By Karen Peattie

SCOTMID, the convenience store and funeral operator that also owns the Semichem health and household retailer, has reported an increase in trading profit to £6.4 million – up from £5.6m last year – boosted by people shopping more locally during the pandemic.

But the group, despite its strong balance sheet with net assets of £103m, warned that a flexible approach will be required amid “uncertainty surrounding the timing of the end of the crisis and the likely post-pandemic impact”.

The results for the 53 weeks ending January 30, which saw Scotmid Co-op Society’s turnover increase by £24m to £409m, came on the back of the Newbridge-based co-operative's recent announcement that it plans to shut 22 of its 86 Semichem stores.

John Brodie, chief executive of the group which marked its 160th anniversary in 2020, said that the year had been dominated by the pandemic and the “significant but varying impact it has had on our different businesses”.

The group’s 177 convenience stores, he added, had benefited as changes in consumer behaviour during the pandemic resulted in an increase in local essential shopping.

“Customers visited less frequently, spent more each visit but the costs of operation were significantly more than usual,” he noted, adding that he was “heartened by the overwhelming appreciation we received from our communities for Scotmid’s frontline colleagues and support teams who continued to serve our communities through the peak of the crisis”.

Mr Brodie said that Semichem, “like many other non-food retailers, was significantly impacted by the pandemic due to low footfall on high streets and a long period of closure in the first wave”.

While the Scotmid Funerals division conducted more funerals across its 17 branches this was “at a reduced income per funeral due to safety and social distancing restrictions”.

Mr Brodie added: “Scotmid’s property portfolio suffered a reduction in rental income during the crisis due to the support provided to our tenants and a number of defaults.”

However, he pointed to the innovative ideas the business had harnessed to rise to unprecedented challenge and continue to serve communities effectively. These include providing headsets for staff and mobile printers in stores and trialling electronic shelf-edge labels which helped improve both communication and staff safety.

“Even in our funerals business we were quick to respond by installing screens in our vehicles,” he said. “We have had to work in different ways and we have not stood still.”

During the first wave of Covid when the main supply chain came under pressure, Scotmid utilised the Semichem distribution network to support the food business and maintain strong availability of products in the convenience stores.

The business, said Mr Brodie, was able to proceed with its programme of investment in its stores during the second wave when a new purpose-built store at Bo’ness along with the redevelopment of a flagship store in Edinburgh that had been delayed were completed.

Colleagues across all parts of the business, he noted, had “gone above and beyond during the crisis”.

The society helped hundreds of local community groups and larger charities to alleviate hardship through a Covid Community Fund and other activity, he added, stating: “They have clearly demonstrated our core purpose in such difficult circumstances."

Mr Brodie continued: “Financially, it was a tougher second half to the year with the cost burden increasing but with the benefit of our diverse set of businesses, backed up by Government support, we have successfully co-operated together across all levels in the society to deliver a strong year-end result.

“Looking forward, we still face considerable planning uncertainty surrounding the timing of the end of the crisis and the likely post-pandemic impact.

"With our continuous improvement mindset, we will continue to adopt a flexible approach and focus on matters under our control to deliver our core purpose of serving our communities and improving people’s everyday lives.”