Peter Backman
WFH continues to impact lunchtime trade
Despite consumer demand for formal and occasion wear rising, it seems that footfall for eating out is not correlating. In fact,...
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Peter Backman
- Sep 12
- 1 min
The constant Queen
Amongst the many words that people have spoken about the Queen, I have been struck by a thread of comments about her constancy, the...
Peter Backman
- Sep 5
- 1 min
January 2023 will be a critical month
In May I drew attention to 1978 and how, at least in overall economic terms, we seem to have arrived back at that year. Some of the...
Peter Backman
- Aug 22
- 1 min
"Energy is going to cost more than rent..."
With the sobering realisation that energy is going to cost more than rent for many operators, I consider what this will mean for our...
Peter Backman
- Aug 15
- 1 min
What's the current state of delivery in the UK?
I haven’t written about delivery in my Weekly Briefing Report for a while, that’s because I cover the sector, at an international level,...
Peter Backman
- Aug 8
- 1 min
Meals down, sales up, costs up
A very long recession lasting from Q4 2022 to early 2024 will soon be on us. And, we all know from past recessions that this is bad news...
Peter Backman
- Aug 1
- 1 min
How inflation changes things - then and now
In this week’s issue of WBR I comment on the effects of inflation on buying behaviour. And Geof Collyer comments on the lessons to learn...
Peter Backman
- Jul 18
- 1 min
Andrew Guy, former CEO of The Restaurant Group shares his views
In this week’s WBR, Andrew Guy, former CEO of City Centre Restaurants (now The Restaurant Group) where amongst his responsibilities he...
Peter Backman
- Jul 11
- 1 min
In adversity, there is always opportunity
In this week’s issue of WBR, I feature the reflections of Ian Neill, serial foodservice innovator and entrepreneur and former CEO of...
Peter Backman
- Jul 4
- 1 min
Does money talk when it comes to hospitality?
I’ve heard several stories in recent weeks, and had my own experience too, where a sub-standard experience has been recompensed with a no...
Peter Backman
- Jun 27
- 1 min
Tony Hughes, former MD of Mitchells and Butlers shares his views
In this week’s WBR, I continue with learning the lessons from 1978. Tony Hughes shares the strategic imperative for pubs to grow topline...
Peter Backman
- Jun 20
- 1 min
Thoughts from Vic Laws MBE
A few weeks ago that I noted that the situation in which the foodservice industry finds itself pays more than a passing resemblance...
Peter Backman
- Jun 13
- 1 min
Fuel prices to impact spend on eating out
We have got to a point where consumers are now really feeling the increased, inflation-affected price of petrol. This will limit the...
Peter Backman
- Jun 6
- 1 min
Rising prices hit the foodservice sector in three ways...
In the latest issue of WBR, I look at the three ways rising prices hit the foodservice sector: as an increase in input costs; as a...
Peter Backman
- May 30
- 1 min
Our industry needs consistent, quality data
In the US, the government deems it worthwhile collecting timely and detailed monthly statistical information about the performance of the...
Peter Backman
- May 23
- 1 min
Are delivery apps bad for our health?
A couple of weeks ago, the Daily Telegraph posed a question: ‘With the UK set to become the fattest nation in Europe within a decade, is...
Peter Backman
- May 16
- 1 min
Households to spend 7.5-8% of income on energy...
The latest forecasts from the Bank of England say that, by the end of this year, households will be spending somewhere between 7.5% and...
Peter Backman
- May 9
- 1 min
Amazon has made a quarterly loss - what could this mean for restaurant delivery?
At the end of last month Amazon published results that gave me pause for thought. The company made a loss in the first quarter of this...
Peter Backman
- May 3
- 1 min
A trinity of changes is pressuring the foodservice sector
Working from Home, Travel and Delivery are pressuring the sector and posing some fundamental questions for operators, who is the...
Peter Backman
- Apr 25
- 1 min
Overseas visitors likely to spend 50% less than in 2019
In this week’s numbers, I consider the impact of tourism. VisitBritain has published forecasts which suggests overseas tourists will...