ScS is working to head off potential delays to deliveries as order levels return to pre-pandemic levels – and rise by 55% online – amid ongoing supply chain issues.
ScS says its order book is now double the size it was two years ago, as demand returns to the same level as two years ago, and as product lead times have extended because of continuing supply chain issues.
The retailer is now working with its suppliers to mitigate the effects of potential supply chain disruption as it goes into the second half of its financial year.
ScS, ranked a Top350 retailer in RXUK Top500 research, says in an interim trading update that orders in the first half of its financial year, to January 26, were 16.6% higher than they were a year earlier, and that they were in line with the same period two years ago. Online orders grew by 55.8% in the first half of the year, compared to two years earlier.
However, supply chain disruption means that delays have increased. As of January 29 2022, ScS’ order book stood at £148m – twice as much as it was on January 25 2020.
Last March, ScS reported record first-half results, with sales of £173.9m 14.4% up on a year earlier. But by October, when it reported full-year sales of £310.6m and pre-tax profits of £22.7m, it was already warning of potential supply chain disruption, including driver shortages, shipping delays and rising costs, in addition to raw material inflation.
