Caffè Nero has reported strong sales in the first four months of its financial year, with trading at 107% of pre-pandemic levels.
However, despite achieving good like-for-like sales growth during its current financial year, the business said that substantial economic headwinds suggest “the business faces a challenging winter ahead”.
During the period from June to September 2022, the coffee shop chain opened 14 new stores, four of which were in the UK, including a flagship site at Stansted Airport.
The group is forecasting a further 18 new sites during the second quarter – seven of these would be in the UK.
In addition to moving forward with new openings, Caffè Nero also kicked-off a significant refurbishment programme.
Two hundred stores have been upgraded over the past six months, 140 of which were in the UK, with a further 60 due to be refurbished over the next three months.
The business also grew its delivery sales by 10% during the period, adding Just Eat as a delivery partner, joining Uber Eats.
While 30% of all UK store transactions now come via its app, it added.
Gerry Ford, founder and group CEO, Caffè Nero, commented: “We’ve seen a very encouraging first quarter of sales. Customers really embraced our new range of iced drinks during the hot summer with sales up 55% LFL, the Iced Pistachio Latte being particularly popular.
“We also saw very strong coffee sales throughout and growth in food attachment. Despite the challenging conditions the whole country is facing, I’m confident we can have a successful autumn and winter and capitalise on strong new brand partnerships, an exciting festive menu and our new store openings programme.”
Earlier this week Caffè Nero announced that it had launched a new partnership with Waitrose which will see benefits provided to each other’s customers through a linked loyalty programme.
