Hema sales slip in Q2 2018

Dutch retailer Hema announced today that the Q2 2018 net sales came in at €286.5 million, a decrease of 0.2% compared to Q2 2017.

The retailer recorded adjusted EBITDA at € 23.1 in Q2 2018, a 6.9% decrease compared to Q1 2017, when adjusted EBITDA came in at € 24.8 million.

The retailer said that the growth slowed because of the long period of exceptionally hot weather in Northern Europe between May and July.

In Q2 2018, Hema sold 0.7% percent less apparel, while the sale of household and personal care products increased by 3.4%.

The unfavorable weather also influenced the group's like-for-like consumer sales in Q2 2018, which decreased by 4.3% compared to the same period last year. In addition to the weather, Hema also said that public transportation strikes in France were a reason for fewer people visiting its stores.

However, on a more positive note, the retailer’s online sales increased by 8% in Q2 2018 compared to Q2 2017. Furthermore, net loss in Q2 2018 decreased to €10.2 million from €29.1 million in Q2 2017. In Q2 2017, Hema noted one-time costs related to refinancing its debts.

Tjeerd Jegen, CEO at Hema, commented in a statement: “We are not satisfied with our sales development in the second quarter of 2018. Despite this limited decline in revenue, we have further improved our gross margin and net result through adequate cost management. In addition, we further strengthened our commercial position in the past quarter. By doing so, we again invested heavily in e-commerce. At the moment, our new distribution center for online orders is ready for operation. Although this temporarily led to lower online revenue growth in the second quarter due to limited processing capacity, we are optimally positioned for the traditionally stronger third and fourth quarter. We are also satisfied with our international growth, as both turnover and the number of stores outside the Netherlands have increased further in the second quarter.”

In the second quarter of 2018, Hema added a total of four new stores to its international store portfolio, two stores in Germany and two stores in France. In Germany, sales increased by 42.1% and in France by 14.4%. The retailer said that it is aiming to open 20 to 25 stores outside of the Benelux by the end of 2018.

Hema offers 30,000 of its own products and services, including apparel, beauty and home products. The retailer, which first opened its doors in 1926, operates more than 750 stores in nine countries and two continents and employs more than 19,000 people.

Hema sales slip in Q2 2018

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