The Grandparent Economy and FEC's

FEC’s need to stay ahead of the trends. Here’s one: the graying of the baby boom. I know, I know, gray hair is not what we usually associate with the FEC audience. However, the New York Times recently did an article titled “The Older Audience is Looking Better than Ever.” Toy companies are finding that as much as 40 percent of its customers were “older, mainly grandparents.” It used to be that consumers 18 to 34 or 18 to 49 were sought after. But that’s changing for a couple of reasons. “One is the recession, which makes older consumers with more assets and less dependence on salary a safer bet. The other reason is demographic. The 78 million people born between 1946 and 1964 are aging, the first turning 63 this year and the youngest turning 45.” The size of the market is one thing, the other is that “50 isn’t what it used to be, according to Andy Donchin, a media analyst,” per the Times

Grandparents.com, a statement in itself, is releasing its study “The Grandparent Economy.” “Someone once told me, “ Grandparents.com ceo Jerry Sheveshewsky said, “you can’t go broke chasing the baby boom.” FEC owners are all about audience. Here’s a growing segment of the population, with disposable income, looking for things to do with their grandchildren, that we do not traditionally think of as our audience. Perhaps it‘s time to become more grandparent friendly.

Chuck E. Cheese's execs attribute sales drop to swine flu

CEC Entertainment Inc., parent to the 542-unit Chuck E. Cheese’s chain, said Friday that the effects of and fears surrounding the H1N1 flu, or swine flu, could lead to a 20-percent drop in same-store sales for the first three days of the current week.

In a conference call on Friday to discuss the company’s first-quarter results, which included a 4-percent gain in profit and a 1.2-percent revenue increase, the company said same-store sales fell 8 percent during the fourth week of April, and are down 20 percent during the first three days of the current week, which began Sunday. While it is impossible to draw conclusions from a three-day period, the company said, its sales through May could be affected.

The company said it had stepped up sanitation programs at all its units, including the games, rides, tables and chairs. The company said it had not seen significant birthday party cancellations, but that “media surrounding swine flu” led to the chain’s sales drop.
Christopher Morris, CEC’s chief financial officer, said: “We hope it’s a short-term negative impact and remain encouraged over longer term.”

For the company’s first quarter ended March 29, net income rose to $34.1 million, or $1.48 per share, from $32.9 million, or $1.24 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Latest-quarter revenue rose 1.2 percent to $248.1 million, aided by five corporate restaurant openings and three more franchised units that a year ago. Quarterly same-store sales dipped 0.1 percent.