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The retailer saw like-for-like sales grow 8.3% in the six-month period, with growth accelerating in the second quarter.
McColl’s posted a pre-tax loss of £1.3m for the period, from a profit of £200,000 a year earlier. Its gross margin was 24.9%, down from 25.4% last year, primarily due to mix impacts as consumers moved away from impulse purchases to lower margin take-home products, as well as multi-buys and value items.
The period saw the retailer’s new partnership with Deliveroo get under way from more than 120 stores.
McColl’s said demand remains strong, but it expects “continued margin pressure and ongoing cost headwinds reflecting the need to keep customers and colleagues safe”.
Jonathan Miller, chief executive, said: “We have seen an extraordinary change since the onset of the crisis. Strong demand, reaching double-digit like-for-like sales in recent months, has been accompanied by a significant shift in the pattern of trade. Food grocery and alcohol sales have been particularly strong, in line with our longer-term strategy to grow these categories as part of our total sales mix. Meanwhile, customers have been spending less on impulse and buying more multipack products.”
He added: “Fundamentally, the pandemic has served to reinforce our conviction in our ongoing strategic change programme to serve our customers with a modern, local convenience offer with better meal solutions, fresh groceries, and alcohol. What is clear is that the strategic importance of our neighbourhood stores and convenience retail to local communities has never been greater and, through implementing our strategy and improving our customer proposition, I remain confident in our long-term prospects.”
