Strike adds to Dis-Chem’s Christmas woes
Excluding new stores, the pharmacy chain’s December sales fell as it battled with supply disruptions
Dis-Chem’s Christmas sales have been hurt by a strike, the pharmacy chain warned in a trading update on Thursday morning. “The current ongoing industrial action heavily impacted December trade and continues to affect the group,” CEO Ivan Saltzman said in the statement. Dis-Chem expects earnings for its financial year to end-February to be about 20% higher, which is below its earlier target.
“Since the labour unrest is still ongoing, the full quantum of the impact is still unknown, but to date loss of income and additional costs directly linked to the industrial action have amounted to approximately R50m,” Dis-Chem said in the statement. Excluding new stores, Dis-Chem’s retail revenue declined by 2.5% in December. Including new stores, it grew its Christmas sales by 6.2%, “which was well below our expectations”, Saltzman said. “Although contingency plans were in place to ensure minimal disruption at our retail stores, we experienced lost opportunity sales in December primarily ...
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