Jarden’s Carlos Cacho: Labour shortages, cost of living pressures continue to hit QSRs
Cacho will share his insights on the economic pressures faced by QSRs at the upcoming QSR Media OP Central Conference & Awards.
Jarden Group Chief Economist Carlos Cacho will discuss economic headwinds in the quick service restaurants (QSRs) business at the QSR Media OP Central Conference & Awards, which will happen on 11 October.
Cacho is currently working at Equity Research of Jarden in Australia, one of the largest independent investment banks. Before this, he served five years as an Australian Economist at UBS Australia and worked for five years at Colonial First State Global Asset Management.
For Cacho, QSRs must focus on how to mitigate economic pressures such as supply chain disruption, cost of living pressures, and labour shortages.
Check out Cacho’s thoughts in our quick Q&A below.
QSR Media: Various forms of cost pressures are hitting industries across the world, including the QSR/fast casual restaurant industry. From your perspective, how are companies coping/dealing with it?
It’s been a tough few years for QSR operators and hospitality more broadly between lockdowns, supply chain issues, and now labour shortages. From a macro perspective, firms appear to be dealing with these challenges relatively well, working to minimise disruptions caused by supply interruptions and substitute products where possible. However, more challenges are likely ahead so it’s important to continually focus on where we can do better.
What are some other economic pressures that you recommend QSR executives need to take a closer look at?
Aside from the supply chain, I think the two biggest challenges at the moment are labour shortages and cost of living pressures. Severe labour shortages are making it harder to maintain a consistent and engaged workforce and businesses need to be looking to do more with less and find where they can improve efficiencies across their business.
While a rebound in migration might help, given visa processing delays it will take some time to flow through. With the highest inflation in 30 years and rising rates, cost of living pressures is front of mind for most households, which means value for money is likely to become an increasing focus for customers.
What can we expect from your session at this year's QSR Media Conference & Awards?
I’ll be running through the latest economic data and what it means for the year ahead, with a focus on inflation, cost pressures, and the labour market outlook.
