Food chain sales near pre-Covid level on festivals – Times of India

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: Restaurants and fast food chains across India are inching towards their pre-Covid sales numbers helped by a surge in demand during the festive season, rising number of online deliveries and improved dine-ins.
McDonald’s outlets, for instance, especially on highways and in smaller cities such as Bharuch, Kolhapur, Nellore and Tirupati are even reporting higher sales figures than pre-Covid months.
Tea cafe chain Chaayos is currently at 75% of its pre-Covid revenues, while in locations, such as Chandigarh, Navi Mumbai and Pune, Nexus Malls is witnessing shoppers queue up in front of restaurants. “While 95% of our food and beverage (F&B) partners are currently operational, we have signed up and opened 10 new ones,” said Jayen Naik, senior VP (operations & projects) at Nexus Malls.

Even at five-star properties, such as Taj West End in Bengaluru, footfalls are showing no signs of slowing. “We are seeing our guests waiting to dine at a few of our restaurants,” said Somnath Mukherjee, area director (Karnataka) and GM – Taj West End, Bengaluru. “We also see an increase in demand for weddings and celebrations.”
Apart from rising consumer confidence, a quick change in business model has also helped restaurants bounce back faster. Several restaurants, for instance, that have nearly reached pre-Covid levels have adopted an all-day dining model rather than just opening for lunch or dinner, said Rajendra Kalkar, president, west at The Phoenix Malls.
“The only problem areas are restaurants that are dependent on business-related activity, such as in airports and business parks,” said Nitin Saluja, founder of Chaayos. “We are confident of touching pre-Covid numbers in three-six months.”
Hardcastle Restaurants, which operates McDonald’s in the south and west, is close to full recovery, according to Saurabh Kalra, COO, McDonald’s India (west and south).
Others, however, are cautious. Anjan Chatterjee, founder at Speciality Restaurants, which operates Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta, said things are yet to settle down. “But in cities where the number of cases have gone down, such as, Mumbai and Bengaluru, we are seeing more footfalls, close to 55%.”

Speak Your Mind

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Get in Touch

350FansLike
100FollowersFollow
281FollowersFollow
150FollowersFollow

Recommend for You

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Subscribe and receive our weekly newsletter packed with awesome articles that really matters to you!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

You might also like

Sensex Tumbles 323 Points as Global Markets Reel on...

A man reacts as he looks at a screen displaying the Sensex results on...

Bankia Net Profit Falls 79%, Sees Difficult Fourth Quarter

MADRID: Bankia said on Wednesday its third-quarter net profit fell 79% from the same...

Rupee Edges 4 Paise Lower to 74.98 Against Dollar...

Representative Image (Reuters). ...