French Fnac Darty has significantly increased its turnover in the third quarter, as online sales and turnover in the Benelux grew sharply.
Digitisation
The distributor of electronic appliances, household appliances and cultural products achieved sales of 1.82 billion euros in the third quarter, 3.7 % more than in the same period last year. Excluding acquisitions, revenue increased by 1.7 %. The group progressed in all the regions in which it operates, but organic growth in the Benelux was particularly strong with 9.5 %. The group benefited from the successful integration of Wehkamp and strong sales of household appliances in Belgium. Total sales in the Benelux (with Fnac and Vanden Borre in Belgium and BCC in the Netherlands) amounted to 250 million euros.
Online the group even achieved a double-digit growth: e-commerce now accounts for 19 % of the group’s total turnover. In the past quarter, Fnac Darty again invested heavily in the further digitisation of its stores and in improving its customer experience. An example of this is the roll-out of the ‘1 hour click & collect’ service for products such as books in all Fnac stores.
“All our transformation plans, as well as the operational quality executed by our teams, have put Fnac Darty in an excellent position to tackle the decisive end-of-year commercial period“, CEO Enrique Martinez said. Consequently, the group confirms its medium-term objectives: an above-market growth and an operating margin of 4.5 % to 5 %.
