Market share in home territory grows
Darty’s group turnover grew 2 % in its first quarter (- 0.3 % on a like-for-like basis), but this growth was excluding Mistergooddeal’s impact. In its most important market France, turnover growth reached 2.4 % (and 1.1 % on a like-for-like basis). “We have once again outperformed the French market”, a satisfied CEO Régis Schultz said. “Our summer sales were very well and we have taken full advantage of the favourable weather conditions, with strong sales for our household appliances (including refrigerators and air conditioning systems).
Despite the positive results, Darty still has to deal with some negative issues as well: Mistergooddeal, a web shop it acquired last year, had a 7.7 million euro loss on a 77 million euro turnover in its 2014/2015 fiscal year and has also negatively impacted the group’s results in the first quarter. Including Mistergooddeal, both group turnover (- 0.2 %) and French turnover (- 0.4 %) dropped.
CEO Régis Schultz still believes the web shop can become break-even this fiscal year: “Mistergooddeal has made a profit, for the first time in a long time, in August”, he said. The reason for the change in fortune is that it turned its attention to (large) household appliances and discarded less lucrative product ranges.
Decline in the Netherlands, growth in Belgium
In the Low Countries, Darty’s subsidiaries Vanden Borre and BCC managed a slight combined turnover increase (+ 0.5 %), with the online branches doing exceptionally well (+ 32 %) and contributing 14 % of total turnover. Vanden Borre managed like-for-like turnover growth again in Belgium and on top of that, it will launch a chain of kitchen stores soon.
Benelux like-for-like turnover dropped 5 % however, because the Dutch branch had to deal with a “double-digit drop” on the back of a new distribution system, which in turn meant that several items were not as readily available as they should have been in the past quarter.
