ICA Sweden has released its sales figures for the month of December 2021.
Sales in ICA stores increased by 0.7% in the month compared with the corresponding month last year. Elsewhere, sales increased by 0.3% on a like-for-like basis compared December 2020.
Sales Performance
In December 2021, sales in ICA stores totalled SEK 12,403 million (€1.21 billion) excluding VAT, which is an increase of 0.7% compared with the same month in the previous year.
The group's Maxi ICA Stormarknad and ICA Kvantum banners increased like-for-like sales by 0.9% and 0.4% respectively.
However, ICA Supermarket and ICA Nära recorded a decrease in like-for-like sales of 0.1% and 0.6% respectively.
From January 2022, ICA Sweden will stop publishing monthly sales data.
12-Month Performance
Sales in the 12-month period from January- December 2021 amounted to SEK 132,083 million (€12.85 billion), an increase of 1.0% compared with the previous year.
The calendar effect in December is estimated to be +0.2%. As of 31 December 2021, the number of ICA stores in operation was 1,267.
All branches of ICA Sweden recorded positive growth in 2021 compared to the previous year, with ICA Nära reporting the biggest increase over the period, at +2.25% on a like-for-like basis.
In December, the retailer announced that it plans to develop a new 23,000 square metre freezer warehouse in Hacksta, Västerås, which will be built adjacent to its existing warehouse in Västerås, around 120 kilometres west of Stockholm. It is expected to commence operations in 2025.
The investment is set to be worth approximately SEK 1.8 billion, ICA said, and is in line with the development plan for the Västerås property, which was acquired in April 2020.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
