Christmas sales at Revolution Bars dip as sector welcomes end of Omicron measures
Revolution Bar Group has posted its disappointing like-for-like sales over the Christmas trading period, when fresh Covid measures hindered pub bosses’ hopes.
Like-for-like sales sales for the six week period ending 1 January were down -23 per cent in comparison to the last Christmas before the pandemic struck.
Office parties were cancelled in waves as the government introduced work from home measures at the end of last year. However, Revolution Bars said many of these parties had been rescheduled for early this year.
Pre booked revenue, a metric for corporate Christmas parties, was down 39 per cent for the 6 week period to 1 January 2022 when compared to 2019/20.
However, the total number of bookings during the six week period was up +9 per cent, which Revolution said was thanks to younger punters looking to celebrate.
Rob Pitcher, CEO of Revolution Bars Group, praised the chain’s staff “in the face of the confusing government messaging and the disappointment of the wave of corporate booking cancellations it caused during December.”
He added: “The only comfort is that many of these parties have already been rebooked and it was pleasing to see the number of general guest bookings significantly up versus 2019 demonstrating that our young guest base remains as enthused and excited about our offering as we are.”
Pitcher welcomed news that plan B measures will expire on 26 January and said this would “actively help rebuild consumer confidence.”
“It is imperative that going forward there are no further restrictions as we all learn to live alongside Covid 19,” he added.