Convenience wholesaler Lekkerland is pledging to offer its customers 'tailor-made logistics solutions and diverse services' as it seeks to gain a competitive edge in the busy convenience market.
Announcing its 2018 results, the German-based business, which also boasts operations in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Spain, said that digitalisation will play a 'major role' in the group's offering going forward.
Online Delivery Tracking
It rolled out online delivery tracking in Germany last year, a service it plans to introduce to the rest of its estate in 2019, which enables its customers to track delivery times and/or report delays.
In addition, the group has rolled out a new ordering app in Belgium and the Netherlands that synchronises to its webshop, while customers in Austria can place orders and track invoices on the Lekkerland24 platform.
A potentially larger-scale concept the group is seeking to extend this year is Frischwerk, in which Lekkerland provides the store design, interior styling, range selection and marketing for convenience stores – four pilot stores under the concept opened in Germany last year.
The investment is being made as Lekkerland seeks to position itself as 'your most convenient partner' for convenience operators, the group said.
"We put our customers in the position of being able to provide an optimum response to the desires of consumers and current trends in on-the-go consumption,” commented Patrick Steppe, Lekkerland chairman.
Sales Performance
Lekkerland generated sales of €12.4 billion last year, which was down on the €12.8 billion the previous year, 'due to the departure of a large customer in Germany', the group said. Part of the fall in sales can also be attributed to the application of the new IFRS accounting standards.
EBIT stood at €92.7 million, also down from the €104.3 million the previous year.
Sales in the group's tobacco business fell 3.1% to €9.8 billion, in food and non-food, sales were down 3.0% to €2.5 billion, and in the electronic value/miscellaneous segment, sales fell by 6.2% to €111.8 million.
“The business year 2018 has exceeded our ambitious expectations and, given the challenges, underwent gratifying progress,” Steppe commented.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
