Toulouse. “I lost 68,000 € in the morning”, laments a caterer, after cascading cancellations
Through Guillaume Laurens
Published on
This umpteenth halt is likely to cause irreparable damage in the world of traitors and of event… The latest government announcements, Monday, December 6, 2021 in the evening, have had a devastating effect on their activity, testify the main actors of the sector for Toulouse news.
Patrice Falcou: “Since Monday evening, it’s been a real tsunami”
“It’s been ten days already, since the announcement of the Minister of Labor, that the cancellations began (on November 26, Élisabeth Borne indicated that it was” not recommended “to make end of year, editor’s note). But since Monday evening, it’s been a real tsunami ”, despair Patrice Falcou, caterer and organizer of receptions in the Pink City, “extremely worried” about the situation.
“At the beginning of the afternoon on Tuesday, this deputy treasurer of the Toulouse CCI is doing the accounts of his activity at“ Falcou Traiteur ”. And the bill will be very, very steep.
“It’s simple, I lost 68,000 euros in the morning. Before the Prime Minister’s speech, I was 150,000 euros canceled, I am 218,000 euros now”.
Thomas Fantini: “50,000 euros in reservations jumped this morning”
At his competitor Thomas Fantini, at the head of “Skandi & Pergo”, the story is the same: “On the catering business, I lost 200,000 euros in turnover since the minister’s remarks. So many confirmed reservations that were canceled in December alone. 50,000 euros on jumped this morning ”.
“We had already lost 50% of turnover before the announcements of Monday evening, we should fall to – 70% in December”, fears Patrice Falcou. ” On a a cascade of cancellations “, for his part, backs up Thomas Fantini. “We were at 60% cancellations this morning, against 49% last night, we will end the month at about 70%”.
“One of our biggest months of the year”
For traitors, these are two of the three best months of the year which goes up in smoke. Between end-of-year meals, Christmas trees, New Year’s evenings, greeting ceremonies and other receptions, December and January traditionally provide a large part of their activity, but they watch helplessly the events can be canceled one by one: “All the big cocktails cancel each other out”, summarizes Patrice Falcou. “The few that are supposed to be turned into sit-down meals or are subject to a massive drop in attendance. There are still a few small receptions, but they do not reach the breakeven point to keep our business going ”.
And the caterers fear the worst for the month of January, when the traditional greeting ceremonies and other corporate meals are already falling like houses of cards: “On all the events that we have on our program in January, we do not. has no confirmation, ”says Patrice Falcou. “The effect will be very long”, supports Thomas Fantini, “We no longer have any requests for the first trimester”.
“This leads to a lot of conflicts with our customers”
“The few people who were still hesitant decided to cancel today”, sighs Thomas Fantini, who receives like a boomerang the repercussions of each announcement of the executive.
“We have a lot of discussions with our clients, but this also leads to conflicts, especially for down payments, because the discourse is vague: it is not prohibited, but we advise you not to do so! However, insofar as there is no ban, there is no possible cancellation if we have already incurred costs, because if we have already bought the raw material, blocked teams, it is too late for us “.
Three large caterers have already closed
Patrice Falcou fears that this fifth wave will cause additional events in the activity of the sector, “when we have already lost three major event caterers in Toulouse, during the first waves. The others will become in great difficulty “, he sighs, fearing” a massacre “. While all that’s left is five caterers with more than ten employees in the Pink City, how many will they be at the end of the crisis?
Already 850 cancellations for caterers in France
Falcou Traiteur, which employs 40 people, is one of the main companies in the sector in the Pink City. Patrice Falcou is also a member of Traitors de France, the association which brings together major players throughout France, and according to him, the finding is unequivocal at the national level: “In ten days, at the level of the 37 member caterers of the association, on a total of 9 million euros of loss of turnover, and more than 850 cancellations “. Even before the effects of the latest government announcements …
Human damage
While it was already struggling to recruit, the sector also fears that this still turn away potential candidates, lacking prospects. “We were starting to make people want to work for us again: we really didn’t need that,” breathes Thomas Fantini. Patrice Falcou is also worried about the human damage induced by this umpteenth turn of the screw: “The event industry uses extras a lot, and they will not endure this new crisis. I spoke with many extra collaborators today, all tell me that if it lasts more than 15 days, they will change jobs. They fear that they will no longer have the supplements of Assédic (now Pôle emploi, editor’s note) ”.
Teleworking is also shaking up caterers and restaurants
And then there is the recourse to teleworking, recommended (but not imposed) by the government. If they are less affected than traditional catering, caterers are also afraid to feel the effects. “If people are at home, they don’t order,” says Patrice Falcou. The meal tray business of his group is likely to suffer.
“The impact is starting to happen on the restaurents “, testifies Thomas Fantini, who also manages many establishments in Toulouse (La Pergola, Bonbonne, Bistrot & Cie, Ernest, etc.). “A lot of group meals cancel each other out. It can go fast. And all this, while we were beginning to return to normal activity when faced with teleworking… ”
A cry for help last week
Already at the end of last week, these event and catering professionals, worried about this strong wave of cancellations in the middle of December, had launched a cry of alarm and a call for “immediate help to the government”, supported by the Medef de la Haute-Garonne. They invoked a return to the system put in place at the height of the Covid crisis, with a return of a Partial unemployment strongly accompanied and aid on fixed charges.
“We must help companies, already hammered Thomas Fantini, also vice-president of Medef 31.” Otherwise they will not have enough equity when it is necessary to start repaying loans guaranteed by the State next year ” .
“We are waiting for the measures of the State to face this crisis, hoping that it will be there for the entire event sector,” the boss of Falcou Traiteur concluded on Tuesday. “Yesterday evening it was at least pronounced the word ‘caterer’, it’s already a start ”, wants to believe Patrice Falcou.
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