We know that it’s been a turbulent few years for our customers, and just as everyone was getting used to post-covid working arrangements, we’re now faced with a cost of living crisis and levels of inflation not seen for a generation.

Just as we did during the challenges of Covid, I wanted to reassure our customers that we continue to put them first in our decision making. One of the most effective ways we can do this is to consistently review our buying prices from suppliers to ensure inflationary pressures are kept as low as possible. We want to support you and your budgets.

Over the last 12 months the number and value of requests for price increases from our suppliers really has been unprecedented and that has forced to us address and change the way we work, so that we can best support our customers. There have been a wide range of issues over which we have no control which have resulted in us having to increase the price on a number of our products part-way through our usual twelve month catalogue cycle. These will come in to effect from 17 October 2022.

Factors such as the increased cost of manufacturing due to labour and energy price increases, increases in transportation costs and supply chain challenges particularly in the paper products market have all contributed to this.

To mitigate the cost increases we have to pass on to our customers we have been actively working with our suppliers to put in place measures to suppress as much of this increase as possible. Actions taken to support this has included:

	Bringing in new ranges to ensure customer have the essentials they rely on us for.
	Increasing our warehousing capacity and taking bulk deliveries so it’s more efficient for our suppliers.
	Bringing in new warehouse equipment to enable deliveries directly from UK ports to further speed up deliveries and increase our flexibility for suppliers.
	Working closely with suppliers so they have visibility of our expected demand and can plan on our behalf.

As part of the public sector ourselves we’re committed to ensuring that your supplies are the best possible value, and we will continue to keep our prices under review at all times. If you have any queries relating to price or need support, our Customer Services team are on hand on 0116 265 7901.

Kristian Smith

Chief Officer