Butchers chain warns of lean times from ‘skint’ customers

BUTCHERS chain Crawshaw has warned that trading has become more difficult over the past few weeks as customers feel the economic pinch.

The Rotherham-based group, which has butchery stores across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, said trading is likely to remain tough.

Crawshaw’s chairman Richard Rose said: “People are skint. The recession has affected a lot of people, they’ve got less money in their pockets. The Government is taking more through taxes and we are also seeing food inflation.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

With meat price increases, the group is cautious about the outlook for the year ahead.

“I see the tough trading conditions continuing for the remainder of the year,” said Mr Rose.

“We will continue to offer great deals. Customers are looking for the best deals possible. We are promoting hard and offering better value packs.”

The group said that while footfall has held up well, customers are becoming more interested in lower priced products.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Crawshaw has responded to changing customer habits by focusing on cheaper meats such as hamburgers, sausages, chicken and other non-red meats rather than expensive cuts such as steak.

“Because we own our own factories, many of our products are 40 per cent cheaper than the supermarkets.

“We are offering customers exceptional value,” said Mr Rose.

He was speaking yesterday as the group announced a 194 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £600,000 for the year to January 31. Sales were flat at £19.1m.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Like-for-like sales were down one per cent, an improved performance on the eight per cent fall in the previous year. Sales improved throughout the second half as the group responded to changing shopping habits.

The company’s sites include 15 retail format stores, five market formats and the wholesale business.

Crawshaw believes its 15 high street format stores are the key to its future.

The stores reported a one per cent increase in like-for-like sales over the year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In contrast the five market format locations saw a six per cent decline in like-for-like sales and the group’s plan is to move out of covered markets.

Wholesale sales are a small element of the business.

Mr Rose said that while the sales result was much improved, it would have been better without the poor weather conditions before Christmas.

Having lost almost a week’s sales due to the extreme snowfall, it was unable to make up the shortfall as customers generally buy the company’s products for immediate consumption.

The group’s larger store formats at 2,000 sq ft continue to outperform the smaller stores.

“The bigger stores are taking more money.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“They offer a wider product range and provide economies of scale,” said Mr Rose.

Crawshaw plans to open more stores although it couldn’t say when. Target areas include Yorkshire, Midlands and the North West.

The capital outlay for the larger format is around £400,000 and the refurbishments are expected to reach full payback within two to three years. Many of the new stores have a higher proportion of hot cooked food.

The group has also experimented with a very small mobile format – similar to a ice-cream van but larger – which pitches up at various sites such as farmers’ markets to serve different local communities each day of the week.

“It’s very early days but we feel the concept certainly has potential for expansion,” said Mr Rose.