// Pets at Home warns it will increase stockpiling if a no-deal Brexit threat remains
// Retailer has already spent £4m on stockpiling ahead of the original March deadline
// Brexit deadline has been delayed to October
Pets at Home has said it was mulling further stockpiling ahead of the delayed Brexit deadline in October if a no-deal scenario remains on the cards.
Chief executive Peter Pritchard told Press Association that the retailer had already run down the £4 million of extra stocks of pet food and products built up in advance of the original March 29 Brexit deadline.
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He said stockbuilding efforts could be renewed in the possibility of a no-deal Brexit in order to avoid disruption risks across its supply chain, especially at ports and borders, during autumn.
Pets at Home has previously warned that 17 per cent of its products come from outside the UK.
“We will always protect customer availability,” Pritchard told PA.
“Our focus is on making sure our customers can buy the things they want.”
The news comes after Pets at Home revealed in its fourth quarter update in January that it was looking to spend £8 million in Brexit stockpiling.
More recently, Pets at Home posted a 6.1 per cent rise in full-year underlying pre-tax profits to £89.7 million, although profit before tax was down 37.7 per cent to £49.6 million thanks to a hit from its vet service restructure.
Retail like-for-like sales also rose 5.1 per cent in the year, with group-wide comparable store sales up 5.7 per cent.
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