Debenhams report success of Loaf & Bloom food format as food sales increase 10%

by XPRESS, 20 April 2018

Debenhams has reported food sales have grown 10% in its First Half to 3 March driven by further roll-out of new offers and operational improvements introduced by its new food services team – the company’s overall like-for-likes were down 2.2%.

The company stated: “We have tested a new food concept, Loaf & Bloom, in two locations and also continued the roll-out of third party formats with seven new offers.

With four food offers now open at our Stevenage store, including our first Nando’s, this category has outperformed expectations even more than our fashion and home offer and currently accounts for c.30% of sales in this location, well ahead of our target company penetration of c10%.

We are continuing to refine the trial of Loaf & Bloom, which is now out-performing the previous food service offer it has replaced.

We are scoping the potential for roll-out of this format, in the context of the broader opportunity we see in health and wellbeing categories.

We are also testing a new own bought format that has potential in locations with a more traditional catchment, which will offer a fresh spin on some classic British dishes.

We will continue to roll out third party food brands, with a further ten new offers in H2.”

Chief executive Sergio Bucher said: “The UK retail environment is undergoing profound change, and with the help of some important new senior hires, we are moving faster and working harder than ever to ensure Debenhams is well-placed to outperform in this new retail world.

We expect no help from the external environment, so we are focused on delivering our Debenhams Redesigned strategy, aiming to mitigate difficult trading conditions through self-help initiatives.

It has not been an easy first half and the extreme weather in the final week of the half had a material impact on our results.

But I am hugely encouraged by the progress we are making to transform Debenhams for our customers.

Our digital growth continues to outpace the market while our store in Stevenage was recently named best new store at the Retail Week Awards.

We are holding share in a difficult fashion market, and in other categories such as furniture, exciting new partnerships have the potential to transform our offer.

We approach the remainder of the year mindful of the very challenging market conditions, but with confidence that we have a strong team and the right plan to navigate them and return Debenhams to profitable growth.”

Article credit: Propel info