Sales exceed £750m at The Range
Published: 21 November 2017 - Sue Deane
Turnover has increased to more than £750m at The Range as the discount retailer continues to expand with new store openings.
The company recently secured planning consent for a superstore and new headquarters in Plymouth, the site of its first outlet. There are now more than 145 sites across the UK and Ireland.
In October The Range secured planning permission for a superstore and new headquarters on a former Ministry of Defence (MoD) site in Plymouth. The development could create about 570 jobs.
The retailer also opened a 1.2 million sq ft distribution centre in Bristol, creating more than 1,000 jobs, earlier this year.
The latest accounts for parent company CDS (Superstores International) Ltd show turnover rose to £761.3m in the year ending 29 January 2017, up from £674.m in 2015/16. Pre-tax profit also increased to £67.5m from £57m the year before.
The range opened 16 new outlets during the period as part of its ongoing expansion programme including a store in Limerick, Ireland in August 2016. Expansion has continued into the current financial year with its 145th store recently opened in Llanelli, South Wales.
In their report the directors said: "Gross profit increased by 10% as a result of the increase in turnover, achieved by increasing the turnover in existing stores and increasing the number of trading stores but maintaining the level of fixed costs. The group is optimistic about the future given the continued growth and associated economies as well as the strength of the concept.
"The directors aim to maintain the management policies which have resulted in the group's substantial growth in recent periods. They consider that 2017/18 will show further significant growth in sales from continuing operations."
