Northern Ireland Spar wholesaler and retailer Henderson Group, owner of the Spar, Eurospar, Vivo and Vivoxtra retail brands in the province, has announced a “strong performance” for 2008 with increased revenue, employment growth and expansion to the store portfolio
Operating profit rose by 10.7%, as a result of “continued investment and cost efficiencies measures being put into place”.
Ron Whitten, financial director at Henderson, said: “Turnover has increased by 11.8% compared to 2007.
“We are particularly pleased with the continued like-for-like growth in sales despite the economic climate, as well as the number of new trading accounts opened across all of the subsidiaries during 2008.
“The improved profit performance also reflects the impact of the heavy investment in new sites and technologies, which will present very good longer-term investment opportunities for the group.
“Due to the current challenging economic conditions, the focus on continuing to provide the best customer service in class, operational efficiency and managing our cost base will remain of vital importance for the foreseeable future.”
Over the course of the 12 months, Henderson Group invested in the redevelopment of 60 stores, recruited 28 new stores into the group and opened its second ‘Store of the Future’, a Eurospar in Ashbury, Bangor.
This ‘Store of the Future’ has been built using Henderson’s new low-carbon blueprint, which will provide a foundation for stores built and refurbished in Northern Ireland in the future.
Through a combination of energy efficiency measures, the store’s carbon footprint is 28% less than an equivalent store built in 2006.
These measures will also deliver significant savings for the group with a 22% reduction of the store’s energy bill based on 2006 baselines.
This year will see around £14m invested in expansion, ‘Store of the Future’ programmes and co-investment with independent retailers supported by a further £3m investment in local marketing, to support the retail brands.
Henderson Group retains the position as Northern Ireland’s leading symbol-group wholesale provider and supplies almost 400 stores across Northern Ireland, encompassing food retail brands Eurospar, Spar, Vivo and Vivoxtra.
More than 70 stores are owned and operated by the group.
Patrick Doody, sales and marketing director at Henderson Wholesale, said: “This is a strong set of results delivered against a backdrop of aggressive competition and a difficult economic environment where revenue and growth continued to perform well.
“Our improved operating efficiency and profitability has made us better placed to support and focus on the needs of the local independent retailer and in turn the local consumer. In addition our support of local producers and suppliers, are all paying dividends.”
