Swedish retailer ICA has announced that sales increased by 4.3% in December, reaching SEK 10.95 billion, while sales in like-for-like stores were up 3.6%.
Festive shopping gave a boost to the retailer's performance last month, with sales increasing from the SEK 9.17 billion recorded in November.
This brings ICA Sweden's total sales for 2017 to SEK 114.3 billion, which represents an increase of 3.1% compared with the previous year.
During the year, the retail group saw sales growth across all of its store banners, including Maxi ICA Stormarknad (+3.2%), ICA Kvantum (+4.1%), ICA Supermarket (2.5%), and ICA Nära (+2.1%).
Expansion Plans
At the end of December 2017, ICA had a total of 1,287 stores in Sweden.
However, the retailer has plans to strengthen its store network this year, with a focus on urban expansion and the convenience retail segment.
In the group's Strategic Priorities for 2018, which was released last month, ICA Gruppen said that it plans to build on its omni-channel offerings across its businesses and platforms, as well as ensuring competitive pricing and fair price perception.
It also intends to boost its non-food and banking offerings, focus on logistics, reliability and store competitiveness, and improve performance management.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
