TORONTO, Canada – Aegis Brands Inc. has reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year end as of December 25th, 2022. Sales at Bridgehead coffeehouses improved throughout the fourth quarter with most of the gain realized in the downtown Ottawa locations as more workers return to the office. Management is optimistic that the new mandate of at least two days in the office for federal government workers by the end of March will further improve the stores that have been the slowest to recover from the pandemic.
The Carleton University location has become the best performing store since the return of students on campus in September. “We realize and are realistic about the new landscape of the coffeehouses in Ottawa, however we believe the return to office work is not yet complete.
Additionally, we are looking to replicate the success of our Carleton location by developing more non-traditional sites.
The Bridgehead brand is strong, the coffee quality is second-to-none and the goal of buying organic and fairly traded coffee provides the opportunity to expose more and more Canadians to the Bridgehead experience.” said Kate Burnett, President of Bridgehead.
The wholesale business continues to progress by adding more locations each quarter while existing locations with Farm Boy and Costco are performing well. 2022 saw a 30% increase in the wholesale business over 2021.
The food service business and hospitality sectors are being explored in hopes to find more opportunities to get the coffee into the hands of new customers. The ecommerce business has seen a drop of 28.5% to last year. As Bridgehead locations are open without restriction and more and more grocery outlets are selling Bridgehead coffee, the demand for ecommerce sales has naturally subsided.
The leadership team at Bridgehead continues to explore new ways to tell the Bridgehead story, get new guests in the coffeehouses, and have more communities with Bridgehead coffee brewed in their homes.
“Although the coffee industry is crowded, there are few if any companies in Canada with the heritage and the quality of Bridgehead. With over 40 years of doing what is right for the earth and for the people who produce our coffee, we need to introduce as many Canadians as possible as we grow this brand outside of Ottawa.” said Burnett.
