Abby Henson, Author at S4labour, Labour Management & Productivity

Hospitality Like-for-Likes See Slight Increase during August

by Abby Henson | 1 Sep, 2021 | Press & News, Sales Figures

S4labour has identified that hospitality sales in August 2021 increased by a small 1.6% when compared to August 2019.

Notably, food like-for-likes were up 16% — something we have been used to seeing throughout August in our weekly like-for-like analysis. However, the decline in drink like-for-likes of 12.5% clearly contributed to the small overall increase. Food sales outperforming drink sales occurred within both dry-led and wet-led sites for August.

As for London and non-London sites, the similar pattern continued: non-London experienced significantly more growth than London for month-on-months (August 2021 compared to July 2021). Even though month-on-month hospitality sales rose by 9.5%, London sites saw a decrease of 24.5% whilst non-London’s sales increased by 16.5%.

The Chief Innovation Officer for S4labour, Richard Hartley, commented: “although the increase in like-for-likes is small, given the recent months hospitality has experienced it is reassuring to see August 2021 has bettered August 2019 in regards to overall hospitality sales. The easing of restrictions has certainly helped consumer confidence. These figures offer some sense of reassurance for the hospitality industry, and hopefully this revival continues as we approach the autumn months; especially the London commute making a comeback.”

Final Week of August Sees Like-for-Likes Rise by 5%

by Abby Henson | 31 Aug, 2021 | Hospitality

Following a recent decline in like-for-likes, August’s concluding week saw sales increase by 5% when compared to the same week in 2019.

This 5% increase was mainly a result of food like-for-likes rising by 12% — a similar trend in regards to recent like-for-likes. Drink like-for-likes, on the other hand, dropped by 1% in comparison to the same week in 2019.

Week-on-week sales were up by 6.5%, with London’s sales increasing by 4% based on the previous week — a rise that has been a rarity in recent weeks. As for non-London, week-on-weeks were up 7%.

S4labour’s Chief Innovation Officer, Richard Hartley, commented: “the final week of August caps off a month that’s appeared to be mostly quite difficult for London’s week-on-weeks. This last week, however, spells some positivity for the Capital. The longer weekend may have resulted in London sites experiencing higher sales compared to usual.”

Hospitality Like-for-Likes Down 5.5%

by Abby Henson | 24 Aug, 2021 | Sales Figures

Hospitality like-for-likes were down 5.5% last week when compared to the same week in 2019.

The majority of the decline was driven by a 17% decrease in drink like-for-likes. However, food sales were up by 11%.

As for week-on-week sales, S4labour’s research shows a small 1% overall increase on the previous week. However, London and non-London revealed differences; something that has often been the case. London’s week-on-weeks were level, whilst non-London sites saw a week-on-week increase of 1.4%.

Richard Hartley, S4labour’s Chief Innovation Officer, stated: “These figures continue to reinforce the picture we’ve been seeing: food operators, mainly outside of London, are continuing to do well — whilst many drink focused operators are struggling. Tourist trade may help food focused sites in London; whereas wet-led sites are continuing to experience reduced footfall in the Capital.