Category: Drinks

Current trading; who are the winners & losers?

Background – costs: There is little inflation but 0% LfL won’t be enough to hold margin Because what inflation there is, is the ‘wrong sort’ Utilities are OK but wages (esp. National Living Wage) are a problem Occupancy costs & F&B costs are benign – but the latter will rise as Sterling falls Outlook for…

Coffer Peach Tracker: Could have been (much) better…

Tracker headline ‘Britain enjoys summer by still eating & drinking out’ doesn’t tell full story: Says LfL sales +0.6% & frames this as a success But CPI is +0.6% so above implies no growth NLW, NMW etc. mean labour costs +5% & inflation re F&B in the pipeline And c5.6% increase in unit numbers could…

Leisure Spending, JDW, Brexit

Barclaycard has updated on Q2 spending, says ‘business as usual’ Barclaycard says consumer spending was +3.1% in Q2 April was +1.9% (known to have been sluggish) & May & June were +3.6% Spending in pubs & restaurants (+12.1% and +11.6%) was impacted by football & by higher contactless limits (£20 to £30). This will annualise…

Leisure & the Brexit vote – Assessing the Impact

The initial financial impact. 52% of voters (38% of the electorate) voted to leave the EU on 23 June The FTSE100 fell then rose. It is now +3% since 23 June. But FTSE100 is an international index. In US$ terms (pound down 13%), it is down 10%. The largely domestic FTSE250 is down 9% in…

The UK Coffee Market: Independents vs. Incumbents

While other markets falter, coffee prospers In most evolving industries, at some point, the disruptive new entrant becomes the familiar incumbent. Langton was struck by this thought while noting the continued success of coffee operators around Spitalfields. The number of coffee outlets in the UK has almost trebled in the last six years to nearly…