Chester's chews over increasing its prices 5-7%
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The minimum-wage hike next month has Chester's Food thinking about raising the prices at its quick-service restaurants by 5-7 per cent or Bt3-Bt5 per dish.
Vice president Suwat Songphatanayothin said yesterday that the new Bt300 daily minimum wage and Bt15,000 starting salary for recent undergraduates would directly hit the company’s production costs, so the price adjustment is reasonable.
Current prices start from Bt59 for a main dish and Bt29 for a snack.
However, the company will continue to invest despite higher costs. It plans to spend Bt110 million to open 22 outlets and Bt20 million to renovate some older units this year.
The company targets sales to grow 20 per cent to Bt1.7 billion from a total of 162 shops this year.
The rise in production costs will not come only from higher labour expenses but also other inputs, so the whole picture will be considered before making a final decision on pricing, Suwat said.
The company is budgeting Bt210 million for marketing campaigns and advertising to encourage customers to visit more often – from two times per month now to once a week.
As part of the company’s policy to launch eight menu items every quarter, including main dishes and snacks, it is promoting its new fish burger to add to the shrimp and chicken burgers already on the menu board.
