Clas Ohlson’s sales in the Nordic countries were unchanged in December. This year’s Christmas shopping season began in earnest during “Black Week” and sales increased by 2 per cent in the Nordics during the November and December Christmas shopping period.
Total sales in December decreased by 2 per cent to 1 285 MSEK (1 316), corresponding to an organic decrease of 2 per cent compared to the preceding year. Sales in comparable units and local currency decreased by 1 per cent. The comparative amounts for the period corresponding to the preceding year were affected by clearance sales in the German stores, initiated to facilitate the closure. Sales in the Nordic countries in December remained unchanged. Online sales during the month increased by 27 per cent to 74 MSEK (58).
It has become clear that the Christmas shopping season starts in November already, most notably in connection with ’Black Week’, and then continues throughout December and culminates around the Christmas holidays and during post-Christmas sales. During the period November to December sales in the Nordics increased by 2 per cent which corresponds to an organic increase of 2 per cent.
Compared to December of the previous year, there was a net reduction in the store network of six stores. The total number of stores at the end of the month was 232.
| Countries, MSEK | December 2019/20 |
December 2018/19 |
Percentage change | Organic growth |
| Sweden | 579 | 561 | 3 | 3 |
| Norway | 529 | 540 | -2 | -1 |
| Finland | 168 | 175 | -4 | -6 |
| Nordics | 1 276 | 1 276 | 0 | 0 |
| Outside the Nordics* | 10 | 39 | -76 | -77 |
| Total** | 1 285 | 1 316 | -2 | -2 |
* Affected by store closures in the UK and Germany.
** Of which 74 MSEK (58) comprises online sales.
Total sales for the first eight months of the financial year 2019/20 (May to December 2019) increased by 1 per cent to 6,490 MSEK (6,410). Organic sales increased by 1 per cent. Sales in comparable units and local currency increased by 2 per cent. Online sales for the period increased by 19 per cent to 366 MSEK (308).
For more information, please contact:
Carolina Strömlid, Head of Investor Relations, +46 70 880 71 73, carolina.stromlid@clasohlson.se.
This is information that Clas Ohlson AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 7:00 am CET on 15 January 2020.
Clas Ohlson was founded in 1918 as a mail order business in Insjön, Sweden. Today we are a retail company with customers in five markets, approximately 5,000 co-workers and annual sales of approximately 8.8 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 and inspire people to improve their everyday lives by offering smart, simple, practical solutions at attractive prices. Visit about.clasohlson.com/en to read about our passion for simplifying life in all kinds of homes.