Interim figures for the 2010/11: DOUGLAS Group narrowly achieves its sales target

Hagen, October 10, 2011 – For the 2010/11 fiscal year (10/1/2010 – 9/30/2011), based on preliminary figures, the DOUGLAS Group’s net sales were up by 1.8 percent (like-for-like: +1.5 percent) to nearly 3.4 billion EUR. Growth in earnings between 2 and 4 percent for the fiscal year had been expected. “We again achieved our sales target this year, albeit somewhat more narrowly than in the previous years. Against the backdrop of the industry-specific trend in declining sales in our Thalia bookstores and in some international markets, we are nevertheless reasonably satisfied,” said Dr. Henning Kreke, President and CEO of DOUGLAS HOLDING, commenting on the reported figures. “We are extremely satisfied with the sales trend in our Christ jewelry stores and Douglas perfumeries in our home market in Germany,” he added. “Growth in online sales was also very positive. This shows how important it is to substantially expand our multi-channel activities.”

In Germany, DOUGLAS Group’s sales in the 2010/11 fiscal year rose by 4.0 percent compared to the previous year (like-for-like: +3.0 percent) to about 2.3 billion EUR. Due to continuing weak consumer demand in some markets, however, international sales fell 2.5 percent compared to the previous year (like-for-like: −1.7 percent), at 1.1 billion EUR.

The DOUGLAS Group’s online sales continued to grow dramatically with an increase of about 27 percent compared to the previous year. During the reporting period, their share of the Group’s total sales was around 6 percent. “Once again, my special thanks go to our 24,000 employees whose warm friendliness, willingness to provide  high-level service, and passion for their work have created such enthusiasm among our customers for the DOUGLAS Group’s specialty stores and online shops,” stated Dr. Henning Kreke.

The Douglas perfumeries generated sales of about 1.9 billion EUR matching last year’s level (like-for-like: +1.8 percent). Growth in Germany has been particularly  gratifying. Here, sales rose by 4.6 percent (like-for-like: +4.5 percent) to nearly 1 billion EUR. At about 890 million EUR, sales by Douglas perfumeries in other countries declined compared to the previous year’s figure by 4.6 percent (like-for-like: −1.1 percent). The situation was challenging in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and Croatia. Stores in Austria, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Hungary, however, showed growth. Based on the current country portfolio—in other words, adjusted for exiting the Russian, US, and Danish markets—international sales rose by 0.8 percent.

In the book sector, the Thalia Group posted sales of 934 million EUR, corresponding to an increase of 3.2 percent (like-for-like: −1.0 percent). This includes sales by buch.de, which has been fully consolidated since December 2009. Sales in brick-and-mortar stores fell by 1.4 percent (like-for-like: −3.9 percent). In Germany, the Thalia Group recorded an increase in sales of 2.0 percent (like-for-like: −0.1 percent) totaling 704 million EUR. As a result of foreign currency effects, among others, international sales rose by 6.9 percent (like-for-like: −3.5 percent) to 231 million EUR. The Thalia Group’s online sales rose by 20 percent. All in all, Thalia generated 14 percent of its total sales on the internet.

The Christ jewelry stores’ sales were up 9.7 percent (like-for-like: +8.5 percent), the largest increase in the entire DOUGLAS Group. Thanks to their successful trend-oriented and exclusive brands strategy, their sales figure rose to 340 million EUR. Sales generated by the AppelrathCüpper women’s fashion stores grew to about 125 million EUR. This corresponds to an increase of 0.3 percent (like-for-like: +1.4 percent) compared to the previous year. It should be noted that AppelrathCüpper’s very positive sales trend was interrupted by unseasonably warm weather in September, a significant setback for the start of  the fall/winter season, which was experienced by the entire industry.

In the 2010/11 fiscal year, the Hussel confectioneries posted sales of 98 million EUR, which, unfortunately, represented a decline of 1.3 percent compared to the previous year. Adjusted by store closures, like-for-like sales revenue was slightly higher than the previous year’s figure by 0.1   percent.

Outlook

“Despite the difficulties at Thalia,” said Dr. Henning Kreke, “we still expect that we will narrowly reach our target operating margin.” The DOUGLAS Group set a target for the past fiscal year (10/1/2010 – 9/30/2011) of about 140 million EUR for its earnings before taxes (EBT).