Rewe Group chief executive Alain Caparros has praised the group’s “highly profitable” performance in 2016, as the retailer posted a revenue increase of 5% last year to €54 billion.
The group said that a key factor influencing its performance was its improved domestic operation, with its German business increasing revenue by 2.1% to €39 billion.
The group’s Rewe supermarket banner in Germany posted a 3.9% increase in sales to €18.4 billion, with research indicating that ‘no other German food retailer grew more strongly than Rewe in the past business year’, the group said.
International Business
Revenue at the group’s international activities grew 13.4% to €15 billion. Its combined retail activities in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Ukraine saw revenue from continuing operations rise 4.4% to €8.5 billion.
In Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic, its Penny discount operation saw revenue increase by 4.1% to €4.2 billion.
“In the past business year, Rewe Group has increased its revenue by 2.6 billion euros,” said Caparros. “In view of the competitive situation in Germany and Europe, this is a very good development both in food retail and in travel and tourism.”
Successful Strategy
Caparros noted that the group’s strategy is “successful and proves to be resilient and effective even under difficult conditions. Over the past few years, we have optimised our company portfolio at home and abroad, consistently continued our course of innovation and modernisation and ensured even greater efficiency and speed in our company mainly through internal structural reforms.”
Announcing the results, Caparros confirmed that he will leave the group this summer, and is set to resign from his position on 30 June.
Commenting on his impending departure, he said, “Through great effort and commitment, we at Rewe Group have developed excellent future prospects in retail as well as in travel and tourism. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to this success during the eleven years that I have been at the helm of this company.”
© 2017 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.
