Following the news (Friday 22 May) that British billionaire Ranjit Singh Boparan bought the Carluccio’s brand of restaurants, along with 31 other outlets;
Hakan Demirci, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on the chains current challenges:
“News that Carluccio’s has been saved by the billionaire Boparan may be the antidote to the collapse of thousands of establishments across Britain. Undoubtedly, his aim will be to quickly reformat the business proposition of Carluccio’s brand, creating a more robust and profitable chain.
“Globally, as GlobalData latest forecasts suggest, the full-service restaurant industry is unsurprisingly set to experience a sharp downturn throughout 2020, from $1,393 billion in 2019, to a COVID-19 adjusted slowdown value of $1,051.5 billion, reflecting a 33% decrease. Nevertheless, GlobalData’s forecasts suggests that by 2021 the industry will rebound slightly higher than 2019 at $1,431.6 billion, driven by the expected easing of restrictions brought about by the crisis*.
“Carluccio’s financial position was already precarious before the COVID-19 pandemic, closing dozens of restaurants between 2017–19. Yet, this crisis has exposed the fundamental weakness plaguing the company. Whilst many companies in the British foodservice industry are struggling during this crisis, some may end up in a better position than when they entered the crisis with. This will be driven by the need to drive down costs, improve profitably and strengthen the efficiency of their business.
“Ultimately, if restaurants can weather the storm in 2020, through the implementation of cost-saving and efficiency-driving measures, chains and independents alike may be able to come out of the crisis more robust than when they entered.”
