The government’s tightened restrictions to control a domestic COVID-19 outbreak have reduced sales in the local food and beverage industry by more than 60 percent, an iChef Co Ltd (資廚管理顧問) survey said yesterday.
The restaurant mobile point-of-sale information advisory firm’s survey said that since the level 3 alert went into effect on May 15, average weekly sales generated by the food and beverage industry from May 17 to June 6 were less than 40 percent of the weekly average in April.
The survey covered more than 7,000 restaurants and food stalls nationwide to show the effect the restrictions have had on the sector, iChef said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-te, Taipei Times
A restaurant or food vendor that generates NT$600,000 a month, needs to achieve at least 70 percent of its usual sales to make a profit, iChef cofounder Ken Chen (程開佑) said.
Therefore many outlets have incurred losses, Chen said, adding that with no sign of domestic infections abating anytime soon, the industry should plan for the worst so that it can survive protracted restrictions.
Under the level 3 alert, restaurants and food stalls can provide only takeout services, while on-site dining is not allowed. The alert, which has been extended twice, is to continue until June 28.
The average revenue posted by the restaurant and food industry in the week to May 23, the week to May 30 and last week fell to 38 percent, 37 percent and 39 percent of the weekly average in April respectively, iChef said.
At the same time, sales reported by food delivery services rose 40 percent from before the imposition of level 3 restrictions, while revenue generated by online orders directly operated by restaurants and food vendors soared more than 400 percent, the survey found.
In the first three weeks of the level 3 alert, takeout and food delivery accounted for more than 70 percent of the industry’s total sales.
In the first, second and third week of the level 3 alert, sales from food delivery services rose 36 percent, 48 percent and 41 percent respectively, Chen said.
That indicates that the service seems to have hit a peak, potentially due to the limited capacity of restaurant and food delivery operators, and consumer plans to rein in consumption in preparation for longer restrictions, he said.
‘FINGERPRINTING’: The ‘private relay’ feature hides a user’s IP address by rerouting the Web connection through a third party, making it impossible to infer their identity Apple Inc on Monday said a new “private relay” feature designed to obscure a user’s Web browsing behavior from Internet service providers and advertisers would not be available in China for regulatory reasons. The feature was one of a number of privacy protections Apple announced at its annual software developer conference on Monday, the latest in a years-long effort by the company to cut down on the tracking of its users by advertisers and other third parties. Apple’s decision to withhold the feature in China is the latest in a string of compromises the company has made on privacy in a country
SUPPLY CHAIN RESHUFFLE: The chipmaker was ‘cautious’ in not making commitments too early in building production in the US, citing ‘geopolitical factors,’ Nikkei Asia said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is considering building an advanced IC packaging plant in the US following a massive investment to set up a wafer fab in Arizona, Nikkei Asia reported. TSMC was considering the plant in response to “Washington’s desire to bring more of the tech supply chain onto home turf,” the report said. TSMC increasingly faces the need to expand in the US, which accounts for about 62 percent of its total sales, Nikkei Asia said, citing three sources who declined to be named. The potential US plant would be equipped with the latest 3D stacking technologies to arrange chips
Apple Inc has hired Ulrich Kranz, a former senior executive at BMW AG’s electric vehicle (EV) division, to help lead its own vehicle efforts, people familiar with the situation said. The tech giant hired Kranz in recent weeks, about a month after he stepped down as CEO of Canoo Inc, a developer of self-driving EVs. Before cofounding Canoo, Kranz was senior vice president of the group that developed the i3 and i8 cars at BMW, where he worked for 30 years. Kranz is one of Apple’s most significant automotive hires, a clear sign that the iPhone maker is determined to build a
PLEDGE: The contract chipmaker said it would issue at least NT$2.5 a share each quarter and no less than NT$10 per share for the whole of this year Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its proposed cash dividend for last quarter to NT$2.75 per share from NT$2.5 a year earlier, given the company’s increased earnings. That represents a payout ratio of about 51 percent based on its earnings per share of NT$5.39 in the first three months of this year. TSMC said that its board of directors approved the cash dividend distribution yesterday. The Hsinchu-based chipmaker reassured its investors that it intends to maintain a stable and sustainable dividend policy. The company said that it would issue at least NT$2.5 a share
RSS