David Sands, the Scottish convenience chain, has said that it will pump £2m into new store openings as it announced profit growth.
The company revealed that pre-tax operating profit jumped to £1.06m in 2007 from £0.91m in 2006, while sales rose to £29m.
It said that a new strategy at the business has been outlined recently, something that has sat alongside a refurbishment programme and the opening of a new store in Kirkaldy. Its management structure was also altered, bringing Ewan Chisholm to chief operating officer.
Chief executive, David Sands, remarked that the outfit is always on the look out for “suitable new sites” that are based at the centre of communities.
He said: “We have the capacity to expand our portfolio to 50 stores and predict that there will be opportunities to acquire stores as some independents decide to leave the industry amid the current backdrop of new licensing legislation and government proposals.
“We remain committed to ramping up our robust acquisition and store refurbishment programme and currently have three new stores in the pipeline.”
Moreover, Sands said that there is a growing emphasis upon green retailing and the newer outlets will be more energy efficient.
And as the credit crunch runs on, he asserted that there will be a focus on value for money at the company’s grocery venues.
“We have a very loyal customer base and see an opportunity to further strengthen the relationship we have with our regular shoppers who are perhaps using the bigger supermarkets less and opting instead to shop locally,” he concluded.
Various products are available from David Sands stores, such as fresh food, while they also plan to sell hot food to take away. It is a member of the Nisa-Today’s group.
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