Henderson Retail, which now operates 96 company-owned stores grew significantly in 2019, acquiring six new stores during the year. An additional 11 new stores were opened under the EUROSPAR, SPAR and ViVO brands by independent retailers.

The figure demonstrates a total growth of 7.6% on the previous year, with like for like sales growth of 3.9% driven by a strong performance in grocery sales. The Group also noted footfall and basket spend in their network of stores showing strong growth also.

Ron Whitten, Chief Financial Officer at Henderson Group says these figures represent the end of a three year strategic plan which has brought benefits to every area of the business; “Since 2017, we have focused on delivering excellence in customer service, investing in our people, developing our information systems, maximising our operational efficiency, enhancing our fresh food ranges and improving our in-store proposition.”

Mr Whitten added that this strategy laid the foundations to deal with the uncertainties of Brexit and COVID-19 going into 2020; “We have had a challenging trading year in 2020, with our Foodservice company having to make redundancies due to the effect of the Pandemic, alongside a negative impact on fuel sales, as a result of fewer cars on the road due to lockdowns and restrictions. However, shoppers have appreciated the measures taken to provide a safe shopping experience which has been witnessed in increased basket spend and overall growth in retail grocery sales, offsetting the foodservice and fuel declines.”

“Continual Investment has always been a key strategy to the success of our business,” shares Patrick Doody, Sales and Marketing Director at Henderson Group. “Thanks to a growth in group sales in 2019 and 2020 to date, we have been able to negotiate this challenging and unprecedented year with confidence, to ensure our retailers and shoppers are safe and secure. We will have invested over £3m in reducing retail prices by the end of 2020, as well as spending over £1m in store safety measures such as directional signage, sanitiser stations, screens and door control measures.”

Mr Doody continued with a positive outlook on the challenges of this year; “We remain cautiously optimistic as we negotiate COVID and Brexit. It is absolutely imperative we avoid a ‘no-deal’ Brexit and the ensuing disruption to the supply chain and potential increase in food prices due to new tariffs. We will continue to invest with our local retailers and dedicated support to our local agri-food industry.”

The post Henderson Group Reports Incredible Growth first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The bank’s latest survey of businesses found that the partial lockdown during October contributed to further economic stagnation.

After recording a rise in output over the course of the third quarter, Ulster Bank’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) said that growth slowed again in October, largely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The lender’s chief economist Richard Ramsey said the Northern Ireland economy is now set for an annual decline of around 15 per cent, more severe than some other forecasts.

Danske Bank has reported that it expects to see Northern ireland’s economy slip by 11 per cent.

Brexit uncertainty

When juxtaposed with ongoing Brexit uncertainty, the winter looks bleak – with some supermarkets worried that supply of some items may be at stake.

Sainsbury’s has said the supply of some fish, dairy and meat products to Northern Ireland could be reduced from January because of Brexit.

“If we don’t get greater clarity on the Northern Irish situation then we will see a restriction on the ranges of products we can sell. This is not one or two products in stores I am talking about, it is a substantial number of products and quite key, everyday products too” Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s chief executive told The Guardian.

Supermarkets’ supply chains will be hit by Brexit whether there is a free trade deal or not between the EU and the UK because the Northern Ireland protocol kicks in at 11pm on 31 December, he said while indicating that the industry had met with government last week to seek clarity.

Sainsbury’s has 13 stores in Northern Ireland. Rivals Tesco has 55 stores here, and Asda has in the region of 20 superstores in NI.

The post Brexit uncertainty- will retailers be hit when NI economy contracts 15%? first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.