hospitality Archives - Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Retailer

Wine sales fell in 2021 as hospitality reopened

Linda Stewart — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 08:46:32 +0000

Wine sales fell last year following the reopening of hospitality, industry group Drinks Ireland has revealed.

Wine sales had risen during Covid-19 lockdowns, as the likes of beer drinkers moved to the category while consuming at home.

However the return to pubs and restaurants saw that trend reverse, with wine sales down 13% in 2021 as a result.

That brought wine sales to their lowest point since 2015, according to Drinks Ireland’s Wine Market Report 2021.

White wine remained the most popular type of wine in the country, making up 48% of the market.

Wine from Chile was the most popular in the year, though French wine was the only category to see its market share increase year-on-year.

Drinks Ireland has repeated its call for a cut in excise on wine, as it said more than half of the cost of a standard bottle of wine went towards tax.

“We are calling for a 15% decrease on excise on wine over the next two budgets,” said Jonathan McDade, director of wine at Drinks Ireland.

“As the cost-of-living crisis worsens, Irish consumers face the highest excise on wine in the EU.”

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Gala Retail’s €40,000 staycation gift cards giveaway live in stores now

Linda Stewart — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 12:10:42 +0000

Gala Retail is set to give away €40,000 of staycation gift vouchers to lucky customers this summer with its Gala Getaways promotion, which is live in stores now.

Teaming up with IrelandHotels.com for the instore promotion, the Gala Getaways giveaway will see each Gala shopper who spends over €10 in participating stores entered into a draw instore to win a €250 ‘Go Anywhere’ gift card to put towards a staycation at one of the hundreds of Irish hotels and guesthouses partnered with IrelandHotels.com. A winner will be picked from every participating Gala store.

Speaking about the Gala Getaways promotion, CEO of Gala Retail, Gary Desmond said: “The Gala Getaways promotion is back for another year following a great reaction from Gala customers last Summer. Awarding €40,000 worth of ‘Go Anywhere’ gift cards gives our winning shoppers a chance to book a well-earned getaway at some of Ireland’s top hotels and guest houses.

“With a chance to win in every participating store, this is our way of thanking loyal Gala customers for their continued support and Gala retailers across the country look forward to giving their valued customers a chance to win.”

The Gala Getaways promotion with IrelandHotels.com aims to encourage the lucky winners to enjoy and explore new parts of Ireland while supporting local tourism and hospitality.

Denyse Campbell, President of the Irish Hotels Federation, added: “Building on the success of last year’s Gala Getaways giveaway, we are thrilled to team up with Gala Retail once again. The ‘Go Anywhere’ gift card prizes will give winners the chance to book into one of the hundreds of fantastic hotels and guesthouses that work with IrelandHotels.com and experience new parts of Ireland this Summer.”

“With so many properties to choose from and the wealth of attractions, activities and incredible hospitality experiences to enjoy, Gala Retail is giving more people the opportunity to support Irish and staycation this Summer.”

The Gala Getaways promotion will run in participating Gala Retail stores from 27^th June until 31^st July. Further information about the promotion can be found on the Gala Retail social media accounts and at www.gala.ie/competitions.

Caption: CEO of Gala Retail, Gary Desmond is joined by radio and TV personality, Lucy Kennedy and President of the Irish Hotels Federation, Denyse Campbell for the launch at the Dylan Hotel, Dublin.

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C&C’s annual revenues rise by 88%

Linda Stewart — Tue, 17 May 2022 09:13:14 +0000

Drinks group C&C has reported a near 88% increase in revenues for the year to the end of February and said its new fiscal year had started strongly with more price hikes likely on the way.

C&C said its revenues jumped by 87.8% to €1.438 billion from €765.8m the previous year.

The company also reported adjusted profits of €47.9m compared to an adjusted loss of €63.6m the previous year.

C&C, which manufactures, markets and distributes branded beer, cider, wine, spirits and soft drinks across Ireland and the UK, includes Bulmers and Magners cider, Tennents and Five Lamps beer and Tipperary Water among its brands.

The company said the improved performance was driven by 207.8% growth in on-trade net revenue as a consequence of fewer trading restrictions due to Covid-19 in the year.

It noted that there were 267 days of trading where the on-trade was open across Ireland and the UK, compared with 117 days the previous year.

C&C also saw a strong off-trade performance despite the re-opening of the on-trade business, with net revenues of €376.3m, a slight fall of 3.4% on the previous year.

The company said that recently implemented price increases, hedged positions and cost savings programme have provided a degree of protection against cost inflation.

But it cautioned that additional input cost pressure, particularly at its manufacturing facilities, will likely necessitate further price increases.

C&C said its new fiscal year has started strongly with net revenue 12% higher than pre-Covid levels for the two months to the end of April and 140% compared to the end of April last year.

“The benefit of no on-trade restrictions, easing of the pressures on supply chains and additional public holidays has created a more positive trading environment over recent months,” C&C stated.

C&C said that reflecting its strong balance sheet position and cash flow capability, it plans on paying a dividend in “due course”.

David Forde, C&C Group’s chief executive, said that after a period of unprecedented challenges for the hospitality sector, the company was delighted to be back serving its customers and delivering its brands to its on-trade and off-trade partners.

“Encouraged by the reaction and resilience of the industry, we are pleased with how trading has recovered and the subsequent strength of customer and consumer demand, which we believe reflects the enduring importance of the on-trade and the role that it plays in our society,” Mr Forde said.

“Looking forward, we are operating in an evolving and challenging inflationary cost environment and will continue to monitor this closely over FY2023 and beyond,” the C&C CEO said.

“We have already taken action to afford the business a degree of protection, nevertheless we are susceptible to further increases in our cost base which would necessitate further price increases. Despite the current positive sentiment in the hospitality sector post reopening, we are mindful of the pressures being faced by consumers and its potential impact on future demand,” he stated.

C&C said its Ireland division’s net revenue increased by 34% to €224.3m in the year driven by the re-opening of the on-trade business. The Irish business generated an operating profit of €16.7m for the year compared to a loss of €6.7m a year earlier.

It said that with the re-opening of the on-trade, off-trade net revenues dropped by 0.5% on the previous year.

The Irish business traded directly with 95% of outlets during February of this year compared with February 2020 and C&C said that with the easing of restrictions in January this year, over January and February 2022, on-trade volumes were at 84% of the equivalent time in 2020.

During the year, its Clonmel manufacturing site invested €4.8m to eliminate single use plastic for all canned products from January 2022, as a result removing approximately 150 tonnes of plastics from C&C products.

The Clonmel site has also invested in the largest rooftop solar panel farm in Ireland which will generate 10% of the site’s electricity requirements going forward.

“Further enforcing our sustainability credentials, we are now the only significant drinks manufacturer to use returnable pint bottles,” C&C said.

The company said its Great Britain division’s net revenue jumped by 102.8% to €1.214 billion, driven by the reopening of the on-trade from May 2021, with strong growth in its branded volumes.

As a result, C&C said the division generated an operating profit of €31.2m compared to a loss of €56.9m the previous year.

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Work permit backlog for industries now on track to be cleared

Linda Stewart — Wed, 11 May 2022 09:08:49 +0000

The Department of Enterprise says it is on track to clear a backlog of thousands of unprocessed work permit applications after implementing an emergency staffing plan which trebled the headcount of some departments.

New data from the department shows that throughput of employment permits for non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals in the year-to-date is now running about three times as fast as last year .

At the end of April, more than 12,000 permits had already been issued, compared to 16,275 in all of 2021, when the department ended the year with more than 10,000 unprocessed applications.

That backlog looks set to be cleared in 2022 as processing time has been cut from an average of 21 weeks to six weeks since the start of the year. A spokesperson said the current processing time would be maintained or improved.

“All flexible resources have now been redeployed to bring down processing times for general employment permit applications and the department expects to see waiting times fall further,” the spokesperson said.

The department was taking longer to process applications due to a combination of remote working, an increase in demand and the HSE cyber attack last summer, which disrupted the system for hiring medical staff from abroad.

Applications for work permits also increased by 69pc to 27,666 in 2021 over the previous year as hospitals and tech multinationals went on a hiring spree to cope with the spike in demand from Covid.

The permits are granted only for roles that cannot be filled from the available labour pool in Ireland and the rest of the EEA.

Permits for IT and health workers still dominate this year, with nearly 3,500 going to tech workers and another 2,700 issued to medical staff.

But permits for agricultural workers are on the rise this year, with nearly 2,000 issued for that sector – one of the largest. Horticultural and meat workers were added to the occupational list for non-EEA work permits last October, leading to an additional 3,000 applications, which has added to the existing backlog.

Some industries, such as haulage and hospitality, have complained that slow processing times were making labour shortages worse.

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Michael Deane to officially open IFEX as event gets set to welcome 6,000 visitors

Linda Stewart — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:47:00 +0000

Next week, Northern Ireland’s premier food, drink, retail and hospitality event – IFEX 2022 – will open its doors at the Titanic Exhibition Centre, Belfast.

Taking place from Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 March, approximately 6,000 industry professionals are expected to attend IFEX, where more than 150 suppliers and manufacturers will be showcasing the latest products and services in the industry. Registration for the free-to-attend show is now open.

Marking the show’s 25th edition, restaurateur Michael Deane – who was the first-ever winner of Chef of the Year – will officially open the show, which will also be home to over 250 industry and student chefs who will descend on the Salon Culinaire at IFEX, making it Northern Ireland’s largest and most prestigious culinary competition.

Featuring a jam-packed schedule of culinary competitions, two of the most hotly contended accolades are the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs-supported IFEX Northern Ireland Chef of the Year and Northern Ireland Junior Chef of the Year competitions.

Reinforcing the importance of IFEX’s Salon Culinaire to the hospitality industry, Michael Deane says: “IFEX is a chance for all chefs – both from industry and education – to benchmark their skills against the best. It’s imperative to our industry that we compete both on skills and with our incredible produce therefore IFEX is instrumental in helping young chefs to raise their game.

“It’s where I first earned my stripes and winning Chef of the Year brought considerable publicity to my first venture in Helen’s Bay, Deanes on the Square. Today, we encourage many of our chefs at Deanes to enter the various competition as it’s hugely beneficial in terms of upskilling, instilling confidence and learning from peers.”

In addition to the ChefSkills Live Theatre at Salon Culinaire, there’s Street Food International and Edible Art competitions.

Organisers are confident that IFEX will demonstrate how business-to-business trade fairs can operate safely and effectively, whilst still driving new business to exhibitors and showcasing the latest products and services to visitors.

Toby Wand, Managing Director of 365 Events Ltd., owners of IFEX, comments: “Celebrating its 25th edition in 2022, IFEX has been the cornerstone expo for the foodservice, catering, and hospitality industries in NI. Needed more than ever before, IFEX is crucial for galvanising the industry and driving new business for exhibitors.

“Trade exhibitions provide a platform for businesses to meet and collaborate, creating opportunities for businesses both large and small to grow and expand their market reach. It is critically important for businesses, particularly those in the foodservice and hospitality sector to have a location where they can trade, display new products, be inspired, and share their knowledge – It is for this reason we’re excited to see the show open its doors on Tuesday, 29th March.”

The event is organised by 365 Events Ltd and more than 150 companies from across Ireland will be exhibiting and welcoming approximately 6,000 industry professionals who attend the event to do business, source new products and services, make new contacts and learn from fellow industry experts.

IFEX runs from 29 – 31 March 2022 at the TEC, Belfast. A business-to-business event, you can register to attend for free at ifexexhibition.co.uk.

Caption: Sean Owens, IFEX Salon Culinaire; Mena Khan Jalil, Chef competing at IFEX; Dolan Heaney IFEX Skills Coordinator and Michael Deane

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