Hispanic business leaders are not finding the from the impact of higher energy costs materially affecting their businesses, according to a new survey by Information Strategies, Inc. (ISI).

In a survey of more than 200 Hispanic-owned companies a majority reported that they had an average increase of 14% in fuel costs over 2007.

Still, many respondents (39%) said they were taking measures to offset this spike by reducing energy use and trying to keep other costs lower.
Because many respondents had local or regional marketing footprints, they said the fuel cost hikes were not as great as they could be for others.

“Most of my business is local and people are not changing their buying habits as much as I feared,” one respondent said.  She owned two Hispanic-themed restaurants.

“What I have noticed is that my customers are staying closer to home,” she added. “Making it a little better for me in terms of traffic.”
However, many (37%) also reported that they were experiencing higher food and other raw material cost.

One New Jersey restaurant owner said his food costs had risen almost 20% in some categories.  “I am also being more careful with my delivery schedules and sometimes not taking orders because the cost of delivery with $4-a-gallon gas making it uneconomical.”

Competition from “big box” stores like Wal-Mart are still hurting local purveyors and retailers but several respondents noted that the number of trips their customers were making to those stores was down.

Said one local merchant in New York state, “we are getting more one, two item purchases that use to go to the local Wal-Mart.

Hispanic retailers who responded said they are also not experiencing a downturn in total sales to the degree they expected but are unsure if of the impact on profits through 2009.

Among the findings:

• 48%% of respondents reported significant jumps in fuel costs
• 74% said they had higher costs from suppliers
• 68% said they had paid a new delivery fuel surcharge in 2008
• 27% said they were raising prices to meet new costs

Few respondents said they were considering or were closing their establishments.

Your comments for a follow-up story are welcomed at editor@hispanicbizdigest.com.