“In 2022, we recorded the strongest growth in revenue in the last ten years”, welcomed Philipp Wyss, managing director (CEO) of Coop, Tuesday during the presentation of the annual report.
Turnover increased by 7.3% to 34.2 billion francs, driven by both retail and wholesale trade. However, the sharp increase in costs, estimated at 250 million, prevented an increase in net profit of the same magnitude. The latter recorded a very slight increase of 0.5% to 562 million francs. It must be fully reinvested in the business.
Retail sales at almost 20 billion
Sales of the retail division increased by 1.6% to 19.9 billion francs and those of the wholesale and production division by 14.9% to 15.7 billion. In this last segment, Transgourmet contributed 11.1 billion and the industrial butcher and delicatessen Bell 4.3 billion.
Sales in supermarkets fell by 4.4% to 11.6 billion over one year. That’s because consumer habits had changed due to the pandemic, Coop says, which had benefited food retailers. Compared to 2019, revenue is nevertheless up by 8.8%.
Tense negotiations with suppliers
At Coop, inflation reached 1.4% last year, a “figure well below the inflation recorded in Switzerland”, explained the CEO. The latter highlighted “investments in prices”, in particular in the inexpensive Prix Garantie range and in fruit and vegetables.
“Certainly the margins were under pressure and the negotiations with the suppliers were particularly tense last year”, conceded the CEO.
E-commerce on the rise
Online commerce generated revenues of close to 5 billion, up by a third over one year. Orders placed on Coop.ch generated a sharp increase in turnover to 288 million (+8.5%), while the non-food segments suffered rather setbacks, explained Philipp Wyss.
The company has also taken a majority stake in fast-food specialist Two Spices, which generated sales of 90 million last year.
In 2023, Coop wants to continue its investments in the renovation of its sales areas, while the company allocates an average of 1 billion francs each year for projects in Switzerland.
At the end of 2022, the major distributor employed 94,790 people, or 286 more than a year earlier.
ats/oang