Meanwhile, the company already has a strategy to circumvent price increases. During the first six months of the year, Alsea tried to smooth out increases in ingredients such as cheese, coffee and flourand has opted to raise inventories to avoid high prices.
“We buy cheese and we have until near the end of the first quarter of next year. We have stockpiled products such as cheese to have a stable price for the coming months and for brands to know the cost they are going to have and to be able to carry out their promotions in the future”, he said at a press conference.
Regarding the price increase, Alsea’s finance director announced that this strategy is determined by brand and geography, with minimal increases in products with greater competition. “What we try to do is that any increase that we do is with a lot of business and market intelligence,” he stressed.
“Going forward there is a lot of uncertainty due to the effect that could have on consumption. The most affected brands are those of casual food, in which there could be a lower number of consumer orders, but we are going to catch it in the brands in which we have better prices”, he added.
For now, even with the current situation, the company will not put a stop to expansion, and this year it will cut the bar between 110 or 1140 openingsof which 70% will be from brands starbucks Y Dominos Pizzawhich are the ones that have best recovered from the crisis in the restaurant sector due to COVID-19.
Alsea remains on the stock market
Alsea remains on the Stock Exchange. The restaurant operator does not plan to follow the path of Lala, Bachoco Y sanbornswho have chosen to leave the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) due to the low valuations of their shares in the capital market.
“It is a fact that we will continue to be listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange, and we are convinced that the share price today is very low,” he assured. “The multiple at which we are quoting is one of the lowest we have quoted in recent years, it is one more market issue, and one of uncertainty going forward, and we are sure that the market will compensate us in the short term.”