Over 40% of food & beverage (F&B) firms in Vietnam recorded lower revenues in the first six months of this year according to a survey by iPOS.vn, a major provider of restaurant management solutions.
The survey, featuring responses from 137 restaurants mostly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, showed that only 29.9% of firms recorded higher revenues while the remaining saw unchanged results.
The ratio of lower revenues among large-scale firms with at least 150 seats was worse at 63.6%. Meanwhile small firms with under 50 seats had the highest ratio with higher revenues at 33%.
Despite challenges, many firms expected strong performances in the next six months, as 63.5% of respondents had maintained their outlets and 26.3% had opened more. Only 5.8% had been forced to close their outlets and 4.4% had to close inefficient branches to open new ones, the surveyed found.
Additionally, 29.2% of firms said they had strong capital to expand their operations, and 51.1% noted their finances could sustain current operations. Meanwhile, less than 20% said they faced financial challenges.
Regarding customers, 47.5% said they spent more on eating out than last year, 32% spent less, and 20.5% were unchanged, the survey showed. Eating out is becoming more and more trendy as 35.5% of respondents opted to eat out 3-4 times weekly, 34% once or twice weekly, and 14% daily.
Previewing the last half of this year, iPOS.vn said the market will bottom out as customers opt for more economical choices. Moreover, 39.4% of firms expected more challenges and 20.4% expected unchanged situations. Meanwhile, 32.5% of customers said they would reduce their spending but 50% replied they would not.