SPECIAL FOCUS NEWS ShopTalk


of the Co-op’s work on reducing the impact of its operations, its focus on the UN sustainable development goals (SDG) and its commitment to continually drive initiatives which significantly affect its environmental impacts and drives real change. Initiatives such as achieving


K


antar’s latest take-home grocery figures in the UK show that supermarket


sales fell by 3.7% over the 12 weeks to 20 February 2022. However, sales remain 8.4% higher than the same period before the pandemic in 2020. The annual decline reflects last year’s winter lockdown when the public was eating more meals and snacks at home.


The fall in spending comes despite a new high in grocery prices, as inflation stands at 4.3% in February. Apart from the start of the pandemic, when we saw grocers cut promotional deals to maintain availability, this is the fastest rate of inflation recorded since September 2013. On top of this, ongoing supply chain pressures and the potential impact of the conflict in Ukraine


are set to continue pushing up prices paid by consumers. With the formal end to COVID-


19 restrictions in England, more of us are now eating on the go, buying sandwiches, salads and snacks on our lunch breaks, and enjoying meals out with friends and family. That means we’re buying less food and drink to have at home.


In the same report, Lidl has


overtaking Co-op as the sixth largest supermarket.


C 6 May 2022 • www.acr-news.com


o-op has been honoured with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable


Development, which celebrates the convenience retailer’s excellence in sustainability. The award, which involves a


rigorous application process, recognises the reach and depth


operational carbon-neutral status for all 2600 Co-op stores and 800 Funeralcare homes, introducing Europe’s most extensive soft plastic instore recycling scheme to make all Co-op’s own brand food and drink packaging easily recyclable and launching a Climate ten-point plan. It includes a world first commitment to be the first supermarket to sell fully carbon neutral own brand food and drink by 2025.


M


cColl’s Retail Group has experienced mixed trading since the last


update it issued on 28 February 2022. While a recovery in trading performance had continued during the first half of March, the business has since experienced softer trading through the Easter period, impacted by reduced consumer spending and continued supply chain disruption across the industry. The Group is working closely with its wholesale suppliers to mitigate product availability issues.


Despite this, the Group’s Morrisons Daily stores continue


to perform strongly, delivering like-for-like sales growth that is at least 20% better than non-converted, comparable stores, and ahead of the total convenience market. All Morrisons Daily conversions in 2022 have benefited from the introduction of a Morrisons food-to-go (FTG) proposition, offering customers a broadened range at a compelling price point.


The Morrisons Daily store conversion programme continues at pace with 69 stores opened in FY22 so far, and the Group continues to work on the previously communicated programme of Morrisons Daily store conversions. The move to convert stores to the Morrisons Daily format is fundamentally reshaping the business into a more profitable and sustainable model in the medium term. As a result of the challenges outlined above, including a weaker than expected Easter performance and the widely reported impact of cost inflation pressures, the Board now expects adjusted EBITDA for the current financial year (FY22) to be no higher than the level achieved in FY21 (£20m on a pre IFRS 16 basis). The Group continues to


review costs across all parts of the business in order to help mitigate the challenging trading conditions, as well as being even more targeted in its capital deployment.


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