FEA issues market update underlining sales downturn

30 June 2020 by
FEA issues market update underlining sales downturn

The Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA) has conducted research into the state of the foodservice equipment market, with more than half of respondents expecting sales to be no more than 50% of pre-Covid-19 levels by December.

However, expectations for prospects lift considerably after 12 months, with most suppliers predicting sales levels getting to 70% or beyond. By December 2021 over a third expect to be back at 100% of pre-lockdown figures.

The research, conducted in June 2020, enlisted members of FEA and included UK manufacturers, distributors of imported equipment, dealers and service companies.

In terms of the impact on the workforce, all respondents had furloughed staff, and nearly 40% had furloughed over 80% of their employees. Nearly 40% expect to make redundancies, with respondents expecting a reduction in equipment suppliers' sales and support teams and a focus on ‘digital transactions.'

The research also covers the thorny issue of payments, with 60% of respondents experiencing problems collecting payments from customers. Just over 30% of companies surveyed had applied for business grants, with over 60% of these applications turned down. Over 95% of those making insurance claims were also turned down.

Companies, did, however, report success with business support loans: of the 36% who had applied for a loan, 53% were successful.

In terms of the immediate future, most respondents expect to see an increase in second-hand equipment on the market, and for credit to be tight. Both factors are expected to reduce demand for new equipment.

One area likely to gain is innovation, with respondents expecting to see foodservice operators demanding new technologies to answer the ‘new normal' needs.

The full research can be downloaded here.

Photo: Shutterstock

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media Group is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking