AO announces £15m of stockpiling ahead of Brexit
Electronics retailer AO has announced plans to stockpile £15m worth of popular products as part of its Brexit contingency plan.
The online-only retailer said the move will help “ensure [it] can continue to deliver [its] market-leading proposition to customers”. The announcement was made in the group’s preliminary trade update for the full financial year ending 31 March 2019.
UK revenue for the year is expected to be c.£748m, up 9.8% year on year, and European revenue growth is also expected to be 32.3% for the year in local currency at c.€174m (£148m).
John Roberts, founder and CEO, said: “Over the last eight weeks we have created a mindset shift from the numbers delivered in FY19; we are setting about realising our opportunities with pace and energy.
“I am delighted by the reaction of AO’ers and their passion for our future. We have already announced that we are testing a genuinely disruptive rental proposition. We have also expanded categories further into garden and DIY ready for the season and we are accelerating AO Mobile to launch later this year in readiness for peak trading.”
He added: “I am delighted to once again have the privilege to lead the business and excited by the scale of value creation that lies ahead of us for the benefit of all stakeholders. I look forward to updating more fully in early June on how we are accelerating our plans to grow while leveraging the infrastructure we have invested in.”
