The number of companies in the catering market increased by a quarter in the second quarter

After a serious contraction, the catering market began to recover. In the second quarter of this year, the number of companies in this segment increased by a quarter, while in January-March there was a noticeable decrease. Experts attribute the growth in the market to the launch of projects that were suspended by restaurateurs after the partial mobilization was announced last September. However, it is unlikely that the positive dynamics will continue for a long time: since autumn, market operators will slow down the opening of new establishments.

In the second quarter of 2023, the number of newly created legal entities in the catering market increased by 25% year-on-year, to 13.1 thousand companies, follows from the data provided by Kommersant from Kontur.Focus. The dynamics of April-June is fundamentally different from the situation in the first quarter. Then, according to analysts, the number of such companies, on the contrary, decreased by 11% year-on-year, to 7.5 thousand (see Kommersant of March 31).

Due to the growth in the second quarter of the industry, it was possible to compensate for the losses in January-March, and according to the results of the entire first half of the year, the number of new legal entities in public catering increased by 10% year-on-year, to 20.7 thousand, add to Kontur.Fokus. Entrepreneurs who intend to open franchise establishments have also become more active, says Anna Rozhdestvenskaya, an expert at Franshiza.ru. She adds that demand for such projects in January-June increased by 26% year-on-year, both in the fast food segment and full-length restaurants.

An illustrative example is St. Petersburg, where the number of new establishments on the main gastronomic streets – Rubinstein, Zhukovsky, Nekrasov and Mayakovsky – has quadrupled year on year, says Anna Lapchenko, head of the retail real estate department of the NF Group branch in this city. Teremka reported that this year they also recorded high dynamics – the company opened ten new outlets. Recently, two outlets have been opened in the “I want Puri” network, and six more are being prepared for launch. Vkusno – i dot told Kommersant that they plan to open at least 50 new establishments by the end of the year.

In the second quarter, companies were registered for projects that restaurateurs began to develop in late 2022 – early 2023, Ms. Rozhdestvenskaya explains. In addition, according to her, in recent months, those who froze negotiations with owners of premises and suppliers in October 2022 after the announcement of partial mobilization began to open establishments.

Openings of non-chain outlets in the second quarter of this year accelerated due to the low base of the same period last year, says Ivan Shestov, marketing director of Burger King Russia. In 2022, the second quarter was the peak of consumer shock – the highest inflation and the lowest consumer confidence, he recalls. Kontur.Focus expert Anton Yakovlev links the growth in the number of catering organizations in the second quarter of 2023 with the seasonality factor – the influx of tourists, which has especially increased after the pandemic, the opening of summer verandas for the period of active holidays. In addition, Henrik Winter, co-owner of the Tigrus holding (manages Osteria Mario, Shvili and Bar BQ Cafe), adds that investors in the restaurant market have a need to diversify their cash flows, especially in the absence of the opportunity to invest in foreign projects.

A more dynamic recovery of the activity of restaurateurs is still hindered by a number of factors. For example, the cost of opening new establishments has doubled, says Mr. Winter. It is also problematic to get Western equipment, adds Ivan Shestov. Against this background, restaurateurs began to look for used equipment. Last year, the demand for equipment for restaurants at Avito increased by 24% (see Kommersant dated February 18).

In addition, the shortage of staff is forcing employers to increase salaries, which makes the business model less efficient, Henrik Winter notes. The shortage of employees is increasing against the backdrop of the summer season, says Mikhail Goncharov, founder of the Teremok network. Finding a restaurant space is now easier, but relevant offers in terms of traffic and cost are still not enough, adds Mr. Winter.

You should not expect that the positive dynamics of the opening of new establishments will be observed until the end of this year, Anton Yakovlev warns. He predicts a slowdown in the catering market by early autumn. Evgenia Makhneva, the founder of Management Factory, also expects that the positive dynamics of the opening will be observed only until September 2023.

Daria Andrianova