Olympics to boost London on-trade by £323m
Food and drink spend in the on trade is expected to rise to £1.24bn, up from a projected £917m in 2011, a rise of over 35%.
The research, conducted through Bibendum’s online sales tool ‘Bibendum Prospect’, shows that approximately half of that figure will be spent in hotels with pubs and bars accounting for more than a third, with about 13% to be spent in restaurants.
Bibendum Managing Director, Michael Saunders, said: “These numbers really opened our eyes to the business potential provided by London 2012. There are just 29 weeks until the Opening Ceremony and our job is to ensure our customers are in the best possible position to enjoy a fantastic summer of trading, and capitalise on the opportunity provided by the Games.”
Travel disruption
Saunders also revealed that Bibendum’s research has highlighted the likely disruption to the on-trade because of extensive road closures.
Research by Bibendum, along with the Local Data Company, reveals that 21% of London’s on trade businesses, over 2500 venues, will be directly affected by the Olympic Route Network (ORN), which will be closed to non-Olympic traffic from 6am to midnight each day during the Games, meaning that normal delivery schedules will be impossible.
This figure increases to 63% of London on-trade venues once the Alternative Route Network, which will be used in the event of emergencies, and the Venue Olympic Route Network, a series of road closures around venues away from the main Olympic Park, are included.
Saunders added: “The challenge for us is to work with our customers to ensure they are in the best possible position to capitalise on the opportunity – and that means working very closely with our customers on issues such as deliveries to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible.
“We have seen some suppliers declare they will offer 24 hour deliveries. The reality is that the situation is much more complicated and demands a far more nuanced approach.”
Saunders revealed that Bibendum is currently contacting all its customers within the area affected by the ORN and is working with each of them individually to find practical solutions to the specific challenges posed by the transport restrictions.
