Dundee-based CJ Lang returns to profit amid strong response to pandemic
CJ LANG, the Dundee-based grocery wholesaler and retailer, has returned to the black, posting a pre-tax profit of £1.5 million as the firm declared its Scottish focus has allowed it to respond well to changing conditions arising from the pandemic.
And the company, which supplies 300 Spar retailers across Scotland, said it has started its current financial year strongly, with sales currently running 19 per cent ahead of the previous year in the period to date.
The latest results for CJ Lang, which marked is centenary in 2019, show that turnover increased by 3.4 per cent to £194.2m in the year ending April 30, a period covering the initial weeks of the pandemic and the move into the first lockdown. It bounced back after its previous accounts showed a loss of £863,000, which reflected an exceptional charge of £1.6m related to store closures.
The community-based retailer, which has an estate of 108 company-owned Spar stores, responded to the coronavirus crisis by making a “significant” investment in equipment to protect customer and staff safety in stores, as well as to set up track-and-trace systems.
Chief executive Colin Mclean said the results underline the progress CJ Lang has made in its strategy to re-awake a “sleeping giant”, which began two-anda-half years ago. He said: “We are off to a good start … but there is still a long way to go.”
Finance director Craig Tedford said the firm had been “encouraged” by its success in bringing more independent retailers into the CJ Lang family, with numbers growing by 20% in the last 12 months. And he said that “in a way we have done well from Covid”, explaining that it has helped increase the value of sales in independent stores, as people have shopped more locally.
Asked if the company, which has around 2,000 staff, was worried about the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, Mr Mclean said it demonstrated its flexibility when this potential situation emerged as a risk last year. He noted that it would be insulated to some extent by being part of the bigger Spar UK and Spar International organisations.
Chairman Jim Hepburn acknowledged a no-deal Brexit could bring supply challenges but said the firm will “focus on controlling what we can control”.
Mr Mclean noted: “We are in a strong place, but we are not complacent.”
On the new tiered lockdown system now in operation across Scotland, Mr Tedford said: “It does create challenges. We have to stay abreast of the different situations. We understand the reasons for it, but it has been business as usual. Most of our stores are communitybased stores. They react on a daily basis to the things going on in their communities.”
Yesterday, CJ Lang welcomed 179 suppliers and 750 delegates to its first ever virtual conference. “It’s a good example of how the
Spar brand has reinvented itself,” Mr Mclean said.
He added: “The onset of Covid-19 at the end of the last financial year, and the subsequent months that followed, have seen the retail landscape completely change. Our primary focus has been the continued wellbeing of our staff and customers, and we have invested in our stores, distribution centre and offices to ensure that we have created safe environments for all.
“Being solely Scottish focused has enabled us to adapt quickly and react flexibly to the changing retail landscape while continuing to provide a first-class service to our independent retail customers, consumers and communities at a time when they have needed us most.”