Convenience wholesaler Lekkerland has posted a 4.2% increase in full year sales last year to €13 billion.
The business, which has operations in six European countries, saw its gross margin grow by €24.7 million for the year to €620.5 million.
Regional Growth
The business was boosted by business expansions and cost structure optimisation during the period, with all its segments seeing growth. Its home market of Germany posted a rise of 0.7% to €7.74 billion, while its Rest of Western Europe business posted an increase of 9.7% to €5.3 billion, driven by an acquisition in Switzerland, Contadis.
In addition, its various divisions also posted growth: its tobacco business saw an increase of 4.7% in sales, while sales in the food/non-food business grew by 1.9% and sales in the electronic value/miscellaneous sector grew 5.0%.
“Overall, Lekkerland is in a good position, as is demonstrated by the results of the past business year,” said chief executive Patrick Steppe.
Solutions Provider
The group has also invested in enhancing its 'solutions provider' business for retailers, with the rollout of the first two stores boasting Lekkerland's new 'Frischwerk' store concept in Germany, as well as the introduction of foodservice concepts in other markets.
The coming year will see Lekkerland focus more on the needs of its retail customers, the company said, with the rollout of its 'Retail Enablement' stategy, to make shops more appealing for customers. It will also look at integrating more digital solutions into the retail environment.
“This means that we will continue focusing on solutions which enable shop operators to achieve profitable growth,” said Steppe.
In terms of sales expectations for the year ahead, 2017 is likely to be influenced by 'the trend towards a shrinking market volume for tobacco goods in the core markets and the reduction of business relations with one major customer in Germany', the company added.
© 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
