Retailers have remained tightlipped over their feelings on Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Of the major multiples, only Asda and Marks & Spencer came out in support of the Remain campaign, with the others sitting on the fence for fear of ostracising customers.
And, with their share prices taking a pummelling in early trading following the shock result, they’ve continued their wall of silence.
Half the 12 retailers approached by The Grocer refused to comment on the decision altogether. Three were unavailable for comment. And the three that did respond - M&S, Sainsbury’s and Lidl - remained either non-committal or upbeat.
Marks & Spencer, which had previously voiced support for Britain remaining in the EU, simply said it was “too early to comment in any detail”.
“We will be monitoring and assessing the impact on our business as the situation evolves and engaging as and when we need to,” it added.
Sainsbury’s took a similar line and maintained its business was “well placed” to operate in the uncertain climate. “It is difficult, at this stage, to predict the impact of leaving the EU and we will maintain an open dialogue with government and other organisations over the weeks and months ahead,” it said.
Lidl said it had worked “hard in the background” to plan for a possible Brexit so it felt “very well prepared”. Its presence in 29 European countries, including some outside the EU, made it “confident of our strong position as a global, market-leading ambitious food retailer”, it stressed.
Lidl added that it had no plans to backtrack on its plans for UK expansion, which will include new stores, warehouses and jobs.
Tesco, the Co-op, Waitrose, Aldi, Amazon and Holland & Barrett all declined to comment on the decision. Asda, Ocado and Morrisons were unavailable for comment as this story went to press.
On Thursday, Tesco CEO Dave Lewis defended its decision to sit on the fence.
“At Tesco we would always seek to be completely apolitical,” he said.
Lewis said Tesco had carried out detailed scenario planning on the threat posed by Brexit and claimed it had found : “Nothing that would significantly disadvantage Tesco.”
“We didn’t feel it was appropriate for us to intervene,” he said.
“If there were to be a Brexit then, yes, Tesco would be affected but no more than any of our rivals.”
Last month, retail chiefs including ex-Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy, former Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King and M&S veteran Marc Bolland warned that retail prices would soar if the UK were to leave the EU. “The unintended consequences of a leave vote and the uncertainly it would create would be a massive shock to the system,” they said in a joint article published in The Mail on Sunday.
Analysts have warned the forecasts could come true. Bernstein said a Brexit was “not a good thing for the UK consumer” and predicted that UK supermarkets would become “more defensive” as they were left unable to absorb the costs of food inflation resulting from the impact on sterling.
Bryan Roberts, insight director at TCC Global, said food retailers would not be as badly hit as others in the sector because they relied on “non-discretionary spend”. But supermarkets with large non-food divisions, such as Sainsbury’s and its upcoming tie-up with Home Retail Group, could feel the impact of tightening purse strings more acutely. “Overall it’s probably not great news,” he said.
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