Bestway buys Costcutter group serving 1,500 stores Print
Bestway Wholesale has confirmed it has bought Costcutter Supermarkets Group (CSG) from owner Bibby Line Group.
Bestway said the acquisition, which will complete on approval from the Financial Conduct Authority, follows the improvement in CSG’s financial performance over the last two years.
During the 12 months to 31 December 2019, CSG’s sales rose by 10% to £426m, it said, with sales and profitability continuing to rise throughout 2020 as consumers increasingly shopped locally as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The acquisition takes Bestway Wholesale’s annual turnover to almost £3bn, alongside a symbol, franchise and company-owned store retail estate of more than 3,795 stores in the UK, including 2,682 fascia and 195 company-owned.
By Ronan Hegarty2020-12-18T00:01:00+00:00
Source: Unsplash
The ban on menthol and other flavoured tobacco on 20 May was expected to have a huge impact on sales this year. After all, such products accounted for around a quarter of the tobacco market’s value.
As it turned out, the ban barely made a dent in the market, up £971.9m across cigarettes and roll your own. It seems smokers, for the most part, simply fell back on non-flavoured variants of their chosen brands, while others turned to vaping for a hit of menthol.
That isn’t to say it’s all been smooth sailing for the category. Early in the pandemic, there was anecdotal evidence that sales were falling, with industry insiders speculating it was down to Brits focusing on their health. However, it soon emerged that, in fact, sales of UK duty-paid cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco were soaring.