The Decline of Chuck E. Cheese. What Happened? 10 Marketing Tips
While restaurants around the country are opening, the family-friendly arcade and pizza place, Chuck E. Cheese, has filed for bankruptcy, in yet another victim claimed by the coronavirus pandemic, as is discussed in more detail over at runrex.com and guttulus.com. While the coronavirus pandemic provided a final body blow, the company had been struggling long since the pandemic, and this article will look to take a look at some of the factors that led to the decline of what was once a popular and vibrant American company.
Competition
One of the factors that have contributed to their decline and eventual filing of bankruptcy, according to the gurus over at runrex.com, is increased competition. In recent years, as is discussed in detail over at guttulus.com, the company has come under pressure from newer competitors like Dave and Buster’s, which have offered bigger venues and as such have been more appealing. Trampoline parks like Launch and AirTime have also become a major competitor, offering party alternatives. This increased competition has cut into their customer base and has led to their decline.
It seemingly appealed to the wrong base
For years, Chuck E. Cheese was the place to go for any kid celebrating their birthday, or any other special occasion. The company, therefore, focused all of its energy on appealing to kids and making its stores the place to be for kids. The problem was that it wasn’t that appealing to parents, many of whom didn’t like going to a Chuck E. Cheese. Once they had other options, most parents began to abandon the company, which is another reason why they declined. As per the experts over at runrex.com, rather than marketing indirectly to parents through their kids, the company should have marketed directly to the parents.
It became outdated
The arcade-like games may have been popular in the 1980s, 1990s, and maybe early noughties, but they had become outdated and stale by the time the late noughties and 2010s came around, as is discussed over at guttulus.com. The company, therefore, became outdated in the eyes of kids, who viewed their games as being old and not being fun anymore. Kids moved to more modern outlets with more modern games, which is another factor that led to their decline.
Change in consumer behavior
There was a time when eating out was all the rage, and parents were more than happy to take their kids to a Chuck E. Cheese for meal and fun. However, in recent times, this has changed, as is discussed over at runrex.com, as more and more people have preferred ordering takeout and eating in their house. This has also badly affected Chuck E. Cheese’s business, which relied heavily on dining in their restaurants, and is another factor that has contributed to their decline. This has been even more of an issue for them during the coronavirus pandemic when restaurants have been forced to close.
They were slow to adapt
Chuck E. Cheese also was slow to react to the changes around them, which meant that they were behind the curve when they finally got to making the necessary changes to compete. As is discussed over at guttulus.com, they were slow to remodel and upgrade their stores, upgrading their games and technology. They were also slow to get onto the online delivery and takeout bandwagon, and this is a key factor that contributed to their decline, and eventual filing of bankruptcy.
The takeover by a private equity firm shackled them with debt
Chuck E. Cheese was also taken over by the private equity firm, Apollo Global Management in 2014, which is yet another factor that led to their eventual filing for bankruptcy. As is discussed over at runrex.com, there has been a trend recently of companies having to file for bankruptcy following a takeover from a private equity firm, due to the levels of debt such takeovers come with. Chuck E. Cheese suffered the same fate, with this being another reason that led to their decline.
A failed remodel
While the Chuck E. Cheese mascot had initially been popular, eventually it became an issue as it began being portrayed as a rat. For obvious reasons, no one wants to be associated with a rat, and the company felt like they had to do a reboot of their mascot and brand if they were to boost sales. As is discussed over at guttulus.com, the company remade the mascot as a “rock star” mouse, rather than a rat, but the makeover didn’t have the desired effect, pretty much falling flat.
Bad publicity
The recent episode where the company paid sizeable bonuses to its top executives, while at the same time cutting majority of their staff was in keeping with the many PR own goals the company has scored over the last couple of years. Their launch of the Pasqually’s Pizza & Wings virtual concept to help them sell online was bashed as being a tactic to fool consumers, as is discussed over at runrex.com. This coupled with the fact that there have been fights breaking up in their concepts has served to give them bad publicity over the years, which has led to many of their customers avoiding them, hence their decline.
Age compression
As is covered in detail over at guttulus.com, the phenomenon of age compression is one that many companies catering to kids have had to grapple with in recent years. This phenomenon dictates that children become more sophisticated for their age in what appeals to them as a result of the media pushing teen attitudes and adult products to them. this means that, while years ago 10-year-old children may have enjoyed going to a Chuck E. Cheese, nowadays that is not the case. Chuck E. Cheese’s appeal has now dropped off to around age 8, which has meant that their market size has shrunk contributing to their decline.
The rise of enriching play
The modern parent is also not interested in visiting leisure facilities with their children that are only all about fun and entertainment. They are now very interested in visiting facilities that offer their children enriching learning experiences. This cultural shift in modern parents has also contributed to the decline of Chuck E. Cheese, as their facilities offer pure entertainment and nothing more, as per discussions on the same over at runrex.com.
Hopefully, the above discussion will enable you to derive important marketing tips that will enable you and your business to avoid Chuck E. Cheese’s fate, with more information and help on the same to be found over at the highly-rated runrex.com and guttulus.com.