German retailer Globus Group has closed the first half of its financial year 2020/21 with sales of €3.92 billion, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
EBIT for the six months ended 31 December 2020 amounted to €194.3 million.
During the quarter, Globus rolled out a click & collect service, which is now available in four markets.
The retailer also gained approval to acquire to take over up to 24 Real hypermarket locations across the country.
Divisional Performance
The group's 47 German hypermarkets saw a 3.4% year-on-year increase in sales, to €1.53 billion (€1.75 billion including petrol stations), despite the closure of restaurants due to lockdown restrictions.
The retailer witnessed significant changes in shopping behaviour with fewer store visits and larger purchases. It said that the trend towards healthier, more sustainable, and regional nutrition and at-home cooking experience gained ground.
Its 90 Globus DIY stores and the six AlphaTecc outlets posted sales of €952 million in this period, with consumer electronics stores posting sales growth of 3.7%.
In Russia, the 18 Globus hypermarkets reported a sales increase of 5.1% in the first half to RUB61.04 billion.
The company's division in Czechia saw turnover decline by 5% to €544.3 million.
Resilience And Agility
Commenting on the company's performance, management spokesperson for Globus Holding, Matthias Bruch, said, "We are very satisfied with the development in the first half of the financial year, despite the renewed closure of our restaurants, DIY stores and electronics stores.
"Globus has demonstrated resilience and agility over the past few months. As a company, we can also deal with the unexpected and draw positive energy from it for the future."
As of December 31, 2020, the Globus Group employed 46,900 people, comprising around 19,000 in German hypermarkets, over 9,400 in specialist stores, 7,800 in the Czech Republic, and more than 10,500 in Russia.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
