McColl’s Q3 sales fall 3.6% amid poor weather and Brexit uncertainty

Convenience retailer McColl’s has reported a 3.6% drop in revenue during the third quarter of the year, attributed to the “challenging retail trading environment” and “poorer weather across the summer”.

During the 13 week period ending 25 August 2019, McColl’s revealed like-for-like (LFL) sales were also down 2.2%. This means from the year to date at McColl’s like-for-like sales are down 0.1%, with total revenue also down by 1.2%. The retailer said this is currently reflecting a reduction in the store base as it continues to “reshape and optimise” its estate.

During the quarter McColl’s announced it opened four new stores, taking its total number of stores and newsagents to around 1,500.

Jonathan Miller, chief executive, said: “As we outlined in our interim results, this has been a highly unseasonable summer for the retail sector and our sales performance reflects both this and the ongoing macro-economic uncertainty.

“The fundamentals of the convenience channel are strong and our focus remains on good retail execution whilst maintaining strong capital discipline. We continue to make operational progress and we anticipate results in line with expectations for the full year.”