Pepco Group first quarter sales impacted by Covid lockdowns
Pepco Group has posted a 2.1% drop in first quarter like-for-like sales after trading was impacted by shop closures during Covid-19 lockdowns.
However, trading stores that were open for the full duration of any week performed positively in the period with like-for-like growth of 5.5%.
The group, which operates the Pepco and Dealz brands in Europe and Poundland in the UK, said the Pepco brand felt the biggest impact from Covid related store closures due to being classed as a non-essential retailer. However, stores not impacted by lockdown closures traded well with like-for-like sales growth of 6.6%.
Meanwhile Poundland and Dealz stores were able to trade throughout the period and achieved a like-for-like sales uplift of 4.3%, despite significantly reduced footfall.
Andy Bond, chief exceutive of Pepco Group, said: “It is pleasing that once again our disciplined adherence to our clear growth strategy combined with a focus on day-to-day retail execution has allowed us to successfully navigate a turbulent trading environment. Our revenue performance clearly signals the strength of each of our retail brands and customer offers and our resilience to short-term Covid disruption.”
During the period, the group opened 87 new Pepco stores in Europe and continued the roll-out of its Dealz format in Poland, the Republic of Ireland and Spain.
Looking ahead, Bond said: “We anticipate that the consumer backdrop will remain challenging in the short-term. However, with our established growth strategy, centred on significant future store expansion within a structurally advantaged discount retail segment, and strong financial base, we believe that our future growth opportunity is greater than a year ago. Accordingly, we remain confident about our prospects for continued growth across Europe in the balance of the financial year and beyond.”
