Retail news round-up on October 31, 2014: 99p Stores enhances grocery offer as profits rise, British consumer confidence slips in October
99p Stores enhances grocery offer as profits rise
Value retailer 99p Stores has unveiled rising profits and is preparing to ramp up its grocery offer in its biggest investment programme.
The single-price retailer has introduced fresh produce in recent weeks, including bagged fruit and vegetables, as it aims to take on convenience supermarkets. The push follows the trial of a coffee offer and bakeries that sit alongside a grocery range including cheese, butter and ham.
99p Stores chief operating officer Tony Brown told Retail Week: “I believe we are fundamentally changing the single-price-point customer proposition. It’s more mainstream, so we have to sell what the mainstream wants.”
The retailer is investing about £4m in the business in the next 12 months, including in merchandising and till systems. 99p Stores’ EBITDA rose 23% to £6.1m in the year to February 1 on sales up 8.5% to £370m.
British consumer confidence slips in October
Consumer confidence dropped to -2 last month from -1 in September, according to GfK data. Consumer sentiment slipped for a second consecutive month in October as households showed less faith in the outlook for the economy.
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