The trading group Pepco Group NV was able to increase its sales again in the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year. However, the increase was only due to the opening of new branches.
According to an interim report published on Thursday, group sales reached 1.93 billion euros in the three months before December 31st. Adjusted for exchange rate changes, it was 3.1 percent higher than in the same quarter of the previous year.
However, like-for-like sales fell by 1.1 percent after adjusting for currency effects. During the quarter, the retail group opened 95 new stores and closed 32. The total number of locations at the end of the year was 5,011.
The Poundland chain continues to cause problems
The group’s three retail chains developed differently. The discounter Pepco achieved a currency-adjusted sales increase of 8.4 percent (like-for-like +1.1 percent) to 1.26 billion euros, while Dealz’s sales even rose by 16.2 percent (like-for-like +6.6 percent) to 106 million euros Euro.
However, the Poundland division continued to cause problems. Your sales fell by 9.3 percent after adjusting for currency effects (-7.3 percent when adjusted for like-for-like items) to 563 million euros. In addition, the gross margin fell and fell short of the company’s expectations.
The parent company justified Poundland’s weak figures with the current adverse market conditions in Great Britain and emphasized that the “comprehensive review” of all costs and the market position of the retail chain was continuing.