Record year for interior chain JYSK thanks to staycations

JYSK achieved a record turnover of 4.1 billion euros in the past financial year 2019/2020. This represents a 7.6% growth, thanks to the corona crisis: people invested in their homes for their staycation.

Travel budget for furniture

Many people have spent their travel budget on new furniture for their home and garden, believes Jan Bøgh, CEO of interior chain JYSK. The top executive has had a record year, thanks to the corona crisis. Turnover increased by 7.6% in the past financial year 2019/2020, reaching 4.1 billion euros.

The number of customers is also close to the previous year’s level, despite the fact that the majority of JYSK shops were closed in March and April. The growth is therefore a combination of good pre-coronavirus sales and a significant increase in the number of customers after the lockdown, according to Bøgh. Online sales also grew significantly, as elsewhere.

Economic consequences are still to come

Profit calculation is not yet ready, but the CEO is already talking about a positive evolution. He warns that the chain has had to incur a lot of extra costs. As a result of the health crisis, JYSK has also seen its European roll-out slow down a little – and that has saved investments.

However, the formula, known for its aggressive expansion policy, is determined to make up for this damage. While JYSK has “only” opened 106 new shops in 2019/20, the furniture retailer plans to open more than 150 new shops during the current financial year.

Jan Bøgh nevertheless stresses that the challenges in the current financial year could well be even greater than in the previous year. “As European governments have supported employment and the economy, many companies have not felt the real economic impact of the corona virus in the previous financial year. I expect this to affect many companies in 2021, and if unemployment rises sharply it will also affect JYSK,” he says.