Brian Moore’s Post

South east brewer and retailer Shepherd Neame Ltd has said consumer demand has remained robust as it reported record first-half revenue. For the 12 weeks to 16 March 2024, retail like-for-like sales were up 4.9% on last year. Like-for-like tenanted pub income for the nine weeks to 24 February 2024 was up 3.3% on last year. Total beer volume for the period was down 11.8% versus 2023. Own beer volume was down 16.9% versus 2023. For the adjusted Christmas period, from 1 to 31 December 2023, like-for-like retail sales were up 14.9% versus the previous year. The company stated: “The strong Christmas trade has given everyone a boost. Demand is robust, cost trends appear to be improving, and recruitment of good talent – while never easy – is more stable. However, the impact of higher interest rates is still feeding through into mortgages as some homeowners come off low fixed-rate deals and the impact for many is yet to be felt. On the other hand, real wages are starting to grow again. If this continues, and prices start to stabilise and interest rates fall, as many predict, then these factors should result in higher net disposable income in due course." In terms of costs, the national living wage will increase by 9.8% in April to £11.44, making a total increase of 59% in the rate since 2016, and the eligibility age is to be reduced to 21. This increase will increase our costs by £1.8m on a full year basis and impact the last quarter of this financial year by £0.4m. As we renew our agreement with our logistics provider, the cost will rise materially throughout 2025. We are encouraged by the performance to date of our recent development schemes. We continue to take a long-term view and remain focused on inward investment and have many great schemes to deliver. This has been, to say the least, a turbulent few years for the hospitality sector. There have been many challenges and pitfalls. We try to adapt to the short-term challenges, such as inflationary pressures, as best we can, whilst at the same time remaining alive to the great long-term opportunities which we uncover. The fundamental strengths of Shepherd Neame, as a well-balanced, well-invested, cash generative business, with great people operating at the heart of our communities, are intact.” It comes as revenue for the 26 weeks ending 23 December 2023 increased 4.3% to £89.0m (2022: £85.3m). Underlying Ebitda grew 5.2% to £12.0m (2022: £11.4m). Statutory profit before tax was £1.1m (2023: £5.5m). Total retail sales were up 12.3% to £41.4m (2022: £36.39m). Retail like-for-like sales were up 6.2% on last year. The company operates 296 pubs, of which 219 are tenanted or leased, 71 managed and six are held as investment properties under commercial free of tie leases. 👉 Find out the latest hospitality news first by signing up to the Propel email newsletter for free, here: https://lnkd.in/g_vS_S7

Shoppers support local retailers in run-up to Christmas More and more Brits are choosing to shop for Christmas food and presents in their local independent retailers, according to new research. A survey of 2,000 Brits and 500 small firms has found many reasons to be cheerful for local high streets up and down the UK. The research, conducted by Perspectus Global for Smart Energy GB, has found that 37% of Brits say they will support local independent shops this Christmas, rising to 59% of Gen Z shoppers. To read more about the findings: https://lnkd.in/eVCC6VFP #independentretailer #ShopLocal

Key take outs from Kantar Worldpanel’s latest Irish Grocery Market Share data in the four weeks up to 3rd November 2024: Take-home sales grew by 6.4% to €1.16 billion. This is the biggest sales month of the year so far. Halloween fell within this data period, no surprise that treats and pumpkins featured and both saw sales growth. Shoppers looked further ahead with clear signs of early festive preparations. Read the full story here:

Here's another article about Smart & Final. If you're not familiar with it, it's a warehouse-style grocery store where lots of restaurants and small businesses buy their supplies. You can save a lot of money by buying private-label groceries and household goods in bulk there if you have somewhere to store them. https://lnkd.in/gcCCHAS7

Turkey prices up to 22% cheaper as Christmas price cuts gather pace Shoppers can look forward to cheaper turkeys this Christmas, with many frozen lines having already seen deep cuts, while fresh birds are set to become a key pricing battleground over the next two weeks. Analysis of Assosia Ltd data by The Grocer shows there were a total of 48 fresh and frozen whole or turkey crown lines available in Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, Aldi, Lidl, Iceland and M&S, both this week and the same time last year. Of this total, 24 were cheaper year on year [9 December 2023 vs 9 December 2024], with 15 lines also seeing deeper price cuts via promos and increasingly prevalent loyalty card deals. The average price cut across these 24 lines was 14.4%. Seven lines were more expensive year on year, while the remaining 17 turkey products saw no change in price. A total of 16 lines saw cuts of more than 10%, the data showed, with Tesco – which slashed the price of 11 lines over the weekend – offering the biggest price drop of 22.2% for a frozen mini turkey crown (1kg to 1.4kg). It fell from £13.50 to £10.50 with Clubcard (with no price change without). Other notable cuts include a 17.4% discount for an Asda frozen small crown (1.7kg) to £12.80, with the retailer slashing the price of nine lines on Friday. It comes as Morrisons cut the price of all frozen turkey crowns (in-store only) by 33%, in a special limited offer running from 6 to 8 December. Read the full article published on The Grocer: https://lnkd.in/dGrWnPqK

🎄🛒 British retailer Marks and Spencer's food business has entered Christmas trading with momentum as industry data showed it to be the country’s second-fastest-growing bricks-and-mortar grocer. https://lnkd.in/efAvwKDX

Grocery shopping can be expensive, regardless of how many mouths you have to feed. Here are 8 ways to beat inflation this Spring: 1. Make a meal plan. Go in with a list and stick to it. 2. Raid your pantry before buying items to make full meals. 3. Sign up for the loyalty program. Get access to members-only BOGO deals, in-store coupons, and rewards. 4. Join a wholesale club to buy items like gas for your car, food with a long shelf life, and paper goods and household products. 5. Avoid pre-packaged items. 6. Compare prices between stores in your area. 7. Save certain purchases for when they're on sale. Things like olive oil, cereal, cookies, chips, and condiments can get pricey without discounts or sales. 8. Aim to shop weekly to stay on budget and prevent food waste. Make every penny count! Choose a Luxe Team agent to help you get the most out of your real estate sale or purchase. Try our 15 minute strategy call now - https://lnkd.in/eXkzijG4 #SpringRefresh #groceryshoppingtips #beatinflation #hireanagent #realestatemarket #TheLuxeGroup #luxebhm #realbroker

Having gone to Target yesterday, I can tell you that the price drops that are announced in this CNN article that reads like an advertorial for the brand only follow price hikes. Case in point: we bought the store brand ice cream that was 20% off with Target Circle. That brought it down from $5 to $4. But here's the thing: until a few months ago, the everyday price of that ice cream was UNDER $4. I remember even getting it for under $3, about $2.79. Store brand products used to be substantially cheaper than name brand ones. In other words, you saved quite a bit by buying Favorite Day ice cream rather than Edy's or Breyer's. But the difference in price between the two has not shrunk substantially, and you see it in many products. For example, the Good & Gather (Target) brand cocoa powder, which happens to be of very high quality, I admit, used to be just $1.99 a container. It's now $2.69. That's over a 30% increase in price. Having discovered ALDI USA more recently, I can also tell you that its store brand products are overall more economical than Target's offerings. A lot of shoppers have shifted stores of choice while searching for ways to get their grocery bills under control, and this is likely what Target is responding to in announcing price cuts. This is the equivalent of gaining 10 lbs and then announcing to the world that you lost 5. Yes, you did, but you're still 5 lbs heavier than you had been. The same applies to prices that have increased by over 30%. A cut of a mere 10% doesn't get them back to where they were prior to the increase. What this mean is that even with some price cuts here and there, we are still paying an average of over 25% more for groceries than we were paying 2 years ago. #inflation #grocery

New Data Reveals America’s Cheapest Grocery Stores #popularblog #popular #blog https://lnkd.in/gkSStG8i #americas #article #cheapest #costco #data #grocery #groceryshopping #grocerystores #news #popularblog #popularblog #reveals #staff #stores

UK supermarket sales are set to exceed £13bn for the first time over the four weeks of December, driven by a surge in premium product lines as shoppers gear up for Christmas, new data from Kantar reveals #ukeconomy #supermarket #grocery #retail #ecommerce https://lnkd.in/eTDa3-DF