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More than half of UK retailers were “unprepared” for Brexit and almost a third are planning to change-up their supply chains as a result of the vote, new research from Barclays has revealed.
A total of 52% of retailers surveyed by the back feel they are unprepared for Brexit, with 81% expected a negative impact from the plunge of the pound and 70% reviewing their currency hedging arrangements after the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
Some 30% of retailers are considering changing suppliers, and 28% are considering sourcing from different countries. 76% of retailers are looking to build more efficient supply chains more generally.
A third (32%) expect to source more from the United Kingdom, and only 12% expect a reduction. Asia could also benefit from a supply chain shift, with 52% anticipating sourcing more from India and 43% anticipating sourcing more from China
However, a small majority (56%) think that Brexit will have no real impact, or a positive impact on their supply chain and less than a third (31%) expect cost changes to result in price increases for consumers, as retailers look to absorb these costs themselves.
Ian Gilmartin, head of retail & wholesale at Barclays, said: “It’s a mixed picture, but there are some encouraging findings in our post-Brexit survey.
“The really significant news is that a third of retailers surveyed intend to increase domestic supply chain activity. At a time when we’ve all got to pull together to encourage growth in the UK this is a very positive sign, and at Barclays, we’re committed to doing all we can to support our clients with their supply chain strategy and to help businesses thrive.”
Morning update
It’s a quieter morning for grocery news after a flurry of earnings releases at the start of the week.
One piece of news on the markets this morning is that Deutsche Bank has increased its stake in discount retailer Poundland (PLND) – which is subject to an approved bid from Steinhoff International.
Deutsche has grown its stake in Poundland to 12.8% of the issued share capital after buying up more than 4m shares to grow its holding from 28.3m to 32.4m. Steinhoff has secured a recommended offer at 222p per share. Poundland shares are trading at 224.2p on the open market.
Clothing retailer Next (NXT) has laid out the cost of Brexit in its second quarter trading update this morning, saying its buying costs could rise by up to 5% in its current financial year after the post-Brexit collapse in the pound. The retailer’s store sales were down 3.3% in the second quarter, but Next Directory saw a 5.7% rise.
First half revenues at food ingredient supplier Devro (DVO) were unchanged year on year at £112.9m, having benefited from exchange rates which offset a 7% reduction in sales volumes. Underlying operating profit in the first half was £18m, ahead of prior year by £2.4m. Improved manufacturing efficiencies, lower input costs and translation exchange gains more than offset the impact of lower sales volumes.
The FTSE 100 is down 1% to 6,636.7pts.
Early risers include Hilton Food Group (HFG), up 3.5% to 581.2p, McColl’s Retail Group (up 2.3% to 169.8p, and Majestic WINE (WINE), up 1.4% to 387.8p.
Fallers include Conviviality (CVR), down 2.1% to 213.3p, Finsbury Food Group (FIF), down 1.4% to 123.3p and Ocado (OCDO), down 1.2% to 254.8p.
Devro shares are down 4.2% to 267.6p after this morning’s trading update.
Yesterday in the City
Shares in Irn-Bru maker AG Barr (BAG) were hammered yesterday after the Scottish drinks firm reported a 2.9% sales slump in the first half in the face of category deflation, volume declines in the market and poor weather across June and July.
The shares were down 4.4% to 512.5p yesterday having previously recovered to around 550p after a post-Brexit low of 455.3p.
It was a slightly downbeat day in the City generally, with the FTSE 100 dropping 0.7% to 6,645.4pts.
Greggs (GRG), which had surged more than 2% in morning trading after reporting a 6% boost to first half sales and a 3.8% growth in like for like sales. However, by the end of trading the stock had edged down 0.3% to 1,049p on concerns over future earnings given the likely rise in input costs.
Morrisons (MRW) was another major faller after news spread of its new price cuts, falling 1.3% to 179.1p. Ocado (OCDO) was down 2.4% to 258p, but Tesco (TSCO) and Sainsbury’s (SBRY) survived relatively unscathed, dropping just 0.1% to 154.7p and 0.5% to 222.3p respectively.
The price cuts could hit Premier Foods (PFD), down 3.1% to 47p, and Tesco supplier Hilton Food Group (HFG), was down 4.4% to 561.5p. Also Coca-Cola HBC (CCH) fell 2% to 1,534p.
Risers included McColl’s (MCLS), up 3.8% to 166p, Fever-Tree (FEVR), up 3% to 917p, Imperial Brands (IMB), up 1.7% to 4048p and Dairy Crest (DCG), up 1.2% to 618p.
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