DRS, food to go, supply issues, Wendy’s, Autogrill, air travel & other:

A DAY IN THE LIFE:

It’s a good job that there isn’t an RSPCP for vegetation because I think the office plant has given up the ghost and died of neglect, photo on Twitter. 

Only it hasn’t been neglected as such.

And it’s not quite dead. It just seems to flag towards Fridays in a way that suggests it’s relieved to have got there because it hasn’t got much left in the tank.

It may not be alone in that feeling so it just remains to say have a great weekend and let’s move on to the news:

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PUBS & RESTAURANTS:

Deposit Return Scheme.

More Scottish politicians both within and without the Scottish Government are publicly suggesting the Deposit Return Scheme cannot go ahead in its current form.

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Food to Go:

Lumina reports that ‘Food to Go growth to outpace total eating out market growth.’ It says its report ‘recently highlighted some key findings about the UK food to go market’ including the suggestion that ‘despite slow recovery in passenger volumes and high street footfall, food to go increased by +31.7% in 2022 to a value of £21.4 billion, just +0.9% ahead of its 2019 total. The key drivers of growth are high inflation and a recovery in footfall…’

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Supply issues:

Shane Brennan, CEO of the Cold Chain Federation, says that food shortages could intensify. He says of the current tomato & salad shortage ‘this is a warning that getting product into the UK is not getting any easier. Erecting trade barriers through paperwork, which we are still due to do in the UK at the end of this year, will make problems like this worse in the future…’

No shows:

Zonal updates on No-Shows saying that they cost the hospitality industry £17.6bn a year. It reiterates that one in seven customers book and then fail to show up without informing the venue…

Other news:

Research by World Coffee Portal has found that  the UK drive-thru coffee market increased by 104 outlets in 2022 to reach 696 sites. The leading players were Costa Coffee and Starbucks, with 316 and 284 sites respectively. Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons, which doubled its UK drive-thru estate last year to reach 55 stores.

PMI Services data will be released at 9.30 this morning.

Stay-in-a-Pub will release the results of its national research project at an event on 28 March in central London entitled ‘Profitable Beds’. The event has been organised and promoted in consultation with the Pub Accommodation Group made up of representatives from key areas of the pub accommodation sector…

Sake production has risen in overseas markets but has declined in Japan. Figures show that between 1973 and 2020, annual domestic sales fell by 75% in Japan but exports hit a new record in 2021 for the 12th year in a row.

DO BUSINESSES HAVE A ‘RIGHT TO EXIST’?

This piece went out to clients a few months ago. Given we are in the budget lobbying season, it seemed reasonable to give it a wider airing: Summary: Basically, no. Potentially with a small number of exceptions, companies do not have a ‘right’ to exist. Economies evolve and basically nothing is forever.

At least in the corporate world, that is, because, as horse shoe manufacturers, wooden-barrel coopers and countless dozens of other trades have found, demand can move on and, in times of economic austerity, that can happen rapidly. So what about leisure?

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COMPANY NEWS:

Wendy’s plans to have 45 UK restaurants by the end of 2023, including delivery-only kitchen locations. The company reported Q4 systemwide sales growth of 7.2% in the US and 16.8% internationally. President & CEO Todd Penegor said the business intended to ‘lean in on our strong start’ in the UK and Europe, by continuing to grow the UK market.

Bakery chain Gail’s is reportedly seeking to open its first drive-thru outlets, aiming for 10 sites across London and the South East in the next 12 months.

Vietnamese chain Pho reports revenue up 109% to £43.7m in the year ended 20 February 2022…

Autogrill reported revenue up 50% to €4.2bn for the year ended 31 December 2022…

Fat Hippo, a Northeast-based better burger chain, is planning to open 6 sites this year, adding to its current 17-strong estate. One of the openings this year will be in London’s Soho and another in Edinburgh by the summer.

Unionised staff at an Amazon distribution centre in Coventry are today on strike for the third day.

Perks & White, the ethical coffee brand, has opened a new unit in St James’s Market marking the chain’s first site in central London.

HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL:

Ryanair and Wizz Air saw February passenger carryings up 22% & 97% YoY respectively…

PPHE Hotel Group reports that it is in discussions with a potential cornerstone investor with a view to launching a new European Hospitality Real Estate Fund of up to €250m…

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Saga reports that discussions to sell its underwriting business to Open Insurance Technologies have been terminated without an agreement being reached.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium has said that the number of flights set to depart from UK airports this month is up by almost a third (31%) year on year. It adds that the figure remains 15% down on March 2019…

The owner of London Southend Airport is reported to be planning to sell the business. Esken says it will ‘explore’ disposal opportunities. The airport reported post-tax losses of £21.5m in the year to end-February 2022.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has reported revenues up 43 per cent $454.1 million for the year to end-December…

STR reports that US hotel occupancy in the week to 25 February hit its highest level this year at 64.2%. It says average daily rate was $156.51 and revenue per available room was $100.43, both large increases compared to 2019 levels.

FINANCE & MARKETS:

The ECB has expressed concerns that some businesses are using the cover of inflation to widen their margins.

Sterling mixed at $1.964 and €1.1275. Oil down slightly at $84.04. UK 10yr gilt yield up another 3bps at 3.88%. World markets better yesterday & London set to open up around 27pts.

RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB:

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