Parfetts posts 10% jump in turnover as profits surge

Parfetts has recorded a 17.5% jump in pre-tax profits to £6.3m for the year to June 2019 as turnover increased 9.8% to £380m.

The wholesaler said like-for-like sales, excluding tobacco and the Middlesbrough depot it bought from Blakemore in June 2018, were up 5%.

A sales bonus of 2% of annual salary was paid to all staff in July and a second profit share bonus will be distributed in October. Bonuses are tax-free as the company is employee-owned.

It attributed the success to its 24-hour operation, Go Local Direct (Gold) which allows customers to place orders up until midnight for next day delivery, while its Go Local retail club has grown from 2,400 to 3,000 members.

The Middlesbrough branch has doubled its weekly turnover in its first year, according to the wholesaler.

It said 25% of its sales now came through its website, although 5,000 customers still visited its depots on a weekly basis.

“These are record results in both sales and profitability despite paying two bonuses to all staff as well as investing heavily in the business,” said joint-MD Greg Suszczenia. “It has been a tough 10 years for our business paying off the family, these results are a testament to the hard work of all staff in achieving that and a great springboard into the next decade.

“These results are really motivating as they reassure us that our strategy of caring for the traditional business while preparing for the future is also paying dividends in the midst of that process. Our strategies are working well for us in each depot, but particularly the Gold delivered strategy out of Sheffield. It means we are now really focusing on growing Gold sales southward out of the Somercotes depot and Westward out of Aintree.”

Retail director Guy Swindell added: “We are attracting retailers to our Go Local symbol group in record numbers. They value our independence and truly flexible approach to how they work with us. Our USP is that we recognise that retailers need the flexibility to trade in the way they want while being part of a professional template with lots of support and innovation.”