Booker claims price deflation being passed on to customers
Stuart Hyslop, managing director of Makro and catering sales, said: “Price deflation has been significant for us in the past year, but we are not keeping the benefits within Booker but are passing the benefits on to customers.”
The price for the group’s own brand Farm Fresh 40 baking potatoes has decreased from £15.99 in May 2013 to £6.49 in May 2015, the price of six iceberg lettuce have decreased from £5.99 to £2.99 and Chef’s Essentials 2.27kg frozen chips from £1.39 to £1.09 in the same period.
The company has seen total like-for-like total sales to caterers (excluding Makro) up 2.0% to £2 billion in the past year to 27 March, with the company continuing to grow its business among multi-site customers. New Chef Direct customers in the past year include Wagamama and Yo! Sushi.
Pub customers of Chef Direct include Revolution Bars and of Booker Direct, G1 Group, Charles Wells, Enterprise, Trust Inns, Shepherd Neame, Star Pubs & Bars, Admiral Taverns and Robinsons. Internet sales were £874m compared to £777m in the previous year.
Booker now has 468,000 catering customers and is continuing to drives its own brand catering ranges, with sales of Chef’s Essentials range up 21% in the past year to £115 million, Chef’s Larder, up 19% to £254 million and professional cleaning product range CleanPro launched last year now with 50,000 customers with £39m sales per annum.
The company, which has 40,000 pub customers and just acquired Londis & Budgens, saw total sales for the group in the past year to 27 March, up 1.5% to £4.8bn with after tax profit up 12% to £117.7 million and the company believes it has the capacity to grow sales to £36 billion by 2017/18.
The company is continuing to ‘broaden’ the business with sales of delivered goods now worth £1.4bn, up from £600 million in 2008, through businesses including Chef Direct and Booker Direct. Around 80% of the company’s delivery fleet has now been refreshed.
The company now has 11 combined Booker/Makro business centres including Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Belfast and Enfield, with plans to combine another four sites.
The company’s chief executive Charles Wilson said: “The combined offer has been driving real benefit. We are now operating Classic, our specialist on trade wholesale business, via the Booker and Makro business centres. This is working well.”
He added: “Makro has had a good year. In eleven locations we have combined Makro and Booker. This has been tailored to the local market. Critically, Makro is helping increase our capacity to grow delivered sales. This should help the Group grow to an estimated £6bn of sales in the next few years.”
The company now has 100 butchers and 50 greengrocers that have gone through apprenticeship courses with the University of West London and will be running both schemes again in the next financial year.
