The Original Factory Shop claims to have seen a 20% rise in fmcg sales after introducing over 300 new products and 60 new brands.
The variety discounter began expanding its fmcg range around 12 months ago, after bringing existing lines together in stores.
The ranges cover ambient food and drink, cleaning products, health & beauty and petfood, now featured across a number of bays catering for “everyday essentials”. Brands include Heinz, Kellogg’s and Uncle Ben’s, and in household, Persil, Fairy, Bold and Finish.
TOFS CEO Emma Fox said the move had boosted like-for-likes.
“As part of our business strategy, we have continued to enhance our fmcg categories such as grocery and pet,” she told The Grocer. “Customers are responding well to this, which has been reflected in the sales, with like-for-likes on a strong upward trajectory. We have also introduced new celebration and party ranges in 26 stores, which are seeing good sales.
“The expansion of these ranges is part of our strategy to weatherproof the business and service the needs of our customers, many of whom live in market towns and find it difficult to travel to larger towns and cities.”
TOFS closed 32 stores under the terms of a company voluntary agreement reached in July 2017. Around a further 20 closed in 2018 thanks to a clause in the CVA enabling landlords to serve notice on the properties.
Results posted this month at Companies House show revenues were down 13% to £161m in the year to 31 March 2019.
Like-for-likes for the 168 stores remaining after the CVA were “single-digit negative”.
The business made an operating loss excluding exceptional items of £3m, compared with a £2.2m loss the previous year
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