The big get bigger

THe 1994 survey has this year included an analysis of the user base of the food and beverage control systems suppliers in market segments.

As with point of sale systems, the volume market for F&B control is in pubs which account for more than 80% of the installed systems. Hotels account for a mere 4%.

Crown Management and Checkout continue to lead the market, with Checkout being linked to its own EPoS system, while Crown prefers to link to Omron.

The past year has been good for both companies. Checkout has the tiniest advantage with 1,236 systems installed, just four more than Crown.

No other supplier even reaches 20% of these numbers, so it must be seen as a case of the big getting bigger with a plethora of smaller suppliers attempting to get a foothold in the market.

More than half the suppliers who took part in the survey had fewer than 35 systems and could not even claim a 1% market share.

Major hotel groups do not currently have F&B control high on their priority list. It is now widely realised that control and maximising of business mix (yield management) and payroll control are areas in which the stakes are much higher and the capacity of managers to take short-term, effective steps is greater.

Pub managers, however, have very different views, almost certainly because the cost of beverage (and food) may account for as much as 40-45% of total turnover, whereas in hotels it is usually less than 20%.

There will be few changes at the top, as both Crown and Checkout have a long record of independence and lack of acquisitive intent. o