Pandemic Takes Its Toll On A.F. Blakemore But Investment Plan Supporting Bounce Back

Namnews, 17th November 2021

A.F. Blakemore’s group sales for the year ending on 24 April 2021 fell by 5% to £1.0bn after its foodservice and wholesale customers across the travel, tourism, leisure and educational sectors were heavily disrupted by the pandemic.

However, pre-tax profits remained in line with the previous year at £6.1m due to cost controls and stable margin performance.

Chairman Peter Blakemore stressed that the company had made good progress during the period amid the “unprecedented challenges” caused by the Covid‑19 crisis.

“As a result of great customer service and an investment in pricing, we enjoyed good sales across our community-based SPAR convenience stores, with consumers shopping more locally, and whilst less frequently, with a higher basket spend,” he said.

“Our teams worked hard to maintain robust service levels both in-store and across our distribution network throughout the financial year.”

A.F. Blakemore has continued its investment programme over the last eighteen months to drive long term growth. This included the summer launch of a new 165,000 sq. ft. distribution depot in Bedford to provide additional supply-chain capacity for its customers in London and southeast England.

In its SPAR retail estate, the company has been implementing its store cluster strategy, which aims to deliver store propositions that better align to the needs of consumers, with a focus on food for now and food for later. The business has also expanded its home delivery service across company-owned stores and invested in new online ordering platforms for its commercial customers.

Despite market volatility, A.F. Blakemore revealed that its sales bounced back in the first quarter of its 2021/22 financial year and were 12% ahead as a result of retention of convenience store volumes, a recovery in Covid-impacted channels, and growth from its new customer accounts.

Blakemore said: “As a result of our strong sales performance and investment in our infrastructure, I believe that the business is well-positioned to navigate the current supply chain challenges and to deliver our growth aspirations.”

NAM Implication:

• The key for suppliers is the extent they maintained their fair share of sales and profits…