Fewer Takeaways, Higher Costs: How the Food-on-the-Go Sector is Feeling the Squeeze

National World - LocalTV

Takeaway sales are falling as customers cut back on spending, forcing both major chains and small outlets to rethink their plans. Rising costs are adding to the challenge for the sector.

Transcript

00:00Recent headlines show a number of large takeaway businesses are suffering

00:04with reduced numbers of orders, lower revenue, stifled growth plans and even outlet closures.

00:09I wanted to find out how smaller businesses are doing in this environment.

00:12So I spoke to Andrew Crook, President of the National Federation of Fish Fryers,

00:16to see what the story is for all of our local takeaways.

00:19I think we're seeing less footfall. Obviously prices have increased. I mean we're still great

00:24value, fish and chips, but it has gone up. We've seen increase in all our costs so obviously

00:29some of that's been passed on to the customer. So we are seeing people come in a little less

00:33frequently. We've got a lot more competition now. You've got garage forecourts that all do food and

00:38supermarkets that they have hot food ready or even just the ready meals. Very easy to cook and very

00:44quick to cook isn't it? And they can be cheaper, there's no VAT on those. So yeah, some lunch times

00:50are very busy. There's no pattern. So we can have a random busy Tuesday and then all of a sudden

00:56the next day we don't cover the cost of the wages. Companies are having to deal with rising wages and

01:02higher employer national insurance contributions. When it comes to your industry specifically,

01:07how significant are these sort of costs for the operators? Yeah, the smaller businesses were

01:12somewhat protected. Although I did try and open my original shop, which I rented out for 20 years,

01:17I reopened in September last year and I closed it at Christmas and that was partly because of

01:21national insurance because I was going to have too many staff that would be in the pot and it

01:26just wouldn't be viable. My treasurer talking to her about the effect of it, it cost her business,

01:31they've got quite a sizeable fish and chip business, it's one of the biggest in the country,

01:35it costs half a million pounds a year extra with the increase in wages and national insurance.

01:40So that's a shop refit that they're not doing. So that's workmen that aren't going to be

01:43employed, that's equipment that's not going to be bought. In terms of both the government and

01:47local authorities, let's say, however much they might be able to do,

01:51what things do you think would be good to see and what would you like to see?

01:55I think government seems to think that maybe business rate reform is going to be the panacea

02:00that will solve all the problems for hospitality. It only affects about 50% of my members. Smaller

02:05businesses have got small business rate relief, including my own business, so business rates don't

02:10really factor. The one thing that government can look at, which a lot of other European countries have done,

02:15is reducing the rate of VAT for hospitality. We're here to do the work. We are working people,

02:20we're used to rolling our sleeves up, and we just need that help from government. We need a brave

02:24chancellor to reduce VAT for hospitality, and that will kickstart this country.

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