HELLO and welcome to the AM Business Briefing, as Primark has been trading better than expected over the last three months, its owner said, despite problems at ports and on roads.
AB Foods said it had managed to use its position as a major customer for its suppliers to overcome some of the squeezes on global supply chains, so has most of the products it needs for Christmas.
"Primark trading year-to-date has been ahead of expectations with improved like-for-like sales compared to the fourth quarter of our last financial year," the business said.
"We are managing disruption in our supply chain by prioritising products most in demand with the support of our logistics providers for whom we are a very important customer.
"We have stock cover on the vast majority of lines for the important Christmas trading period."
Recent worries over the new Covid variant have however brought some consequences.
Primark shops in the Netherlands have been hit by restrictions in trading hours, in Germany customers need vaccine passes, while its five shops in Austria have all closed.
In the months ahead things are unlikely to get worse than they were at the same time last year, when most of the chain's shops were closed.
Between December and April sales are expected to be "significantly better" than in the same period a year earlier, AB Foods told shareholders.
"We are experiencing the impact of widely reported port congestion and road freight limitations and our businesses have been working hard to overcome these difficulties," AB Foods said.
"We have seen an escalation in the cost of energy, logistics and commodities and we have been implementing plans to offset these through operational cost savings and, where necessary, the implementation of price increases."
Scottish vegan food firm builds presence in Asda
ASDA has taken steps to broaden the festive meal choices for vegans by listing a plant-based cheese selection box from an independent Scottish supplier.
Bute Island Foods has secured an exclusive contract to supply the cheeseboard to the supermarket giant, building on the listing it already has with Asda to stock its dairy-free cheese and ice cream.
Scottish directors awarded for success
BUSINESS leaders who achieved strong growth for their company during the pandemic, champion employee wellbeing, and have played a key role in growing women’s football were the big winners at a prestigious awards ceremony last night.
Duncan MacLean, chief executive of Candle Shack Limited, Simon Poole of employee-owned Jerba Campervans, and Vivienne MacLaren, chairman of Scottish Women’s Football, took home three of the top awards at the 2021 Director of the Year Awards, hosted by the Institute of Directors Scotland.
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