Fast food restaurants in the Danish city of Aarhus are popular but are finding it increasingly tough to stay open for more than a couple of years, a recent report has revealed.
Despite the number of eateries selling sandwiches, pizza, sushi and other types of popular fast food remaining steady, more than two-thirds of the stores in the city today were not around in 2009.
Aarhus had 139 registered companies classed under the fast food restaurant bracket at the end of 2009 and 135 registered today. However, just 44 of the companies that were around five years ago are still in business now, meaning almost 100 have gone out of business.
Martin Stabell from credit and business information provider Bisnode Credit admitted that although he was aware fast food restaurants had a short lifespan, he was surprised by the results. He noted that the large competition in cities meant eateries often had to lower their prices which could run them out of business.
Furthermore, the credit industry classifies fast food joints in the category of businesses labelled “highest risk”, and Stabell revealed that half of these companies that they have provided loans to were in the red.
Meanwhile, Danmarks Resauranter Cafeer (DRC) chief Jacob Niebuhr admitted that he was also surprised by the figures, saying the situation in the hospitality industry was obviously very hard.