As in previous years, the 2023 financial year was characterised by a difficult market environment for the food retail sector. Nevertheless, our business segments developed positively.
"The Retail International business segments in our nine countries once again generated good results in 2023 despite difficult conditions due to inflation and thus made an important contribution to the international trade business. In the CEE region in particular, we were able to continue the positive development of recent years," says Jan Kunath, Deputy CEO of the REWE Group and responsible for the international trading business.
Total Retail International sales rose by 11.4 per cent from € 20.17 billion to € 22.46 billion in 2023 (adjusted for exchange rate effects). Full-range Austria (BILLA, BILLA PLUS, BIPA, ADEG) grew by 9.7 per cent to € 9.43 billion. PENNY International increased its revenue by 14.4 per cent to € 8.67 billion. Full-range CEE (BILLA, IKI) achieved revenue of € 4.37 billion, an increase of 9.3 per cent. The number of Retail International employees rose by 1,629 to 93,714 in the past financial year. With a volume of around € 1.2 billion (2022: around € 1 billion), the investment offensive was continued as planned in 2023 despite numerous challenges in the market environment.
PENNY International with strong growth
As a typical national discounter in Italy, Romania, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, PENNY International once again achieved strong growth in 2023. PENNY Romania was once again the growth leader in 2023 with 25.9 per cent, followed by PENNY Czech Republic with 17.4 per cent and PENNY Austria with 11.0 per cent (all figures are adjusted for exchange rate effects). "The once again pleasing development with double-digit sales growth of 14.4 per cent to €8.67 billion is a clear confirmation that we have made the right decisions. Despite the challenges posed by extremely high inflation in some of our countries, we are meeting our customers' wishes," emphasised Michael Jäger, Member of the Management Board of REWE International AG. "We have reacted quickly to the inflation in the countries by increasing the share of private labels; in the Czech Republic, for example, this rose by 25 per cent last year to 45 per cent," Jäger continued. The number of employees rose by 1,118 to 28,019. The number of PENNY stores was also expanded by 87 to 1,790, and 40 new shops were opened in Romania alone.
Full-range CEE (BILLA, IKI) with positive development
Sales growth was also recorded in all full-range CEE markets (BILLA in Bulgaria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and IKI in Lithuania). BILLA Bulgaria in particular recorded strong sales growth of 15.0 per cent, followed by BILLA Slovakia at 9.0 per cent and IKI in Lithuania at 8.5 per cent. BILLA Czech Republic was able to increase its revenue by 7.5 per cent in a very difficult market environment. Revenue for the entire CEE full-range rose to € 4.37 billion.
"Our intensive investments and expansions in all four countries have proven to be extremely successful. The e-commerce launch in the Czech Republic last year was strategically important as a supplement to the brick-and-mortar shopping experience. We also further strengthened our position with new store concepts and the rollout of the new loyalty programmes in all four countries and sustainably developed our business," says Espen B. Larsen, Member of the Management Board of REWE International AG. The store network was also expanded by 28 to 827 locations in 2023, while the number of employees rose to 21,405 last year.
Full-range Austria with further milestones
"Despite difficult economic and political conditions, REWE International AG achieved successes and set new standards in 2023. in 2023, BILLA celebrated its 70th anniversary and once again lived up to its pioneering role, whether with the largest plant-based assortment in Austria at BILLA Plus or the expansion of the animal welfare initiative with Fair zum Tier," says Marcel Haraszti, Management Board member of REWE International AG.
The past business year in full-range Austria was consistently positive, with turnover growth of 9.7 per cent to €9.43 billion and an increase in employment from 458 to 44,290 employees. Another milestone in 2023 was the successful expansion of the BILLA retailers model to ten locations, including the first BILLA Kauffrau in Vienna. "The retailers model is an important strategic pillar in terms of local anchoring. With this concept, we are a strong partner at the side of our retailers, who strengthen awareness of the region and its people in their stores, especially with customised offers," says Haraszti.
Investment offensive continued in 2023
"Despite a difficult market environment in 2023, including rising costs and persistently high inflation, we as Retail International were able to continue our investment offensive and invest more than 1 billion euros in the expansion and remodelling of our brands and stores in order to strengthen them in the long term," says Kunath. "Together with our 93,714 employees at 4,565 locations, our goal remains to be number one for our customers."
*** English Version ***
As in previous years, the 2023 financial year was characterised by a difficult market environment for the food retail sector. Nevertheless, the international trading business recorded an increase in sales.
"The Retail International business divisions in our nine countries once again generated good results in 2023 despite difficult conditions due to inflation, making an important contribution to the Retail International business. "We were able to continue the positive development of recent years in the CEE region in particular," says Jan Kunath, Deputy CEO of REWE Group and who is also responsible for the Retail International business. Total Retail International sales increased by 11.4 per cent in 2023 from €20.17 billion to €22.46 billion (adjusted for exchange rate effects). Full assortment Austria (BILLA, BILLA PLUS, BIPA, ADEG) grew by + 9.7 per cent to €9.43 billion. PENNY International increased sales revenues by 14.4 per cent to €8.67 billion. Full Assortment CEE (BILLA, IKI) saw an increase of 9.3 per cent to generate revenues of €4.37 billion. The number of employees at Retail International increased by 1,629 to 93,714 in the past financial year. The investments continued as planned in 2023 with a volume of around €1.2 billion (2022: around €1 billion) despite numerous challenges in the market environment.
PENNY International sees strong growth
As a typical national discounter in Italy, Romania, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary, PENNY International continued to grow strongly in 2023. PENNY Romania was once again the growth leader in 2023 with an increase of 25.9 per cent, followed by PENNY Czech Republic at 17.4 per cent and PENNY Austria at 11.0 per cent and (all figures adjusted for exchange rate effects). "The continued positive development, with double-digit sales revenue growth of 14.4 per cent to €8.67 billion, is a clear affirmation that we have made the right decisions. We are meeting our customers' needs despite the challenges posed by exceptionally high inflation in some of our countries," emphasised Michael Jäger, member of the Executive Board at REWE International AG. "We have been quick to respond to the rise in prices in the countries by increasing the share of private labels, with this share rising e.g. by 25 per cent last year in the Czech Republic to 45 per cent," continues Jäger. The number of employees rose by 1,118 to 28,019. The number of PENNY stores also increased by 87 to 1,790, with 40 new shops opened in Romania alone.
Positive performance for full assortment CEE (BILLA, IKI)
There was also sales growth in all full assortment CEE markets (BILLA in Bulgaria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic as well as IKI in Lithuania). BILLA Bulgaria in particular recorded a strong increase in sales revenues with 15.0 per cent followed by BILLA Slovakia 9.0 per cent and IKI in Lithuania 8.5 per cent. BILLA Czech Republic was able to increase sales revenues by 7.5 per cent in a very difficult market environment. Sales revenues for the entire full assortment CEE segment rose to €4.37 billion.
"Our intensive investments and expansions in all four countries have proven to be extremely successful. The launch of e-commerce in the Czech Republic last year was strategically important as an addition to the bricks-and-mortar shopping experience. We have also further strengthened our position and sustainably developed our business with new store concepts and the rollout of the new loyalty programmes in all four countries," says Espen B. Larsen, member of the Executive Board at REWE International AG. The branch network was also expanded by 28 to 827 locations in 2023, while the number of employees rose to 21,405 last year.
Further milestones for full assortment Austria.
"REWE International AG achieved successes and set new standards in 2023 despite difficult economic and political conditions. BILLA celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2023 and has once again lived up to its pioneering role, e.g. with the largest plant-based assortment in Austria at BILLA Plus or the expansion of the animal welfare initiative with the "Fair zum Tier" (fair to animals) campaign," says Marcel Haraszti, member of the Executive Board at REWE International AG.
The past financial year for full assortment Austria was a thoroughly positive one with sales revenue growth of 9.7 per cent to €9.43 billion and an increase in the workforce of 458 to 44,290 employees. A further milestone in 2023 included the successful expansion of the BILLA retailers model to ten locations, including the first BILLA store to be run by a woman in Vienna. "The retailers model is an important strategic pillar when it comes to establishing roots at the local level. This concept empowers us to be a strong partner supporting our retailers, who raise awareness of the region and its people in their stores, particularly with customised offers," says Haraszti.
Investment plan continued in 2023
"Despite a difficult market environment in 2023, including rising costs and persistently high inflation, we were able at Retail International to continue our investment campaign and invest more than 1 billion euros in expanding and reorganising our brands and stores in order to put these on a strong and sustainable footing," says Kunath. "Together with our 93,714 employees at 4,565 locations, our goal remains to be the number one choice for our customers."
