Which retailers succeeded after the pandemic?

As the pandemic has faded, the retail industry has shifted from the “essential” retailers to more widespread growth. Also the unprecedented comparison numbers from the pandemic have created polarised levels of growth between the pandemic winners and the retailers who suffered during the pandemic.

DIY and pets to rule them all

Big retailers in general were the big winners of the pandemic. As a result of the big growth during 2020 and 2021, the growth of the big retailers has normalised. Verkkokauppa.com has been the outlier with quite steep declines in sales.

However, the big outlier in the bigger picture is the DIY segment, which grew rapidly during the pandemic, but has also kept on growing during early 2022. The nearly 20% growth of K-Rauta Finland (with billion euros of annual revenue) is a great achievement. However, the online induced growth of BHG Finland on top of the 40% and 50% quarters of growth is also something to note for.

Besides the DIY segment Pet foods (Musti Group) clearly have been the robust growth story that shone through the pandemic, but managed to keep the growth going.

The fashion segment driven by Stockmann has bounced back from the depth of the pandemic, but the growth has been sluggish with around 10% quarterly growth.