German retailer Edeka Nord has reported 7.7% growth in consolidated group sales, to €3.8 billion, in its financial year 2021.
Independent merchants at Edeka Nord saw like-for-like sales growth of 2.9% during the financial year, the group added.
Edeka Nord opened three new stores, took over two former real properties, relocated six properties and expanded ten outlets during this period.
Stefan Giese, CEO of Edeka Nord, commented, “Even in 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic still had us firmly in its grip and presented us with many challenges.
"Despite the ongoing enormous burdens in retail and in our wholesale and production operations, we were able to continue our growth of the past few years. We have proven to be a reliable partner for consumers in the region."
As of 31 December 2021, Edeka Nord supplied 658 stores with an average sales area of 1,238 square metres and generated consolidated net income of around €36.1 million.
Sales Growth
The company attributed sales growth in the wholesale division to the success of the independent merchants.
The company operated and managed six Marktkauf stores and nine Edeka stores, covering a sales area of around 62,000 square metres as of the end of the financial year 2021.
Sales at Edeka Nord’s meat plant amounted to €370.8 million, up from €366.6 million in the previous financial year.
Outlook
Giese added that the company expects 2022 to be “a demanding year” with “many challenges” due to rising costs and other factors.
“Nevertheless, we are confident that we will find the right solutions for these challenges together with our merchants and we are optimistic about the coming months of this year", he added.
Edeka Nord plans to invest in advanced logistics and IT infrastructure this year.
It plans to complete road expansion and rehabilitation around the deep-freeze warehouse in 2022 at the Zarrentin storage location.
The commissioning of the fresh storage facility at the new storage location in the Neumünster Eichhof business park is planned for the end of 2022, the retailer added.
In the first quarter of 2022, Edeka Nord acquired the remaining 55% of the shares in HvA Holding GmbH to complete the acquisition of the Allwörden bakery.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
