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Discounter Pepco orders earlier Christmas shipments amid Red Sea Delays

Pepco Group, a European discount retailer, has ordered earlier Christmas shipments to China in order to ensure timely deliveries for the crucial festive trading period.

The Warsaw-listed owners of Pepco and Poundland brands, as well as Dealz, reported a lower-than-expected fall in third quarter underlying revenue. This was partly due to a delay for summer stock reaching store shelves because of shipping problems in the Red Sea.

The disruption of shipping through the Suez Canal due to attacks on the Red Sea by Houthi militants, who are aligned with Iran, continues through 2024.

We are confident that our Christmas stock will be better than it would have been if we hadn't pushed the date forward. Andy Bond, executive chair of Pepco group, said in an interview that others will follow suit.

This year, a large portion of the Christmas inventory that typically hits the balance sheet in October will hit it this September.

Bond said that when the year ends (Sept.30), there will be a significant increase in inventory because we have purchased Christmas shipments ahead of time to store them safely.

He said that the "significant blip" in freight rates was due to retailers pulling stock forward from China by 2 or 3 weeks.

Sainsbury's is the second-largest supermarket chain in Britain, and a quarter its revenue comes from general merchandise. Last week, it announced that they had added extra lead time to their Christmas orders, which would help minimize any delays. (Reporting and editing by Andrew Heavens; James Davey)

(source: Reuters)