According to the Irish Independent, sandwich maker Greencore is planning to stockpile ingredients in the UK and even change up its recipes in the event of a hard Brexit.
This was according to its UK managing director Peter Hayden, but CEO Patrick Coveney also told the Irish publication that it might initiate some supply line changes before Christmas.
Supply Concerns
The group imports roughly 20% of its raw materials from the EU and other areas to supply major supermarket chains in the UK, such as Marks & Spencer.
"The focus area for us will be about securing the relatively small portion of the ingredients that we use that we get from outside the UK, in a no-deal scenario," Coveney said.
"We see the biggest risk area being fresh produce.”
Greencore reportedly has a “very measured timetable” of when it will make these decisions, with some needing to take place this side of the festive holiday.
Brexit
Yesterday the group released its financial results for 2018, and said that it is confident it can still grow after Brexit, adding that all of its current concerns are Brexit related after it consolidated from its US business.
“Despite the short-term uncertainties of Brexit, our scale, depth, and expertise in attractive and structurally growing food categories mean that we are confident in the future growth prospects for Greencore,” Coveney said in a statement.
The sandwich maker reported a group revenue increase of 4.2%, to £1498.5 million, for its 2018 fiscal year, which it called a 'year of significant change' for the group.
However, despite the positive results, shares fell over 3% yesterday on the back of these Brexit concerns.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
