9th June 2010

World Cup fever promises boost in trade for delivery outlets

The FIFA World Cup™, which kicks off in South Africa this Friday (11 June), is expected to boost sales through the UK’s catering sector by around £50m, assuming England gets through to the knockout stage of the tournament. The main beneficiaries of this additional spend will be home delivery outlets, takeaways, and pubs.

Peter Backman, managing director of market analyst Horizons, predicts that outlets such as Domino’s, Papa John’s and Pizza Hut as well as local Chinese and Indian restaurants offering home delivery, will see the biggest surge in sales during the World Cup as people stay at home to watch the tournament.

“Domino’s has already benefitted from the rejuvenation of Saturday night television with the huge popularity of X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. Likewise, the first England games – on Saturday 12 June against the US and against Algeria on Friday 18 June - will see a hike in delivery orders. If England wins the group then viewing figures will reach in excess of the 12 million achieved by the final of Britain’s Got Talent, so home delivery and fast food companies are likely to experience another massive demand in orders, particularly during their first knock-out match on 26 June.”

While pubs screening the games will see an inevitable increase in footfall, restaurants are likely to be quiet during the tournament. Piccolino owner, the Individual Restaurant Company, has already warned that the World Cup could have a negative impact on its business as some of the key England games take place during important trading periods. Brewer Carlsberg has a more optimistic outlook, estimating that the competition will add £125m in incremental profit to pubs, bars and restaurants, with an additional 21 million pints consumed.

“Pubs and restaurants going football crazy need to ensure they don’t alienate people who aren’t interested in football and that they make the most of any increase in footfall by up-selling on food or snacks. JD Wetherspoon has acknowledged the negative effect football can have by declaring some of its pubs ‘World Cup-free zones’,” added Backman.