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1. Great source of reference materials for analysis.
2. Good description of key economic indicators.
3. A Focused analysis on BreadTalk Business.
4. You can proceed to consolidate the key points from micro and macro analysis and prepare your PowerPoint Slides.

Keep up with the good job.
Cheers!

Josh

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Background Information on BreadTalk- How did the pandemic affect BreadTalk Group in General 

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Background Information on BreadTalk- How did the pandemic affect BreadTalk Group in General 

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1. BreadTalk Group's General Price
In general, the food prices of the restaurants and shops under the BreadTalk group have not changed. Shops like BreadTalk, FoodRepublic and Din Tai Fung have not experienced many price changes despite the pandemic causing the food prices in Singapore to rise by 2.1%. This is because of the large increase in the price of non-cooked food products. However, the prices of prepared meals have remained relatively the same throughout the pandemic. Since customers eat at these shops and restaurants because of the food and not because of the price, the demand is price inelastic. Therefore, even if there is an increase in the price of the food, regular customers of the shops under the BraedTalk group will still buy from them as the price does not affect their decision of buying from that shop.

Reference:
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-overall-inflation-turns-negative-for-1st-time-since-late-2016-amid-covid

2. How the Group has adapted to the effects of the pandemic

The BreadTalk Group has been greatly affected by the pandemic, restaurants under the Group (Song Fa and Din Tai Feng) were forced to close during the month-long circuit breaker. Not only restaurants but their food courts (FoodRepublic and FoodJunction) were also closed. This caused the Group to lose a lot of money.

In Q4 of 2020, The Group reported a net loss of $8.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2019/20. This resulted in them deciding to delist themselves from SGX with the completion of its compulsory acquisition by offeror BTG Holding. BreadTalk's delisting is expected to give it greater flexibility as it tackles the coronavirus pandemic and the impact Covid-19 has had on its F&B operations, observers said. Delisting will allow BreadTalk to adapt quicker to the challenges (amid the pandemic) and possibly diversify into other opportunities beyond F&B, as it consolidates its business portfolio.

The Group has also turned to set up their online portfolio so that they can continue to attract customers to purchase their products. Their restaurant foods can be purchased on online apps like FoodPanda and GrabFood, ToastBox can also be found on those apps. This helps them to continue making revenue amidst this pandemic.

References:
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/breadtalk-may-benefit-from-delisting-with-freer-hand-to-adapt
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/breadtalk-founder-plans-sgx-delisting-after-q4-losses

3. Did the shortage of manpower affect the BreadTalk Group

BreadTalk Group in general has not been affected much by the outbreak of the COVID 19 pandemic and BreadTalk Group does not face any unemployment issues that will result in a huge loss for the company during the pandemic outbreak. This is because BreadTalk uses many different platforms and online channels to update and provide their customers with the latest news and products.

BreadTalk Group is a company that owns brands like Toast Box, Food Republic and Charlie Tea. BreadTalk is also a company that partners with brands like Din Tai Fung. Therefore, Breadtalk is not just a bakery store and a company that mainly sells and provides baked goods like bread, but also provides different products with different tastes and needs that suit and cater to their consumer's needs.

BreadTalk Group in general had some changes to their manpower arrangement during the pandemic outbreak. BreadTalk started to reduce the number of employees working per day and ensured that employees do not work overtime due to the fewer customers they will need to serve and the shortening of operating working hours. Moreover, the company have started to reduce their staff salaries depend on their staff ranking position. For example, senior management executives are taking a pay cut of between 30% and 50%, while middle-management executives had their pay cut by 10% to 15% from March till June 2020. By the cut of employees salaries temporarily between 10% to 50% is part of the company cost-saving exercise. BreadTalk group have placed more than 3,800 employees in Singapore on varying degrees of no-pay leave to save jobs and keep the company afloat.

During the pandemic outbreak in the year 2020, 25% of BreadTalk Group outlets have been temporarily closed due to reasons such as mall closures, which has made it a challenge to manage manpower costs.

Moreover, after the release of the phases, the company will have to tighten their alter in both their employees and consumers coming into the store for dine-in. BreadTalk have to ensure that both their employees and consumers uphold the government measurements of keeping 1meter distancing and always wear their masks when not consuming.

References:
https://www.breadtalk.com/en/
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/breadtalk-cuts-staff-salaries-amid-coronavirus-outbreak
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/more-cost-cutting-no-pay-leave-breadtalk-group-employees-covid-19-crisis-and-control
https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/BTG_4Q2019_Results.ashx?App=Announcement&FileID=597562

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In competition with neighborhood bakeries, BreadTalk places their bakeries near neighborhoods and mall so that it is very easily accessible. This will help bring more customers as BreadTalk has already established a name for themselves and is the most popular bakery throughout Singapore so making their bakeries very accessible will give them the advantage to attract more customers.

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Effects on the Labour in the Food and Service Industry (Positive)

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Effects on the Labour in the Food and Service Industry (Positive)

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The pandemic has caused the whole world to change. It has made people lose their jobs/ get a pay cut. However, through the months, the food industry has adapted through the use of online platforms. Food delivery apps have helped preserve some restaurants and created jobs for people. Due to being able to sell their food online, restaurants are able to get an income and are able to prevent possible closures and firing their staff which increases the number of jobs available in the market for people who lose their jobs or are finding part-time jobs to earn extra income from their pay cuts.

After the lockdown, when phrases 3 occur, many F&B businesses are reopening in a sense where a small certain number of customers are allowed to consume in-store. This given a platform where employees are being called back to work but with restrictions to obey like being unable to work over working hours and have to always apply the government measurements of keeping 1meter apart and keeping their mask on.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/food-delivery-retail-e-commerce-booster-packages-covid-19-14820560

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Differentiation of BreadTalk from other bakeries/pastries

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Differentiation of BreadTalk from other bakeries/pastries

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The BreadTalk Group does not only have bakeries they also have restaurants and hawker centres. This helps to spread their scope and differentiate their products from other competitiors.

For the BreadTalk bakeries, they have seasonal items like yam bread, custard croissants which helps to attract consumers to purchase from them, and as a result will bring in more customers to their bakeries as compared to other bakeries.

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One compliment in terms with working as a group is that everyone contributed some ideas to the project. One area to improve as a group is that we should add more ideas so that it is easier for us in the next few steps of the project.
One interesting fact i learnt is even though BreadTalk is a large company with many outlets, it is currently suffering a loss because people are switching to other alternatives to BreadTalk.

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Effects on the Market Situation in the Food and Service Industry (2)

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Effects on the Market Situation in the Food and Service Industry (2)

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Sales of food & beverage services increased 73.4% in April 2021 on a year-on-year basis, compared to the 8.4% increase in March 2021. The significant growth in food & beverage sales was attributed to the low base in April 2020 during the Circuit Breaker period, when dining-in at food & beverage establishments was not allowed. Food & beverage sales, however, continued to be below pre-COVID levels. On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales of food & beverage services declined 1.3% in April 2021 over the previous month. The total sales value of food & beverage services in April 2021 was estimated at $693 million. Of these, online food & beverage sales made up an estimated 24.4%, compared to the 23.9% recorded in March 2021.

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Effects on the Labour in the Food and Service Industry (Negative)

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Effects on the Labour in the Food and Service Industry (Negative)

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Due to the ongoing pandemic, COVID-19, many Food and Beverage (F&B) businesses are not able to find people in Singapore to take up jobs in the F&B sector.

Many F&B businesses will have to cut down their manpower a day to keep up the government restriction measurement of not having too many workers and customers in the stall at once and all workers together with customers will have to keep up the regulation of keeping 1meter distancing and keeping their mask on when not consuming. As a result, companies in the F&B business sector have forced a stop for their employees to work overtime during their working day.

Moreover, during the lockdown session where residents are encouraged to work from home, F&B businesses have reduced the number of employees working as they are fewer customers they will need to serve. Moreover, in order for the F&B business to stay on track with their earning profit, they will have to work and collaborate with other food delivery supply companies like Food Panda and Grab Food.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/food-beverage-jobs-no-takers-1000-jobs-restaurant-association-13441340

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Effects on the Market Situation in the Food and Service Industry (1)

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Effects on the Market Situation in the Food and Service Industry (1)

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Due to Covid-19, many restaurants in Singapore has been forced to shut down as customers are unable to dine in. Since some restaurants are more known for dining in, they might be unable to keep their businesses afloat with the dine-in restrictions put in place. However, there are also some restaurants that are trying to get into the food delivery apps so that they don't have to close their shops.

https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/some-eateries-shut-for-good-others-adapt-to-survive

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Effects on the General Price Trends in the Food and Service Industry 

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Effects on the General Price Trends in the Food and Service Industry 

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(whether there is price inflation on the price of goods in the food industry)

Singaporeans' income/purchasing power has decreased due to Covid-19. As many people might have lost their jobs in the midst of the pandemic, they might not be able to afford expensive meals everyday. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an inflation in the price of food. Food prices have increased by about 1.0% as of May 2021. Prices of restaurant food, fast-food, hawker food and catered food have all increased by a small percentage.

https://tradingeconomics.com/singapore/food-inflation

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Overview Quarterly Retrenchments By Different Sector

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Overview Quarterly Retrenchments By Different Sector

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Safety Measures as of 24 June 2021 (Additional Information)

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Safety Measures as of 24 June 2021 (Additional Information)

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The updated measures to control the spread of COVID-19 in place by the government.

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ramping the number is vaccinations doses per day
In hopes of helping the country return to normalcy and economic growth.

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SINGAPORE - Singapore will accelerate its national vaccination programme from Saturday (June 26) and administer up to 80,000 vaccine doses daily, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Thursday.

About 47,000 doses are given out daily today. The ramp up is due to the delivery of vaccine supplies being brought forward. The Ministry of Health (MOH) expects to add another 500,000 new slots in the next few days for people making their first dose appointments from now till mid-July.

If supplies continue to arrive as planned, most of the population who are willing to take the vaccine will have received their first dose by the second half of July, said Mr Ong.

Once this target has been met, MOH will then review the current interval between doses of six to eight weeks and reduce it to four weeks, he added at a virtual press conference.

The authorities had lengthened the interval between doses to prioritise giving out the first dose and accord some protection to as many in the population as possible.

"Once you achieve that, it will not make sense to have people continue to wait six to eight weeks until August or beyond for the second doses," said Mr Ong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force on Covid-19.

He said this shortening of the interval means people will, at some point, be invited to rebook and select an earlier date to get a second dose.

This will allow more to complete their vaccination with two doses and receive maximum protection sooner, said MOH. More details will be announced when ready.

To allow more time for Singapore citizens aged 12 to 39 to make their vaccination appointments, the two-week priority window for this group will be extended by one week, till July 1.

Those who have vaccination appointments for their first dose in mid to end-July are also encouraged to bring forward their appointments so that they can protect themselves and their loved ones sooner, said MOH.

Those who are eligible for the jab and have registered for vaccination, but have not yet received a booking link can expect to receive an SMS with a personalised booking link to make an appointment within the next week.

From July 2, the vaccination programme will be extended to the rest of the population, including all permanent residents and long-term pass holders in Singapore aged 12 to 39.

They can register interest for vaccination and will be progressively invited to book their vaccination appointments from July 2 via SMS, with a personalised booking link sent to their mobile number.

As at June 23, more than three million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, which translates to 53 per cent of the local population having at least one dose, said Mr Ong.

About 36 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated with two doses, he added.

While some 75 per cent of seniors aged 60 and above have received at least one dose or have booked an appointment for vaccination, this is not enough, Mr Ong said, urging more seniors to get their jabs to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

For other age groups, 77 per cent of those aged 45 to 59 have received at least one dose of the vaccine or booked appointments. The figure is 70 per cent for those aged 40 to 44 and 39 per cent for those aged 12 to 39.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had earlier announced in May that Singapore's target is to get two-thirds of the population vaccinated with at least the first dose by early July, with everyone who is eligible for vaccinations to get their first dose by National Day.

With Singapore's accelerated vaccination programme, Mr Ong said this target can be raised to have two-thirds of the population fully vaccinated around National Day.

"This is an ambitious target, but achievable," the minister said, even as he stressed it is an interim milestone as Singapore will need to get more people fully vaccinated beyond two-thirds of the population.

As Singapore vaccinates more people and at a faster pace, the task force will be drawing up a road map to transit the country towards a future where Covid-19 is endemic, he added.

"But we are very mindful - this is a shape-shifting enemy, and it will continue to throw us surprises and curveballs... But we are determined to see through this endgame."
Read next: Singapore's Covid-19 task force ministers share the country's road map for the new normal in SPH exclusive.

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Singapore to ramp up Covid-19 vaccination, daily doses given to be nearly doubled to 80,000

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SINGAPORE - Singapore will accelerate its national vaccination programme from Saturday (June 26) and administer up to 80,000 vaccine doses daily, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Thursday. About 47,000 doses are given out daily today. The ramp up is due to the delivery of vaccine supplies being brought forward.

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Ramping up covid-19 vaccinations (economic situation in 2021)

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Ramping up covid-19 vaccinations (economic situation in 2021)

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Singapore will accelerate its national vaccination programme from Saturday (June 26) and administer up to 80,000 vaccine doses daily, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Thursday. About 47,000 doses are given out daily today. The ramp-up is due to the delivery of vaccine supplies being brought forward. The Ministry of Health (MOH) expects to add another 500,000 new slots in the next few days for people making their first dose appointments from now till mid-July. If supplies continue to arrive as planned, most of the population who are willing to take the vaccine will have received their first dose by the second half of July, said Mr Ong.

By ramping up the number of vaccination administered per day, it will help the government quickly wrap up their vaccination programme so that they can observe the number of cases and the spread of the virus, this will allow them to take proper steps to move forward and help the nation get through this pandemic. Increasing the number of injections administered per day will also help everyone get their first dose so that they have a form of protection against the virus. In the end, the Governments' mission is to help the economy and the citizens to recover from this pandemic and emerge stronger.

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There are still worries throughout the country as the virus is continuing to evolve so it is still unclear the total damage it can bring to the economy. As of 24 June 2021, there is an increase in the number of community cases. The new cluster of cases has been found around Bukit Merah View. Two new clusters were identified at 119 Bukit Merah View and 121 Bukit Merah View. But the government is optimistic that it will work out in their favor as long as we as a country work together and follow the measures the government has placed. The economy will continue to heal from the effects of the pandemic.

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With all the measures the government is taking in order to protect the country from the virus and to bring Singapore a little closer to pre-pandemic normalcy. To sum up what I have stated so far, the government is doing their most to help the economy recover from the effects. It has shown success as the GDP shrank 3.8 per cent in Q4 of 2020, an improvement from the 5.6 per cent contraction seen in the previous quarter. A further good indication is that the first-quarter economic growth of 2021 is 1.3% which is higher than what economists predicted which shows that Singapore's economy is slowly healing from the effects of the pandemic. This allows the ease but strict control of measures allowed for dine-in of max 2 to happen.

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Vaccination programme to fully vaccine everyone in Singapore.

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Vaccination programme to fully vaccine everyone in Singapore.

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In hopes of helping the country return to normalcy and economic growth.

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SINGAPORE - Singapore will have the capacity and capability to get its population vaccinated by the third quarter of this year, said Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary.

However, it might take up to the end of the year to do so, depending on a combination of factors.

These factors include vaccine supply, as well as the willingness of Singaporeans and long-term residents to get vaccinated, Dr Janil said.

"Our ability to deliver on this is present, and will be present," he said.

"But we hope that the communications, outreach and engagement necessary in order to make this happen is something that members of this House will assist with."

He was responding to Workers' Party chairman Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC), who had asked for clarification on when the nationwide Covid-19 vaccine roll-out will be completed.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in December that the country will have enough vaccines for everyone in Singapore by the third quarter of this year, if all goes according to plan.

Dr Janil replied that although this still holds true, there may be members of the public who require further explanation on why getting vaccinated is the right thing to do, or require further medical screening.

"This process will take some time," he said.

Mr Alex Yam (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC) asked how the European Union's decision to tighten exports of vaccines manufactured in the region would affect Singapore's vaccination roll-out.

He also asked if Singapore will, at some point, consider producing vaccines here to avoid these issues.

Dr Janil said there are no plans to change Singapore's vaccine roll-out targets, adding that the specifics of its arrangements are confidential.

On Singapore's plans for vaccine production, he said: "It's indeed something that I'm sure will be explored but ultimately, it comes down to the licensure of the specific vaccine that's demonstrated to be safe and effective for our population."

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Singapore will have capacity to get population vaccinated against Covid-19 by Q3 2021, but may take longer to do so

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SINGAPORE - Singapore will have the capacity and capability to get its population vaccinated by the third quarter of this year, said Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary. However, it might take up to the end of the year to do so, depending on a combination of factors.

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Economic Performance in the 1st Quarter of 2021

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Economic Performance in the 1st Quarter of 2021

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F&B Sector evolution

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GDP shrinkage

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Unemployment

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(Updated: )
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SINGAPORE: The unemployment rate for Singapore residents and citizens continued to dip in April, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Thursday (Jun 3).

"The unemployment situation continued to improve in April 2021," MOM said in its April report on unemployment in Singapore.

The unemployment rate for citizens fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.1 per cent, while the rate for Singapore residents fell from 4 per cent to 3.9 per cent.

Overall, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.9 per cent.

In total, 92,100 residents were unemployed in April, including 82,800 citizens, said the report. Residents refer to Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

Singapore's unemployment rate last peaked in September 2020 and has remained flat or declined from month to month since then.

Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said in a Facebook post on Thursday that he is mindful that the unemployment rate remains "elevated".

"We will continue to monitor our unemployment rates closely, especially as businesses in certain sectors are again faced with challenges with the recent tightening of measures in Phase 2 (Heightened Alert)," he said.

MOM said on Apr 24 that advance estimates showed total employment grew in the first quarter of 2021 for first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

MOM has been releasing monthly unemployment figures since July 2020. Previously, the rates were published quarterly.

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Unemployment rates for Singapore citizens, residents dip in April

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(Updated: ) Share this content SINGAPORE: The unemployment rate for Singapore residents and citizens continued to dip in April, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Thursday (Jun 3). "The unemployment situation continued to improve in April 2021," MOM said in its April report on unemployment in Singapore.

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GDP Growth in the different sectors in Singapore in 2020

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GDP Growth in the different sectors in Singapore in 2020

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In 2020, the manufacturing sector in Singapore posted the largest growth rate out of all economic sectors in the country, at 7.3 percent. Overall, Singapore's GDP contracted by 5.4 percent in that year.

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Singapore: GDP growth by industry 2020 | Statista

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In 2020, the manufacturing sector in Singapore posted the largest growth rate out of all economic sectors in the country, at 7.3 percent. Overall, Singapore's GDP contracted by 5.4 percent in that year.

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Ministry of Trade and Industry GDP 2020 and the predictions of the economic growth for 2021

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Singapore's economy

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SINGAPORE - Singapore's economy grew at its fastest pace in more than a year in the first quarter of 2021, helped by a stronger-than-expected manufacturing sector, official data showed Tuesday.

But the government warned of "heightened uncertainties" arising from the Covid-19 pandemic in the months ahead while maintaining its growth forecast for Singapore at 4% to 6% for 2021.

The Southeast Asian economy expanded by 1.3% in the quarter ended March compared with a year ago, the ministry of trade and industry said in an economic update.

That's the highest growth rate in Singapore since the fourth quarter of 2019 and an improvement from official advance estimates of a 0.2% expansion. The latest GDP print also exceeded the 0.9% year-on-year growth projected by analysts in a Reuters poll.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the Singapore economy grew 3.1% - faster than the government's earlier estimates of 2%.

Here's how the different sectors performed in the first three months of 2021:

Manufacturing expanded by 10.7% from a year ago, lifted by stronger output in the electronics, precision engineering and chemicals clusters.

Construction contracted by 22.7% year on year, weighed down by declines in both public and private sector projects.

Services-producing industries shrank a slight 0.5% from a year ago - improving from the 4.7% contraction in the previous quarter.

Singapore has been battling a rise in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, which led the government to impose stricter measures for about a month starting May 15. A planned air travel bubble with Hong Kong was also postponed.

The trade and industry ministry said the tightening of domestic restrictions and border controls is a "setback" to certain segments of the economy.

Song Seng Wun, an economist at Malaysian bank CIMB Private Banking, said Singapore's economic trajectory depends to a large extent on what happens with the Covid-19 outbreaks around the region and the global economic recovery.

That's because Singapore has a "pretty small" domestic market, while exports account for up to three times the size of the economy, Song told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" after the latest GDP data release. Singapore's exports-to-GDP ratio of over 170% is one of the highest globally, World Bank data showed.

"Global demand for Singapore's key exports remain fairly strong so the export-oriented industries, goods in particular, (are) certainly lifting Singapore's growth," said Song.

Overall, Singapore economy should still recover this year "in tandem with the global economic rebound and further progress in the domestic vaccination programme," said the trade and industry ministry. It added that it will review its economic forecast in August.

As of Monday, the country has reported more than 61,800 Covid cases and 32 deaths since the start of 2020, data by the health ministry showed. Close to 2 million people in Singapore - or around one-third of population - have received at least one dose of the coronavirus virus as of May 17, official data showed.

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Singapore's economy grows at its fastest pace in more than a year

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SINGAPORE - Singapore's economy grew at its fastest pace in more than a year in the first quarter of 2021, helped by a stronger-than-expected manufacturing sector, official data showed Tuesday. But the government warned of "heightened uncertainties" arising from the Covid-19 pandemic in the months ahead while maintaining its growth forecast for Singapore at 4% to 6% for 2021.

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1. Economic Situation in Singapore-Real GDP, Economic Growth/ Decline, Vaccination Programme, Heightened Measures.

There is a positive forecast in the GDP of Singapore in 2021. In 2020, there was a 5.4% contraction in GDP due to the ongoing and uncertain effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic. However, with the continuous help of the government, the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced that they are expecting a 4%-6% increase in GDP in 2021.

Even though Covid-19 has greatly affected Singapore's economy, the government has been trying their best to control the situation in order to help the country return to some sort of pre-pandemic normalcy. This includes closely monitoring the situation, improving trace together in order to quickly locate any covid-19 positive citizens so that they are able to isolate them and get the neighborhood checked. The government is also doing their best to encourage everyone to get vaccinated so that there is somewhat of protection against the virus, in order for everyone to get vaccinated, the government has done their best by importing enough vaccines so that everyone in the country will be fully vaccinated by the 3rd quarter of 2021.

The Singapore economy grew at a much faster pace in the first quarter of 2021. The final estimate for first-quarter growth came at 1.3 per cent on a yearly basis, compared with an earlier gross domestic product (GDP) estimate of a 0.2 per cent rise and the 2.4 per cent contraction recorded in the previous quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Tuesday (May 25).

With the creation of vaccination around the world (Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech). It will allow the economy to return to some sense of normalcy as the vaccinations will give citizens some sort of protection against the virus. This will allow for things to slowly go back to pre-pandemic days and will help the economy to grow and heal from the effects of the virus. Even though the vaccinations are not a full-proof solution yet as this is the first serious outbreak of the virus since the Sars outbreak in 2003, it will still help in controlling the spread of the virus, it will also give the government a good indication of what the next steps will be in protecting the country from the virus.

2. Trends in Singapore- How some sectors have improved/ declined

Covid-19 has impacted the tourism sector significantly. Due to the border restrictions that many countries have placed in order to prevent the virus from spreading further, Singapore's tourism sector has been affected. As Singapore is a famous and hot spot for tourists due to all the tourist attractions, Singapore relies heavily on tourists to boost the growth of the economy. Since Singapore went on a Circuit Breaker in 2020 and had closed its borders to most of the countries, many people were unable to enter Singapore, which resulted in a loss for the tourism sector.

One industry that has seen a positive impact on its profits is the food delivery business. Food delivery businesses such as Grab, Deliveroo and Foodpanda have seen an increase in orders due to the pandemic. Since people are afraid that they might get the virus if they go out, everyone orders food online via these apps. This then increased the demand for food delivery as restaurants were unable to accommodate customers to dine-in due to the restrictions implemented by the government. Some businesses have also seen an increase in signups for riders as people might have lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Another sector that has been impacted greatly was the aviation sector. Since Singapore had closed its border to other countries, not many people were flying in and out of Singapore. This resulted in a loss for a local airline company, Singapore Airlines(SIA). As Singapore Airlines flies to many destinations, their profits were severely hampered due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Their total revenue and operating profits also decreased significantly due to the decreasing number of passengers taking the flights.

3. Market Situation in Singapore- Inflation, Adaptations, Revenues, Growth.

Covid-19 has had a huge effect on the foodservice industry. The lockdown measures and the dine-in restrictions led to a year-on-year loss of almost 30% at the end of the third quarter in 2020. Even with the initial fallout, the F&B sector has had a pick up in sales with the reopening of dine-in areas in Phase 3 which is signalling the return to pre-pandemic normalcy as Singapore segued away from circuit breaker measures into the safe return of dining-in. Every restaurant is allowed to open up and take groups of max 5 for their dine-in service. Our focus group the BreadTalk group is also allowed to open up their restaurants (Song Fa, Din Tai Feng, Toast Box) for a max of 5 people dining in. The Group will also be able to open up their food courts that can be found throughout Singapore (FoodRepublic and FoodJunction).

As of 24 June 2021, there is an increase in community cases in Singapore. This has led the government to had closure which resulted in restaurants closing from 23 May to 14 June. With the heightened alert, starting from 21 June the government has allowed for 2 people max dine-in experience.

As the food industry continues to adapt and heal from the effects of Covid-19, the market situation is continuing to improve as restaurants have adapted to online sales when the country is on heightened alert, this has greatly helped the restaurants as they are still earning their revenue without having the dine-in experience.

In 2020, the price of food in Singapore increased by 1.9% and has increased by 49.6% since 2000. Meat and vegetable prices have also increased by 5.5% and 5.0% respectively.  This is likely due to the increase in demand for such products because of Covid-19 which shows the inflation of the price of food in the past year.

4. Labor Market Situation- Unemployment in certain sectors, Increase in jobs for certain sectors.

According to the Ministry of Manpower, the rate of unemployment in Singapore continues to improve as of April 2021. There is a dip in the unemployment rate for citizens from 4.1% to 4.0%. The report posted by MOM stated that there was a total of 92,100 residents were unemployed in April 2021, including 82,800 citizens, residents refer to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. Overall, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.9%.

Through the Labour Force and Labour Market Survey conducted, there are certain service industries that are continually expanding and increasing their manpower. Sevice industry sector like Information & Communications and Financial Services. However, there is a decline in manpower for Construction sectors as there is lesser non-resident or foreigners in Singapore to continue with their work as a construction worker during the pandemic.

Companies have been making adjustments to their manpower. Companies have tried to place their staff on no-pay leave, reduce their working hours and even ask their staff to take their annual leaves during the lockdown situation in Singapore. Moreover, some staff working in F&B are not allowed to work overtime.

Companies have been reducing the number of workers working for a day due to the implementation of safe distancing measurements. Staff who are working, either in the frontline or backline (like barkers) will have to wear and keep their mask on at all times.

Companies together with the government are still facing the risk of the lack of a major reopening of international borders and the tapering off of government support schemes.

Singapore has provided different support schemes like property tax deferment and enterprise financing schemes to cater to different business owners during the outbreak of the pandemic.

References:
https://stats.mom.gov.sg/iMAS_PdfLibrary/mrsd-LMAR-Q1-2021.pdf
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jobs/retrenchments-hit-smaller-proportion-of-workers-in-spore-but-more-than-doubled-last
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/labour-market-improves-more-hires-and-job-vacancies
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-food-delivery-platforms-spike-rider-signups--12651732
https://www.dollarsandsense.sg/heres-much-prices-everyday-goods-services-changed-past-20-years/
https://www.gov.sg/article/i-am-a-business-owner-self-employed-overcoming-the-crisis?gclid=CjwKCAjwieuGBhAsEiwA1Ly_nVCXdeJ29a3C7MMCSsRb-HOWDSJmtGEZ6E4p_j38xpQlT1Rd8AdSKxoCn3UQAvD_BwE
https://www.enterprisesg.gov.sg/covid-19/business-support/covid-19-business-support-measures

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                                                                                                       STAGE 2

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                                                                                                       STAGE 2

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MACROECONOMICS PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

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1. Choosing a company to talk about the industry is a novel idea.
2. Candid reflections and the need for improvements.

Areas for Improvement:
1. Another article that talks about the bakery and pastry industry in Singapore could be sourced and included.
2. While describing the industry in which Breadtalk is operating, you could have also discussed how they differentiate their bakery business from the rest of the industry.

Wishing you all the best for your stage two macro analysis.

Josh Nathan

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Topic: BreadTalk
Group 3
Group Members:
1) Aarathi
2) Jia Ling
3) Shanice
4) Si Man

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There are many neighborhood bakeries and other brand name bakery(FourLeaves, Cedele) that could offer products similar to BreadTalk at a cheaper price. This leads to consumers preferring to buy from those bakeries as they are more affordable, which affects the sales of BreadTalk, causing them to gain lesser profits. To counter the problem, BreadTalk will need to reduce the price of their items so that the demand for them would increase, which leads to a larger amount of profit.

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One compliment of working together as a group is that we are a pillar of support toward each other. Each of us has a different and unique perspective of ideas and we are willing to share and receive feedback and suggestion given back to us and at the same time, we can rely on each other for help when in doubts.
One area to improve working together as a group is that we should take more initiative to take up responsibility and burdens together than 1 or 2 persons carry the burdens alone.
One interesting fact I have gain is that through the research, I realized that there is a reward for "Brand of the Year" given out to the company that stands out through that year at the annual World Branding Awards by London. BreadTalk is Singapore first international bakery chain from Singapore to clinched 3 times of this award.

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                                                                                                       STAGE 1

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                                                                                                       STAGE 1

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MICROECONOMICS PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

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BreadTalk temporarily cut up to 10% - 50% of their workers salaries due to the the Coronavirus outbreak back in 2020 as part of the cost-saving exercise by BreadTalk.

Reference:
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/breadtalk-cuts-employee-salaries-amid-coronavirus-outbreak

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If consumers start to prefer other brands of bread, they would stop patronizing at BreadTalk and would go somewhere else since the products BreadTalk offer does not suit/please their taste buds anymore. This would lead to a loss in revenue and the quantity demanded would decrease which also leads to a decrease in supple demanded.

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Demand and/or supply determinants to BreadTalk

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Demand and/or supply determinants to BreadTalk

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Demand and/or supply of determinants related to BreadTalk can affect the total revenue made by the company. For example, since many Singaporeans' income got affected by Covid-19 , they do not have enough disposable income to spend as they received a pay cut and would rather save their money and turn to cheaper alternative to the products that they used to use. This is result in a decrease in revenue for the company.

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BreadTalk is in a monopolistic competition market structure as other neighbourhood small bakeries are direct competition to BreadTalk, there are also some big firms such as Four Leaves with brand loyalty that is an obstacle for BreadTalk that is also in the food and beverage industry. For the food and beverage industry that BreadTalk is in, it is relatively easy to enter this market and the products that are usually sold are similar, but they have their own speciality that attracts customers to patronize them.

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1. Market Structure of BreadTalk
- Monopolistic Competition. BreadTalk has a portion of the market power but not all as there are many sellers that sell the same products as BreadTalk.

2. Demand and/or supply determinants to BreadTalk
- Taste and preference can affect the things people buy, and if people start to prefer one product over another the quantity demanded for the preferred product will increase while the other product decrease. Therefore, if people start to prefer Cedele over BreadTalk, the quantity supply for the products in BreadTalk would decrease because no one is purchasing them, thus producers will produce lesser.

3. Price elasticity of demand for BreadTalk products

- When prices of the products increase, people will stop buying from BreadTalk and instead buy from other bakeries.
- Due to Covid-19, many people do not have enough disposable income to spend on BreadTalk if they increase their prices.

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Price elasticity of demand for BreadTalk products

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Price elasticity of demand for BreadTalk products

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Price elasticity for BreadTalk is elastic. This is because if prices of the products increase people will stop patronizing BreadTalk and move onto another pastry company because amidst the pandemic a lot of people do not have enough disposable income to spend on BreadTalk if they were to increase their prices , the quantity demanded for the products offered by BreadTalk would drastically decrease as products among bakery are relatively similar and can be found at other bakeries with cheaper prices not only BreadTalk, which would result in a decrease in revenue.

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Price elasticity of demand of the product/service and /or its determinant(s)

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Price elasticity of demand of the product/service and /or its determinant(s)

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It is to measure the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to a change in its own price. For BreadTalk, it is price elastic, if the price of their products decrease, the quantity demanded would also more than proportionally increase and vice versa. BreadTalk has a loyalty brand and many Singaporeans will buy their bread from BreadTalk, but if their price increase, Singaporeans would find a different brand to buy their bread from, for example FourLeaves.

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BreadTalk suffered a loss of revenue in 2020 due to Covid-19. The price elasticity decreased due to more people choosing to order their food online and they're not willing to pay extra for delivery charges and would rather not buy from BreadTalk. Thus resulting in a  loss of revenue for BreadTalk.

Reference: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/more-cost-cutting-no-pay-leave-breadtalk-group-employees-covid-19-crisis-and-control

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one compliment for our team is that we got the work that we need to do done as fast as possible. Which is good as it can helps to speed up the process of the project. One area of improvement is that we could have discuss before we start our project as when we started, we did not know who were doing which part. This can be useful as we can help those who are stuck after we complete our own part.

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One compliment for our team is that all of us gave ideas and did their part of the project. One area for improvement is that we could all discuss together on who should take which part so that we will not be researching on the same things. This is so that we can speed up the process and work more efficiently to finish the project on time. One fact I learnt is that there are many well known brands under the BreadTalk group such as Toast Box.