Let me start by wishing each and every one of you all the very best for 2019. I hope you had a great Holiday Season, spent time with your loved ones and returned to work rejuvenated, relaxed, and ready to take on the New Year with strength and vigour. I wish to especially congratulate the recipients of the “Bryden’s Finest” Awards. These folks embody the very spirit of our Company and we should all take a page from their book with regard to how we live our work lives. It was very good to celebrate the end of 2018 at our annual staff party at VAS nightclub. A special thanks to Kavita for organizing a great event and I am sure you all had a ball!
The end of the third quarter means we have just come out of our very hectic Season and this year gone was no exception. Despite the Sales Teams trying to get customers to pull their stocks early, we had our usual last minute rush which puts serious stress on the DC teams. I will take this opportunity on behalf of the trading Divisions, to express heartfelt thanks and appreciation for their efforts over this ever important period for Brydens.
The top-line to end Q3 is now slightly ahead of last year by approximately 1% and hopefully our business will turn around from here. The bottom line profitability however, still trails that of last year quite considerably, due to the higher cost of foreign exchange, the higher operating expenses mainly in retail and also reduced prices in order to remain competitive. I do hope however that the worst is now behind us and we can return to growth in the coming years.
The Food & Grocery Division is still facing challenges with a lower top-line figure and even lower profit due to lower margins. Stephen has had little choice but to lower prices on some products in order to drive volume as our market share was being negatively impacted. They continue to manage their expenses well and we anticipate that the addition of Eve extensions as well as BON and GraNuts will deliver increased sales. The Division is also proud to announce that it recently acquired a significant portion of the Walton & Post portfolio including brands such as Ragu, Bertoli, Wish Bone, BirdsEye, Libby’s, Niagara and more. We are really excited about this new addition as there are more brands expected to come in the future and there are also many cross promotional opportunities.
The Food Service Division continues its strong run this year and is now 50% ahead of last year in top-line sales. The new Sales Representative has started strong and Hayden anticipates the Division will continue to develop well. Their most recent addition is Beef clod out of Uruguay and the Division plans to introduce new lines this coming financial year.
The Premium Beverages Division experienced a good third quarter and year to date shows a top-line sales growth of 1% over same period last year. Sales were particularly good for Scotch, Cara Mia, Baileys and Hennessy but the bottom line continues to be impacted by lower margins due to competition from parallel and contraband imports. We hope with an improvement to the economic environment in the coming years, that consumer confidence is restored and premium beverage alcohol sales return to growth.
The Naughty Grape posted sales which were lower than last year, which has been the trend for some time due to the economy. They experienced challenges with the frequency of stock transfers due to the small storage area in each location and the overall demand on the warehouse. This is an area we need to focus on next year to ensure we ‘delight’ our customers on every occasion they visit our stores, by ensuring we offer a convenient shopping environment.
CRU Winebar was fortunate to be the chosen venue for a few Christmas events. Ashmeed and his team continue to serve our customers well and the feedback is always positive. It amazes me what the kitchen team puts out considering the very small kitchen.
SkyWay continues to experience slowing sales as the airport environment remains very competitive. We still hope to get the approval from the Airports Authority to sell different categories of product in our new location upstairs, which we hope to open in Q4. Tinneal and her team are doing a great job and we hope to return to growth in the near future.
The star performers again this quarter were the folks from the Hardware & Housewares Division. Their top-line sales are up 8% over the same period last year and although the cost of currency has impacted them as well, they have managed to retain good profitability due to their tight management of costs. Andrew has set some aspirational goals for his leadership team and they seem very energised and excited to deliver on his expectations.
The October to December period as you are all well aware is extremely demanding on certain support service departments and as usual I wish to express my sincerest thanks and appreciation to the teams from Logistics, Accounts, IT and especially the DCs who pull off the unthinkable by receiving and dispatching a tremendous amount of product in a very short space of time.
Lastly, I’d like to thank the Trade Marketing team for not only being able to keep up their regular replenishment of stock on the supermarket shelves, but also assist with executing the many in aisle and gondola displays that are typical at this time.
On behalf of all the Trading Divisions, I wish to thank you all for your efforts which helped the Company during the most important period of the year. A special thank you as well to the HR department who strive every day to ensure our staff is motivated to realize their fullest potential.
In closing I want to thank ALL staff for their continued drive to make Brydens a continued success and to wish everyone a safe and happy Carnival.
