Caffè Nero announced record sales for the first three months of its financial year (June 2024 – August 2024) of £147 million, driven by very strong sales growth in the UK of 12.5% year on year and 13.4% year on year sales growth at Group level.
Like for Like sales in the UK were 9.1%. This is notably above the general performance of the F&B sector and marks a continuation of Caffè Nero gaining market share in the coffee category.
UK sales were supported by 2.1% growth in footfall and huge demand for its cold drinks and summer sweet range. The summer sweet range was up 11.3% year on year, with its Maritozzi Bun selling over 200,000 units in the period.
During the same period, Caffè Nero opened 14 new stores at Group level across its various different territories, with 9 of those opening in the UK and Ireland.
The Nero Group also continued its major store refurbishment programme, with 44 stores refurbished in Q1, of those 35 were in the UK. Over 100 further stores are scheduled for refurbishment during the remainder of the financial year as part of the Group’s continual upgrading of the store estate.
In the UK, Caffè Nero grew transactions through its mobile App with over 35% of all UK store transactions now taking place via App and over 2.5m people using it in the UK. The Nero App has an important and highly beneficial feature in that it is accepted across all major territories where Caffè Nero operates, including the UK, US, Ireland, Turkey, Poland and Sweden.
Between June and the end of September, Caffè Nero also continued the expansion of its Delivery sales in the UK, with Delivery sales growing to over 2% of sales, while its Coffee at Home offer grew by 5%.
Caffè Nero Founder and Group CEO, Gerry Ford commented: “We have had a hugely successful Quarter 1, which has seen our financial year get off to a strong start. Despite the changeable weather in the UK, our summer iced drinks campaign was very successful, and customers have really taken to our summer menu, with the Maritozzi bun being a particular standout.
Building on from the strong Q4 we experienced in FY24, these Q1 FY25 results show we are continuing to drive real momentum and performing very well as a business. Customers are clearly demanding our hand-crafted speciality coffee, our friendly service and warm, welcoming stores. I’m optimistic that despite the impact of inflationary costs on our business, we can keep the momentum going and have an outstanding year.”
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