Dark days for the UK nightclub market

The nightclub market is in serious trouble, with the leading operators struggling to respond to significant threats in their external environment. This Guardian article is a terrific one to use with Level 3 business students, despite the more “adult” nature of the case study material.

The recession has clearly hit nightclubs hard - particularly due to the rising level of unemployment amongst younger people. However, there are several other significant factors which threaten the remaining operators, including greater competition from pubs, cheap supermarket alcohol and the rise of internet dating and gaming.

There is lot of great business studies in the article beyond the external enviroment. Breakeven is covered - “a half-full nightclub is no use at all” due to the high fixed operating costs. The different methods of sales promotion are also covered. A great stimulus article for a productive business lesson.