Find out which businesses are booming in the face of adversity
Whether you turn on the TV or open the papers, doom and gloom is the flavour of the day. Banks are failing, businesses are facing bankruptcy and we’re all saving the pennies in any way we can. However, with fresh financial horror stories springing up left, right and centre, you may be surprised to hear that for some, the credit crunch has meant business is booming.
So, who exactly are the lucky ones and what’s their secret? We reveal who is bucking the downward spiralling trend….
Comfort food
Years of watching what we eat have been thrown out the window as the credit crunch has deepened and comfort food retailers are reaping the benefits.
McDonalds are struggling to cope with demand as an additional 2 million customers flock to the golden arches every month. As a result they’re one of the few retailers hiring at the moment with a reported 4,000 jobs being created around the country. Rival Burger King are also seeing an uplift as rising food, heating and energy costs make cooking at home more expensive and customers come through the doors looking for refuge.
Seafood authority, Seafish, have announced an increase in fish and chip sales for the first time in 5 years, with one in every hundred pounds spent on food in the UK said to go to a fish and chip shop. However, they're not the only ones; pasties and sausage rolls have also become lunch time favourites for penny pinched Brits with Greggs the bakers reporting a 7.7% increase in sales in the first six months of 2008 alone.
Confectioner Cadbury's are also benefiting from the crunch with sales up 10% as consumers look for a cheap and cheerful 'sweet treat'.
Cut price coffee
While Starbucks and the like may be struggling to get customers through the doors, coffee devotees certainly aren’t going with out. ‘Credit crunch coffee’ has become de rigour as people go home made for their caffeine fix.
High street coffee & tea supplier Whittards of Chelsea reported a 15% year-on-year increase in the sale of coffee beans, with coffee making equipment up 11% and milk frothers up 4% too.
Local tea parlours and cafes are also seeing a boom in business with some reporting a 30% rise in takings as consumers look to save the pennies by shunning global coffee chains in favour of a cheaper 'home made' alternative.
Cheap laughs
After staying in became the new going out and escapism become the nation's new favourite pastime the entertainment industry has reaped the rewards. Computer game sales have doubled from 8.8million to 17.3million in the past year and book sales have remained strong in the face of adversity.
2008 also saw cinema audiences at their highest levels since 1972, largely thanks to pick-me-up blockbuster 'Mamma Mia' and dramatic Batman sequel, 'The Dark Knight'.
Matchmaking websites are also reporting an increase in traffic as tight finances see singletons looking for love online as evenings out in bars, pubs and clubs become unaffordable. Dating site 'PlentyMoreFish.com has reported a four fold increase in new members already this year.
Baby boom
As seems to be the tradition in times of economic downturn, maternity retailers are seeing a hike in sales as couples looking to 'entertain' themselves at home.
Sales of pregnancy test kits and libido-boosting remedies are at a high according to British pharmacies and a resulting population boom has meant baby store Mothercare saw a massive 20.7% increase in sales in the first 3 months of 2008. Sales of maternity dresses at Mamas & Papas also climbed an astounding 46% this year.
The Aldi effect
As has been much publicised in the press, consumers are downgrading their weekly food shop with bargain retailers Lidl and Aldi doing particularly well out of the downturn.
Poundland, another 'cheap and cheerful' high street retailer that prices all of its goods at a £1 flat rate, has also seen business boom with profits to March up 122%. The retailer has also reported a 20% increase in customers from the 'wealthiest' social group.
'High end' supermarket delivery service Ocado is also doing well with a reported 20% increase in sales as customers who would have previously eaten out, stay at home and cook instead.
Frill-free holidays
Never has a holiday been more needed and budget travel companies are stepping in to fill the gap.
No-frills airline Ryanair is filling more and more seats as travellers, unwilling to give up their getaways altogether, put price over comfort when travelling. Business is doing so well the budget airline soon plan to launch a transatlantic flight service with seats costing as little as £10 a ticket.
Holiday camps have become another goldmine as Brits save by holidaying in the UK. Owners of famed UK holiday chain Butlins saw annual profits break the £100million barrier this year after a 20% rise in business.
Travel agents are also doing well as consumers continue to fork out for summer holidays, although weekends away have become an unnecessary luxury for many.
