Special analysis from current month data

For the first time since we began tracking around two years ago we have seen more pull-outs from states, than expansions into new states.

So far this month (November) 20 companies pulled operations out of states versus 17 who have expanded into new states. Although this is the first time we saw an actual reduction of state expansion growth, we have noticed this slowing trend line during the past 4-6 months.

However, 131 companies have posted unit increases compared to 81 who had decreases.

Our synopsis is that; the above facts lend itself to the belief that companies are growing more in a
spoke and wheel development method within a region, while shedding far flung units that prove to be more difficult to operate without close physical corporate and peer contact.

IHMRS in NY

We just completed a three-day tour of the NY Hotel/Motel and Restaurant Show this past few days. It was extremely busy and we saw a couple of new products to get excited about.

The neatest item we found was a table base made by a company out of Australia called "FLAT" that fixes the problem of wobbly tables. There have been others on the market for years, but this product has actual hydraulic feet in the table base that adjust instantaneously on whatever floor type it is placed on. One of the best features is the cost of the base which runs only around $50.

The other equipment product we saw that got us excited is made by Delfield (A division of Enodis) called "Versa Drawer." It is a drawer refrigerator with four drawers (at least the one that I saw). In each drawer you can set it to either cool, chill, thaw or freeze at a touch of a button. Users can then change the settings on the drawers at will. Now that's versatile!