New Scaratings

Buffalo Wild Wings: Chicken, beer -- and iPads?
The red-hot chain is expanding testing of at-table tablets.
By InvestorPlace Feb 8, 2012 1:04PM


For decades, scores of customers have flooded Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD 0.00%) for its sauced-up chicken.

Soon, they might be sticking around for the Apples.

Buffalo Wild Wings recently announced an expansion of its tester program to put Apple (AAPL 0.00%) iPads in the hands of customers -- a tech initiative that could keep the good times rolling for this successful restaurant stock.

The wing-slingin' chain is testing the iPads as a tool for letting customers order food and drink from their tables. The iPads also are being tested as at-table entertainment systems -- a huge upgrade over the ubiquitous NTN Buzztime (NTN 0.00%) pads used for bar trivia -- that would feature not only games but connectivity to social media like Facebook and Twitter.

Tablets-as-menus have popped up in smaller chains and individual restaurants over the past few years, but Buffalo Wild Wings -- with more than 800 stores -- is one of the largest chains to give them a go. The company has been working out technical problems in its Toronto location, and now it's ready to launch its next tests in a Minneapolis location to see what uses the iPads ultimately will combine.

The possible benefits from tablet use across BWLD's locations are numerous. Allowing customers to easily order what they want, when they want, could loosen their purse strings. And don't think waiters will be put out of work. Director of international business Tim Murphy says waiters will have more time to interact with guests and promote Buffalo Wild Wings' food and drinks, according to ComputerWorld.

Adding iPads also could have a strong pull on the female demographic. According to Buffalo Wild Wings, testing showed that male customers typically wanted to watch sports, while women were more likely to pick up an iPad and launch Facebook -- a point likely not lost on BWLD management, which is heavily dominated by women, including longtime CEO Sally Smith.

Also, iPads could become the next-generation commercial place mat, with ads gracing the menu or game screens.

Of course, Buffalo Wild Wings doesn't really need the help.

After the bell Tuesday, BWLD put out another stellar earnings report, showing revenue jumping by 34% to $220.5 million and earnings per share by 33% to 73 cents. That extends its double-digit quarterly streak of earnings and revenue growth. During the period, Buffalo Wild Wings same-store sales increased by 9% (company-owned) and 5.9% (franchise-owned).

Buffalo Wild Wings stock has boomed since the depths of the financial crisis, up 400% from its lows in November 2008. And BWLD shares are up 70% in the past year, outpacing similar-size chains like BJ's Restaurants, which is up 45% (BJRI 0.00%), and Chili's parent Brinker International, up 17% (EAT 0.00%).

Still, Buffalo Wild Wings has no thoughts of resting. Smith said BWLD plans to open its 900th restaurant this year and expects to eventually reach 1,500 locations on the continent. The company also will roll out online ordering this year. On the financial side, Smith expects Buffalo Wild Wings' earnings to grow 20% in fiscal 2012.

The iPad's eventual future with Buffalo Wild Wings is far from cemented, but it remains a fitting symbol of this quickly forward-moving restaurant stock.


Kyle Woodley is the assistant editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Computerworld - Pass the buffalo wings and the iPad.


IPads are popping up in the military, on car showfloors and at wineries and are now being tested out at customer tables by the Buffalo Wild Wings grill and bar chain.

Nestled in a rugged case from integrator Hubworks, the 9.7-in. iPad is being tested for customers to make food and drink orders from their tables. They can also use the tablets to jump online to check out Facebook, Twitter and play interactive games.

The 830-store Buffalo Wild Wings chain is about to launch a second phase of the iPad pilot program at a Minneapolis location after working out technical kinks at a suburban Toronto site, said Tim Murphy, director of international business for the chain.

"Ultimately, we are trying to use the technology to enhance the customer experience," he said in an interview. "People are familiar with iPads, iPhones and Android tablets, so this would enhance that."

The chain hasn't decided whether to combine purchasing from the device with purely entertainment uses, something it hopes to measure in its tests, Murphy said.

If the chain decides the device can be used for entertainment, it might sell advertising on the tablets, license popular games or even design custom-built games suited to its audience and brand, he said.

Buffalo Wild Wings doesn't expect the devices to replace waiters. Instead, if customers make their own orders, waiters will be freed up to interact more with their guests and promote food and drinks or the in-bar live trivia games, Murphy said.

Other companies make table-top ordering devices used by some other restaurant chains, but most are smaller devices and some are fixed to a spot on the table, Murphy noted. He said he evaluated products by Ziosk, which provides a table-top surface touchscreen, and E la Carte, which uses a Presto tablet with a 7-in. screen.

Hubworks has included a charging capability and credit card reader in the rugged case, and has enhanced battery efficiency so that a single unit can last up 12 to 15 hours before being placed in a charging dock, Murphy said. Hubworks minimized the power drain with a screensaver and other features.

The Hubworks case doesn't cover the glass screen of the iPads, and waiters must wipe them down after every use to remove fingerprints. "We've not added a protective layer over the screen, but we're evaluating if we need one," Murphy said.



Hubworks sells each 8GB iPad with the case, a magnetic credit card reader slot and extended charging capability for $750; it also offers integration with point-of-sale systems selling its software as a service and charging licensing fees, said Aaron Gabriel, vice president of sales and marketing and co-founder of Hubworks Interactive. Units can be mounted to tables, but Buffalo Wild Wings has included an RFID security system to keep the devices from being stolen, he said.

Murphy said that there were complications integrating the iPad with its existing point-of-sales system, so the chain may simply have customers order their wings and drinks through a Web-based ordering system already in place. That system is used by customers who order food for pick-up.

Depending on how the trials go, Hubworks believes restaurants could offer more functions, including video chat using the newer iPad 2 at each table.

Why the iPad?P Partly because the device is well-known and larger than others on the market, Murphy said. Plus, many customers come to the sports bars in groups and stay for several hours at a time.

In the first test, while men in a group typically watched a football or hockey game, women in the group would pick up the iPad and launch Facebook, Murphy said. "We have a very captive audience with good sales volume in our restaurants, so we view this iPad as a way for customers to stay connected socially and not have to use their own device."

If the device cuts costs through advertising or offers greater restaurant efficiencies, so much the better. Those factors will be among those Buffalo Wild Wings evaluates.

"We have a lot to work out," Murphy added. "Nobody knows where this is heading."

That 2nd article is an interesting follow up to the 1st article which is from this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=43&t=1511

That 2nd article does answer some questions about charging the units and theft. What was that part about BWW Live trivia? Do any BWW have that? None around here do, it's all about the sports on TV and BT.

_________________
BUD - Stained Glass Pub Silver Spring MD
OC BUD - Grotto Pizza DE near Ocean City MD

LET'S GO ....Orioles and the 9 and 5!!

Let's assume BWW gets the kinks worked out and starts putting these tablets in all its locations. Now BT is competing not just against whatever self-entertainment device customers bring with them, but with a system that allows customers to play non-trivia games as well as engage in non-game-playing activities such as FB posts. And if the customers need to use the tablets to put in their orders, they will have them right there, instead of having to hunt up a BT playmaker.

I would imagine that the locations that already have established BT teams that continue playing after the split wouldn't be affected, but how is BT going to pick up all those hordes of casual players when they now have an extremely viable and accessible alternative to paying attention to what's going on with the BT screens. And how long before BWW looks around, sees no one much is playing BT any longer, and decides to put the money it spends on BT into getting more tablets?

Brooke/AARDVK

The general knock against trivia players from the standpoint of food services businesses over the years is how long players tie up areas that would be more profitable if turned more frequently. At least trivia specifically brings in some people that otherwise would not have been there at all, somewhat closing the gap in lost revenue on a busy night.
What I fail to grasp is how letting people play on Facebook, etc., which could be done anywhere (and will draw exactly zero additional customers), while occupying areas as long or longer than trivia players could be considered a good idea.
Have my naps in econ class finally caught up to me?

A LOT more people - by several orders of magnitude - play Zynga Facebook games like Mafia Wars or Farmville than play Buzztime. Being available for play, and increasing their cutomer base, might cause the much larger company Zynga to make a deal for all games with BWW. If BWW's tablets work out, then Buzztime will need to demonstrate, and probably increase, the value of their games to BWW, or they will lose their biggest account. Buzztime should be VERY concerned and responsive to this development.

But, given how asleep at the switch they are about the effects of the current game changes, and how it will drive many or most Western sites to drop the game - and it will soon have no value at all to Western BWW sites, in a region where that company is aggressively expanding - I suspect Buzztime management is continuing to delude themselves about the viability of their current business plan.

Sorry for any typos I didn't catch, but I'm writing this from a "Farewell, Buzztime" party. Where the beer is flowing freely, and many suspect the goodbyes will be their last of this group we've had together so many years. And now I have to get back to one of my last competitive games in this format.

TFM

And to think Buzztime is developing their own dedicated tablet. The BWW tablet must send the fear of god into Carlsbad. BWW will have the infrastructure to program their own trivia (or contract it out), add additional games, sell advertising and have no worries about Buzztime. BWW will be able to "mine data" without Buzztime. And, BWW will not maintain both a proprietary system and a Buzztime tablet system.

The only real question I have about the BWW system is; will I be able to win tickets to movies nobody wants to see?

Hopefully Buzztime will take this real threat seriously and actually listen to their real customers because since BWW is testing a tablet you better believe they are already looking for people to provide them content.

Sure. There are more popular games out there than trivia.
The primary difference between FB, Mafia Wars, Farmville, etc. is that: 1) those are sites or games that can be visited/played anytime and anywhere on phones and such without stepping foot in a restaurant thereby reducing their effect as a draw; 2) they are all played individually and do not require a social setting. Actually, like most electronic entertainment they discourage it.
These new electronic toys are simply arcade games.
Back in the 80s how many families made decisions about dining destinations based on the availability of Pacman?
They are distractions for customers that have already made the decision to dine at whatever establishment they've already chosen.
Trivia is more inherently social. It works better as a draw if promoted and done properly.
I agree with your conclusion concerning BTs survivability in a competitive market place. Given their performance over the years as the only show in town, some concern seems well-founded.