With our broad international positioning in Retail, Travel and Tourism and Convenience, we were once again able to bring the 2023 financial year to a stable and successful close.
Total sales clearly exceeded the 92 billion euro threshold, partly due to inflation. EBITA developed positively again after a decline in 2022. Annual profit totalled 736.2 million euros. The number of our employees rose by 1.3% to 389,270. With a volume of three billion euros, the investment offensive in infrastructure, modernisation, digitalisation, innovation and sustainability - in short, in the customer wishes of tomorrow - was consistently continued.
Our Management Board (from left): Telerik Shishmanov (CFO), Peter Maly (COO Logistics and Supply Chain Management), Lionel Souque (CEO), Dr Daniela Büchel (Chief People and Sustainability Officer), Hans-Jürgen Moog (Chief Procurement Officer), Jan Kunath (Deputy Chief Executive Officer), Christoph Eltze (Chief Digital and Technology Officer). Photo: Marc Bright
The 2023 financial year continued to be characterised by a difficult geopolitical and economic environment: the effects of the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, extreme weather conditions and natural disasters, uncertain supply chains, price increases in all areas - logistics, transport and packaging were the main price drivers - high inflation and the resulting financial uncertainty among consumers. "Would we like simpler framework conditions? Of course we would. But neither wishing is a promising management practice, nor is sitting out difficult phases our style," says Lionel Souque, CEO of the REWE Group, "We are doing what is in our cooperative DNA: Tackle. Shape. Securing the future. This is what our 389,270 colleagues, who give their best for REWE Group every day, stand for. Thank you for keeping the shop running!"
REWE Group had a good economic development in 2023. Key steps for future competitiveness and continued sustainable, healthy growth were initiated and successfully implemented.
Affordable prices for all customers remain a top priority in 2023
People's concerns about the rising cost of living remained high in 2023, and not just in Germany. Many had to - or wanted to - save money on food. "Affordable prices for all our customers were - and are - therefore a top priority. We also invested in prices in 2023. In some cases, we negotiated very hard with major international suppliers - for some, it was essentially about not completely losing sight of what our joint customers can and want to afford," explained Souque. It was also unacceptable for key cost components to fall again, but for this not to be reflected in the pricing. Since the peak at Easter 2023, inflation on our shelves has fallen continuously. Currently, there is no longer any inflation in our product ranges across all of our stores, and prices are even falling on a weighted basis.
Increased focus on offers, private labels and entry-level products
The high level of price sensitivity among all shopper groups had a noticeable impact on shopping behaviour in 2023: consumers increasingly turned to offers, private labels and entry-level price products. "At REWE and PENNY, we have set the right priorities and accents, which has been honoured by customers. We are seeing very good development in both supermarkets and discount stores, but this also includes a corresponding inflation factor," says the CEO of the REWE Group. The 1,550 independent REWE retailers, who now operate 2,090 stores (+ 2.5 per cent compared to 2022), also scored points with their special customer proximity and orientation and achieved a pleasing increase in turnover of around nine per cent to 17.4 billion euros: "They are and will remain a decisive factor in our success," emphasised Lionel Souque.
Travel and Tourism back on track for success with strong performance
The summer of 2023 was characterised by a great desire to travel across all source markets: "On the one hand, the pent-up demand for travel after the pandemic continues. On the other hand, many people have decided to treat themselves to a holiday and save elsewhere if necessary. And our Travel and Tourism division was excellently positioned for the sharp rise in interest in package holidays and the Europe-wide trend towards higher-quality holidays," said Souque, explaining the pleasing sales performance, which even exceeded the 2019 level in some areas. In addition to expanding the speciality travel segment, DERTOUR Group also continued to develop its strategic growth area of hotel business in 2023 with the opening of further hotels and investments in property.
Securing competitiveness, consistently developing business segments
In 2023, property was also one of the focal points for securing long-term competitiveness: "We have placed a strong focus on owning more properties. This allows us to cushion rising rental costs, but also gives us more scope for further greening, such as renewable energies or electric filling stations," says REWE Group CFO Telerik Schischmanow. The proportion of properties owned was further increased, making REWE Group one of the largest buyers and property developers in European food retail last year.
The cooperative REWE Group consistently continued its investment offensive in infrastructure, modernisation, digitalisation, innovation and sustainability in all of its stores in the past business year: at three billion euros, one of the highest investment volumes in European retail was made in 2023 to successfully develop the business segments and secure future competitiveness.
*** English Version ***
Bolstered by its broad international positioning in retail, travel and tourism, convenience, the REWE Group produced another stable and successful business year in 2023.
Total revenue clearly exceeded the mark of 92 billion euros - due in part to inflation. EBITA rebounded from the decline it experienced in 2022. The annual profit for the year totalled 736.2 million euros. The company's workforce increased by 1.3 per cent to 389,270 employees. The company pressed ahead with its investment offensive, pouring 3 billion euros into its infrastructure, modernisation, digitalisation, innovation and sustainability - in short, into the customer wishes of tomorrow.
Like business years before it, 2023 was defined by a challenging geopolitical and economic environment: the impact of the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East, extreme weather conditions and natural disasters, unstable supply chains, price increases in all areas - logistics, transport and packaging in particular - were price drivers along with high inflation and the financial uncertainty that it caused among consumers. "Would we like for business conditions to be less challenging? Certainly. But wishing is not a productive management practice and standing on the sidelines when things get tough is not our style," says Lionel Souque, CEO of REWE Group. "We are doing what our cooperative DNA tells us to do: Get to work. Make a difference. To safeguard the future." The REWE Group performed well in 2023. The company initiated and successfully took key steps to strengthen its future competitiveness and generate continued long-range, healthy growth.
Affordable prices for all customers remained a top priority in 2023
Not only German consumers remained extremely worried about the rising cost of living in 2023. Many had to - or wanted to - save money on food. "Affordable prices for all our customers were - and remain - a top priority," Souque said. "We also invested in our prices for 2023. Some of the negotiations with major international suppliers were very tough. During some of them, our aim was not to completely lose sight of what our mutual customers could and wanted to afford." The CEO added that the company could not understand why key cost components were falling again, while prices failed to reflect these declines. Since the peak at Easter 2023, inflation on our shelves has fallen continuously. Currently, there is no longer any inflation in our product ranges - across all our stores - and prices are even falling on a weighted basis.
Increased focus on special deals, private labels and entry-level products
The high level of price sensitivity among all consumer groups had a noticeable impact on shopping behaviour in 2023: Consumers increasingly turned to special deals, private labels and entry-level products. "We have set the right priorities and accents at REWE and PENNY. Customers have noticed and expressed their appreciation," the CEO of the REWE Group said. "The supermarket and discount segments are performing very well. But there is an inflation factor involved in it." Independent REWE retailers, a group that now comprises 2,090 stores (increase of 2.5 per cent compared with 2022), also scored points with their special form of customer centricity and orientation. They generated a pleasing increase in revenue of around 9 per cent to 17.4 billion euros in the process: "They are and will remain a critically important factor in our success," Lionel Souque said.
Travel and tourism back on track for success with strong performance
The summer of 2023 was characterised by a great desire to travel across all source markets: "On the one hand, the pent-up demand for travel after the pandemic continues. On the other hand, many people have decided to treat themselves to a holiday and prefer to save money elsewhere if necessary. Our tourism division was excellently positioned for the sharp rise in interest in package holidays and the Europe-wide trend towards higher-quality holidays," Souque said in describing the pleasing revenue performance, which even exceeded the 2019 level in some cases. In addition to expanding the speciality travel segment, the DERTOUR Group continued to develop its strategic growth area of hotel business in 2023 by opening additional hotels and investing in property.
Bolstering competitiveness, systematically developing business segments
In 2023, ownership was also one of the focal points of the company's work to ensure long-term competitiveness: "We have placed a strong focus on more owner-occupied properties," said REWE Group CFO Telerik Schischmanow. "This allows us to cushion the blow caused by rising rental costs, but also gives us more freedom to carry out additional green projects, things like renewable energies and electric charging stations." The share of properties owned by the company increased further, making REWE Group one of the largest real-estate buyers and property developers in European food retailing last year.
The cooperative REWE Group systematically continued its investment offensive in infrastructure, modernisation, digitalisation, innovation and sustainability in all of its markets during the past business year: In 2023, investments totalled 3 billion euros, one of the highest volumes in European retail. The funds were invested in the continued successful development of the business segments and the company's future competitiveness.