Lower January sales For Clas Ohlson

Sales in January decreased by 9 per cent to 568 MSEK (625). Organic sales decreased by 5 per cent compared to the previous year. Sales in comparable units and local currency decreased by 4 per cent compared to the previous year.

Online sales increased by 76 per cent to 70 MSEK (40).

Compared to the same month last year the store network was reduced by 2 stores. At the end of the period the total number of stores was 228 (230).

Total sales for the period May-January 2021 decreased by 5 per cent to 6,746 MSEK (7,115). Organic growth was unchanged compared to the previous year. Sales in comparable units and local currency were unchanged. Online sales for the period increased by 50 per cent to 621 MSEK (413).

Kristofer Tonström, President and CEO: January sales were to a large degree impacted by a continued severe situation on our Nordic markets and new governmental actions aimed at decreasing the spread of Covid-19. When Oslo and several nearby areas introduced sharper restrictions in the end of the month, it was the first time during the pandemic that we needed to temporarily close stores. With lower customer traffic, we placed a special focus on offering safe and accessible online sales, for instance by quickly enabling delivery of online orders outside affected stores in the Oslo area, as well as maintaining good cost control. Organic sales in January decreased by 5 per cent and total sales decreased by 9 per cent as an effect of a continued weak NOK. Our online sales increased by 76 per cent during the period, with an especially good development in the Swedish market.

Source : Clas Ohlson

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