RISING STATUS OF LOCAL SHOPS HERE TO STAY
METCASH chief executive Jeff Adams believes that even as households emerge from lockdowns and other restrictions they will keep clear of crowded shopping centres to shop locally.
This, along with the growing trend of people moving away from cities to set up new homes in the regions and country, is also driving strong sales for the network of independent retailers across supermarkets, hardware and bottleshops that are wholesale customers of Metcash.
However, Mr Adams said the tight restrictions on movements in New South Wales and Victoria was limiting Metcash’s ability to refurbish supermarkets at
the speed it wanted to.
Mr Adams said entrenched demographic and consumer trends were bolstering its business. “We are 18 months into Covid-19 and they haven’t changed, so they do look like they are the new norm and I have said between periods of lockdown and no lockdown we haven’t really seen much of a change in our sales.”
At Metcash’s AGM on Wednesday, Mr Adams told shareholders that a shift in consumer behaviour through the pandemic with more people shopping local was supporting its independent retailer network which includes the IGA and Foodland brands.
A trading update for the 16 weeks to mid August showed supermarkets sales increased 12.9 per cent compared with the same period in 2020, and were 17.2 per cent higher excluding the impact of the loss of the Drakes wholesaler contract. Compared with the same period last year supermarkets sales were 1.8 per cent lower. Total food sales were down 7.4 per cent compared to the same period last year. But total liquor sales were up 9.5 per cent and hardware sales were up 16.3 per cent.