Nisa sales rise after Just Eat launches home delivery service

Groceries wholesaler Nisa Retail has seen its revenue tick up after its parent company The Co-operative Group partnered with Just Eat to offer home delivery.

The company, which supplies more than 4,000 convenience shops and small supermarkets in the UK, including Costcutter, increased its revenue to £1.42bn in the 12 months ended January 7, 2024, up from £1.38bn in the year before.

Nisa Retail said this was driven by an extra week in the 53 week period, compared to 52 weeks the year before, and the new home delivery option available in the stores it supplies.

It added that access to Co-op own brand products – which have been available since the group bought Nisa Retail in 2018 – also helped to encourage shop-owners to purchase more products, with price increases on those products also delivering a boost.

But despite an increase in revenue, the company took a hit to its pre-tax profit, which fell from £20m to £14.9m over the 12 months.

Nisa facing ‘challenging market conditions’

In a business report published to Companies House, the company said: “Revenue growth has been driven by price inflation and like for like sales growth and positive retailer recruitment.

“However sales volumes declined in the year due to the impact of the challenging market conditions facing our retailers.

“The underlying business continues to benefit from the single buying operation and access to Co-op own brand goods, with 92 per cent of retailers having bought an own-brand item for us in 2023.

“We relaunched our ‘Co-op Core Essentials’ range in November, highlighting to retailers how they can grow basket size and increase the number of visits by focusing on key convenience missions where own-brand plays a significant role.

“With home delivery now forming part of many convenience businesses and making up a core part of the consumer offer, we partnered with Just Eat in July to offer quick access to convenience shopping.”

Earlier this year Nisa Retail’s parent company The Co-operative Group revealed a similar picture to the wholesaler as its revenue and profit decreased.

In the 12 months ended January 6, 2024, the group’s revenue dipped just under two per cent to £11.3bn, while its pre-tax profit shrunk significantly from £268m to £28m.