There are many articles from various mediums that reported on the dire F&B situation in Singapore, often highlighting the utilities, rent and cost of ingredients as key reasons.
The focus has been pretty much on cost. What about revenue?
In a recent podcast with Dr Koh Poh Poon (Senior minister of state) and Cornelius Tan (President of Chinatown Complex hawkers), they highlighted the importance of footfall.
You can view the podcast here.
Are we seeing a reduction in tourist?
From Singapore Tourism Board statistics, it is evident that tourist numbers are almost back to pre-covid levels. Fueled by mega concerts (Taylor Swift, Coldplay...), medical tourism and our spectacular casinos.
Chinese tourists dominate every other stats available.
Where have all the foreign diners gone then, since our visitor count appears healthy.
The answer: Places that are trending on Chinese social media (Weibo, 小红书). This phenomenon can be summed up when troves of Chinese nationals patronized Hassan Sunny's Nasi Padang shop for his football heroics. With some even donating to his establishments. Read here.
Many of our F&B establishments have not adapted quickly enough to capture the crowd. Are Facebook, Instagram and other English speaking platforms still helpful?
Observers have seen a significant drop of another key source of diners. Locals and expats. Keen readers of publications would have noted the rise of retrenchments. Statistics from Ministry of Manpower paints a picture of continued difficulty in certain sectors in 2023 and 2024. Whilst job availability % still outstrips unemployment, transferable skill and knowledge remains an issue. Hence the shouts to use skillsfuture credits for upgrade.
With many companies adopting a wait and see approach, consumers have been tightening their belts to weather any winter that is to come.
If you were to ask any Venture capitalist and private equity management in Singapore, the landscape of most Singapore companies. They would remark: " Winter is still here in 2024".
Compounding matters, the Singapore Dollar has been strengthening almost against every other currency.
Making it cheaper for locals to travel, but at the same time harder for others to spend in Singapore.
For F&B establishments to survive and thrive, they need to key an eye out for trends, adapt and pivot to low cost offerings if necessary.
Early indications show that 2025 is part deux of 2024 and probably worse.
For locals, reading this piece. Do support your favourite local establishments.
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