Marks & Spencer set to buy more food from EU amid border disruption in Northern Ireland
Marks & Spencer will reportedly start buying more food from the EU as it looks to reshape some of its supply chain amidst chaos on the Northern Ireland border.
The retailer is looking to source more products from companies on the Continent as well as from Ireland and Northern Ireland, the Telegraph reported.
It comes after M&S struggled to get English goods across the Irish Sea after the Brexit transition period ended. In January M&S temporarily withdrew some products from sale in Northern Ireland because of the border chaos.
Now the Telegraph reports insiders have said M&S has been “caught in the eye of the storm” and is looking to overhaul parts of its supply chain. The most affected products are likely to be chilled, oven-ready meals like lasagne, which are made in England.
Chief executive Steve Rowe is expected to address the issue and the wider challenges posed by Brexit when M&S reports its annual results this week.
Analysts are expecting some cost increases due to potential tarrifs. Kate Calvert, of Investec, told the Telegraph: “International will have been impacted by changing pandemic restrictions as well as by the extra duty costs and disruptions to food availability in France, Ireland and Czech Republic from the Brexit trade agreement.”
M&S reported its first ever loss in its first-half results last year as the effects of lockdowns hit trading, with its general merchandising division bearing the brunt.
This week it is expected to post a profit for the year after reporting a £71.6m loss and a 15.8 per cent drop in sales to £4.1bn in November.