CJ Lang & Son Ltd, the family-owned Scottish Spar wholesaler and convenience retailer, has reported a year of resilience and continued investment despite one of the most challenging trading environments in recent memory, alongside an exclusive interview with Convenience Store.
The long-established Dundee-based business has today (18 November) published its financial statement covering the period up to 27 April 2025, which shows net turnover increasing by £2m to £255m, EBITDA of £6.8m and operating profit (pre-exceptional costs) of £2.35m.
It said the trading year was shaped by complex headwinds, including rising energy costs, wage and tax pressures from the UK budget and recruitment challenges linked to a declining jobs market. New regulations on HFSS products and the forthcoming DRS are also set to reshape the convenience landscape in 2026 and beyond.
However, despite poor summer weather in 2024, ongoing cost inflation and an ever-tough retail landscape, the business remained firmly focused on growth, technology and supporting its retailers across Scotland, it said.
Q&A: Colin McLean
Convenience Store caught up with CEO Colin McLean (above), who acknowledged that times are tougher than ever. “The reality is that the market is currently very challenging, but at the end of the day, we understand the Scottish market better than anyone.”
The summer of 2024 didn’t help matters, McLean admitted. “The summer last year was very, very wet. While we always say retail’s summer comes at Christmas, there have been other elements - such as taxation and technology - affecting the market, so it’s a challenging time for retailers.”
“For next week’s budget it’ll be interesting to see what happens from a Scottish perspective…”
There are also other challenges that the typical Scottish retailer faces that are unique to the nation, McLean believes. “With business rates, the Scottish position on them is very different to in the rest of the UK, and taxation levels are also different. So for next week’s budget it’ll be interesting to see what happens from a Scottish perspective and to see what slant the Scottish Government puts on it.”
One of the main areas of focus for CJ Lang in 2026 will be an increased involvement in technology - especially when customer facing. At the group’s Aviemore trade show in September, it announced its Spin into Spring online game, which has seen impressive take up, McLean said. “We’ve had very good support so far for it, which has shown there to be a real interest in the gamification of promotions.
“It followed our football promotion, and although Scottish football didn’t win anything, Spar Scottland did. So Spin into Spring is really the next stage of Spar Scotland’s development. We’ve been quite surprised by the level of interest in it following the launch at Aviemore. Customers have loved it and I’m very pleased with how that’s gone.”
The growing food to go market is also to be a key element of the CJ Lang business plan next year, McLean said. “We used to use Costa, but now we have Barista Coffee, which Spar Scotland has the exclusive license to.
“Customer feedback has been very strong. “We have a very strong value offering there - particularly at breakfast - with the £3.25 meal deal on a bacon roll and coffee being our number one driver. You can’t often even get a coffee for that price. That’s very unusual.”
In tough times, you might expect any major group to be scaling back on its charity work as purse strings nationwide tighten. But not so with Spar Scotland, as McLean explained. “It’s true these are tough times and we realise a lot of people will be putting the brakes on that side of things, so it was good to celebrate what we do at Aviemore this summer. Whether that be our Kilt Walk, or our support for the Marie Curie charity.
“But it’s not an easy role to navigate at the moment. So we also work with GroceryAid to help our own colleagues in these difficult times – although of course we also want to support customers too.”
Looking ahead to next week’s budget, McLean’s says his hopes for Rachel Reeves’ announcement is simple. “We just want some certainty. We’re navigating very difficult times and my main call-out would be for a level playing field on business rates.
“At the end of the day, we’re a major family business in Scotland and we want the Government to help us bring back the good times.“
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