Investors will be keen to see how 26 new Rhythm & Booze stores are bedding in at Conviviality Retail (CVR), which releases annual results next week. The company, which already owns more than 400 cut-price off-licences, bought the sites from R N B Stores, a subsidiary of Bibby Retail Services, for £1.7m in May. The new stores are mainly located in Yorkshire and the north east of England, and will be renamed in line with Conviviality's existing brands.
Meanwhile, the integration of the Wine Rack business - snapped up last September, also for £1.7m - is going well. Like-for-like retail sales in the second half increased 1.4 per cent.
That's partly thanks to a strong Easter trading period. In the six weeks to 27 April - the financial year-end - like-for-like retail sales rose 2.2 per cent at Bargain Booze stores and a full 6.5 per cent at Wine Rack stores. For the year as a whole, like-for-like sales at Bargain Booze were flat, but average sales per store were up 3.2 per cent, which Conviviality attributes to improvements made to the estate.
