Celebrated Grimsby-based grocery exporter Ramsden International saw sales fall 20 per cent as Brexit, shipping and logistics issues collided with pressures from lockdown lifting.
A scramble for stock, and issues with the delivery of it with the likes of the Suez Canal blockage and increased border checks, led the award-winning firm to a £831,000 loss in 2021. Sales slipped from £46.9 million to £37.2 million.
It had been anticipated by chief executive Sean Ramsden MBE, with significant steps taken to mitigate - including the opening of a Belgian office - as exiting the EU took its toll on the export specialist.
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The company does, however, see its technical expertise in the field as a long term positive, as rivals drop away, opening up the potential for an increased market share.
Mr Ramsden said: “Whilst the implementation of new Brexit rules had caused huge disruption in 2021, it has also created huge opportunities due to a number of competitors withdrawing from the export market. We believe we are uniquely placed to take advantage of these opportunes. However, we continue to see availability and logistics issues in 2022.”
Europe accounts for more than 40 per cent of the company’s trade.
The multiple Queen’s Award winner was launched by the third generation retail entrepreneur 27 years ago, following the line of the wider family business evolution from hardware store to grocer and then wholesaler. In the period staff numbers hit 100, up from 92 in the calendar-aligned period.
On the performance of what is currently The Grocer’s Exporter of the Year, Mr Ramsden said: “The business continued its focus on core sales through an extremely difficult year that saw continued disruption from Covid, the implementation of new Brexit customs controls with the EU and significant logistics and availability issues as economies around the world opened up after Covid restrictions eased.
“In the first half of the year, the implementation and varying interpretations of new Brexit customs rules with the EU saw our European sales reduce significantly. In the second half of the year we went live with our new European entity in order to more efficiently manage the new requirements.
“In the second half of the year, the shortage of HGV drivers coupled with port congestion, and ships and containers in the wrong locations, led to product availability issues, delivery issues and increased costs.
“These issues had a significant impact on our sales and on our margins due to the increased cost of transport and claims for delayed deliveries - much of which we could not reclaim from our freight partners. At the same time, administrative expenses increased in parallel to the increased complexity of post-Brexit customs requirements.”
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