鎖店和其他餐館也相繼開張，這就分走了一部分生意。

So TGI Friday's got creative to compete by selling sushi.

於是，TGI 星期五餐廳創造性地賣起了壽司。

The private equity firm that owns TGI Friday's had invested in a ghost kitchen platform called C3.

擁有 TGI Friday's 的私募股權公司投資了一個名為 C3 的幽靈廚房平臺。

And one of the brands on C3 was a sushi brand called Crispy Rice.

C3 上的一個品牌是名為 Crispy Rice 的壽司品牌。

The chain began by hosting Crispy Rice's to-go operations in some of its kitchens, and eventually started serving that sushi in its restaurants.

該連鎖店最初在一些廚房裡經營 Crispy Rice 的外賣業務，最後開始在餐廳裡供應這種壽司。

From talking to operators and executives, that was a bad move because it was not on brand for TGI Friday's, and it made things much more complicated for the restaurants.

通過與經營者和管理者的交談，他們認為這種做法很糟糕，因為這不符合 TGI Friday's 的品牌形象，也讓餐廳的經營變得更加複雜。

And it just didn't generate enough money to justify that.

但它並沒有產生足夠的資金來證明這一點。

TGI Friday's didn't respond to requests for comment.

By 2023, TGI Friday's was a brand in freefall.

到 2023 年，TGI Friday's 已成為一個衰落的品牌。

There was some decline in the levels of service and food and hospitality and being able to reinvest back in the restaurants because, remember, all those royalties were going to the investors, not the restaurants.

服務、食品和接待水準有所下降，餐廳的再投資能力也有所下降，因為所有的特許權使用費都歸投資者所有，而不是餐廳。

And stress at the management level only made matters worse.

而管理層的壓力只會讓事情變得更糟。

TGI Friday's went through a huge succession of CEOs, and I think that was disruptive to the company overall.

TGI Friday's 經歷了幾任首席執行官的更迭，我認為這對公司整體而言是一種破壞。

In late 2023, TGI Friday's brought in some veteran operators to try to improve operations, but they couldn't overcome the company's financial issues.

2023 年底，TGI Friday's 請來了一些資深經營者，試圖改善經營狀況，但他們無法克服公司的財務問題。

This securitized debt they took on 2017, I think really complicated things and also led to their really tough times they're in now, which is bankruptcy.

我認為，他們在 2017 年承擔的這種證券化債務確實讓事情變得複雜，也導致了他們現在所處的艱難時期，也就是破產。

In April, the company entered into a deal to be acquired by its largest franchisee, Hostmore, and to go public on the London Stock Exchange.

今年 4 月，該公司達成了被其最大的特許經營商 Hostmore 收購併在倫敦證券交易所上市的協議。

This potential IPO in the UK with their biggest franchisee there was really a Hail Mary pass.

與英國最大的特許經營商一起在英國進行潛在的首次公開募股實際上是一次 "萬福瑪利亞通行證"。

They didn't really have a lot of other options at this point, but that did not come to be.

在這一點上，他們確實沒有太多其他選擇，但這並沒有成為現實。

TGI Friday's isn't alone in its financial struggles.

TGI Friday's 的財務困境並非孤例。

Restaurant chains and operators this year are on track to declare the most bankruptcies in decades outside of 2020.

今年，餐飲連鎖店和經營者宣佈破產的數量有望成為 2020 年以來數十年之最。

TGI Friday's has closed dozens of U.S. locations this year.

TGI Friday's 今年在美國關閉了數十家分店。

They also got kicked out of their headquarters, so it's been a long time coming.

他們還被趕出了總部，所以這已經是很久之前的事了。

The broader change among casual dining and where people want to go out and hang out has been a real challenge for them.

休閒餐飲的廣泛變化，以及人們想去哪裡吃喝玩樂，對他們來說是一個真正的挑戰。

The company's franchised operations, which are independently owned and operated, stayed out of bankruptcy.

該公司獨立擁有和經營的特許經營業務沒有破產。

 Franchisees have a lot of questions about what this process means for them and who's the CEO of the company and how do they get help and support and does this brand last?

加盟商有很多問題，比如這個過程對他們意味著什麼，誰是公司的首席執行官，他們如何獲得幫助和支持，以及這個品牌是否會持久？