Clas Ohlson’s sales in December increased compared to the previous year
Sales in December, excluding the acquired Spares Group, increased by 11 per cent to 1,366 MSEK (1,234). Organic sales increased by 14 per cent compared to the previous year.
Sales in comparable units and local currency increased by 14 per cent compared to the previous year. Sales, including Spares Group amounted to 1,422 MSEK (1,234). Online sales, excluding Spares Group increased by 22 per cent to 142 MSEK (116). Online sales, including Spares Group amounted to 197 MSEK (116). Compared to the same month last year the store network decreased by 1 store. At the end of the period, the total number of stores was 224 (225).
| Distribution of sales | Month | Accumulated | ||||
| December | Change | May-December | Change | |||
| MSEK | 2023/24 | SEK | Organic | 2023/24 | SEK | Organic |
| Sweden | 625 | 18% | 18% | 3,254 | 10% | 10% |
| Norway | 588 | 5% | 13% | 3,064 | 6% | 11% |
| Finland | 153 | 7% | 5% | 832 | 10% | 2% |
| SPARES-Acquired sales | 55 | - | - | 122 | - | - |
| Total | 1,422 | 15% | 14% | 7,271 | 10% | 10% |
| Of which online | 197 | 70% | 26% | 986 | 30% | 15% |
Total sales for the period May–December 2023, excluding the acquired Spares Group increased by 8 per cent to 7,150 MSEK (6,613). Organic sales increased by 10 per cent compared to the previous year. Sales in comparable units and local currency increased by 10 per cent compared to the previous year. Sales, including Spares Group amounted to 7,271 MSEK (6,613). Online sales, excluding Spares Group increased by 14 per cent to 865 MSEK (761). Online sales, including Spares Group amounted to 986 MSEK (761).
Kristofer Tonström, CEO and President: After a good start to Christmas sales in November, we finished the calendar year even stronger with an organic sales increase of 14 per cent and a sales increase of 14 per cent in comparable units. The sales growth is widely distributed across our store network and e-commerce in all countries, although Sweden stands out positively with an increase in sales of as much as 18 per cent. The work on range and product availability continues to yield results and, as in previous months, we succeeded in increasing sales in all prioritised product categories. Not least, we saw that we strengthened our position as a Christmas destination as price-conscious customers appreciated the efforts we made with attractive offers for typical Christmas gifts. This is in line with the longer-term trend that customers are increasingly comparing prices and waiting for the right offer. We will therefore continue our efforts to create as competitive a cost base as possible in order to defend our price position, something that is crucial in a challenging macroeconomic situation.
For further information, please contact:
Niklas Carlsson, Head of Communications and Investor Relations, +46 247 444 29, niklas.carlsson@clasohlson.se
This is information that Clas Ohlson AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. This information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 7:00 a.m. CET on 8 January 2024.
Clas Ohlson was founded in 1918 as a mail order business in Insjön, Sweden. Today we are a retail company with customers in three markets, approximately 5,000 co-workers and annual sales of approximately 9 billion SEK. Our share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. A lot has happened since the start in 1918, but one thing has remained the same over the years; that we want to help people fix their homes with practical and sustainable solutions at attractive prices. Visit about.clasohlson.com/en to read more about us and how we make home fixing available, sustainable and enjoyable for everyone.