Nisa sales rise over Christmas as promotions pay off

The convenience specialist and wholesaler said like-for-like sales increased 2.2% in the 10 weeks ending January 1.

Nisa registered an EBITDA, excluding exceptional items of £718,000 during the same period, up 38% year-on-year.

Total sales, excluding its supply deal with the collapsed My Local convenience chain, advanced 2.7% to £235.6m compared to the same period last year.

Nisa, which swung to full-year profit with an EBITDA of £7.3m for the 53 weeks ending April 3, 2016, hailed the performance of its fresh proposition, which recorded a 17.7% increase in sales.

The Scunthorpe-headquartered business said its ‘Festive 5’ promotion on its own-label Heritage lines drove a 75% spike in sales of vegetables across the 10 weeks.

Sales of carrots rocketed 288%, while sales of parsnips and Brussels sprouts both more than doubled year-on-year.

Nisa said it opened 77 new stores during the festive season, compared to 54 last year, as it continued to attract new members.

The business has recently secured contracts to supply the 298 stores McColl’s acquired from the Co-op and Bourne Leisure’s shops at Butlins and Haven holiday parks.

Both contracts will commence in April.

Nisa Retail chief executive Nick Read said: “I’m very pleased that we have been able to provide significantly greater investment in our promotions this Christmas to assist our members trading this festive period.

“We believe we have delivered a strong promotional mix to drive sales and footfall in our members’ stores.”