A decline in traffic to U.S. restaurants – in part thanks to lower consumer confidence – impacted foodservice distributor Sysco’s fiscal third quarter sales and profits.
California wildfires and “significantly adverse weather” also had a negative impact on foot traffic to restaurants, Sysco Chair of the Board and CEO Kevin Hourican said.
As a result, the Houston, Texas, U.S.A.-based company’s U.S. Foodservice total case volume declined 2 percent, while sales value rose 0.7 percent to USD 13.8 billion (EUR 12 billion).
Globally Sysco’s sales value increased 1.1 percent, but net earnings dropped 5.6 percent to USD 401 million (EUR 354 million) and gross profit declined 0.8 percent to USD 3.6 billion (EUR 3.2 billion).
Sysco’s lower earnings reflect Americans’ ongoing concerns about food inflation and other increased expenses, as well as concerns about tariffs raising the cost of foods and other goods in the future.
Traffic to many restaurants has plunged this year, including at seafood-focused eateries such as Red Lobster, where customer visits fell 31 percent in January, 35 percent in February, and 24 percent in March, according to location tracking firm Placer.ai...
