Serial entrepreneur Luke Johnson has slammed the discount culture that remains prevalent on the high street, branding Groupon as a way to attract 'hit and run' customers.
The Risk Capital Partners chairman, and former chair of Channel 4 and PizzaExpress, was speaking at the latest Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) event, held at City Hall.
Jonathan Doughty, managing director of food service consultancy Coverpoint and past FCSI chair, interviewed Johnson about his views on the current restaurant industry.
Johnson said that he is not a fan of the high street's love of discounting and explained that he prefers to invest in promotions and upgrades in order to give customers value in other ways, such as great service.
The Financial Times columnist said the key to his own success was "not listening to the accountants", and explained that he was an advocate of the Japanese philosophy of kaizen - making regular, small changes.
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By Janie Stamford
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