Lindex dragged Stockmann to decline in Q4

The decline in Lindex (-3,1%) shadowed the slight growth (+0,7%) of the department store arm (Retail) of the Stockmann group. After five consecutive strong growth quarters after the pandemic lockdowns, Lindex has seen declining growth for two quarters. Despite that, the whole year of 2022 saw growth because of the solid start for the year. With that, Lindex has bounced back to above the pre-pandemic revenue levels. Also, the profitability of Lindex declined slightly despite the improved margins from Q4/2021.

The department store arm (Retail) has also seen a growth decline after the strong bounce back of the post-pandemic customer behaviour. In the difficult inflationary market environment, the Retail segment saw positive growth as the overall non-food market declined slightly.

The Retail segment of Stockmann has been outgrowing the non-food market for seven consecutive quarters. 

A three million euro increase in the store business drove the slight growth of the Retail segment. At the same time, the online business saw revenues declines by -11,4%. The online share of the Retail segment is 14,7%. That remains a significant lost opportunity to gain new revenue and attract new customers.

Differences in the post-pandemic bounce back

As mentioned above, Lindex has been able to bounce back to above the pre-pandemic revenue levels. Lindex revenues are +14,8% higher than in 2019. For the Retail segment, the revenues are still significantly below the pre-pandemic levels, with -16,7% below the 2019 revenue.