Clas Ohlson: overall sales down 9 per cent, online up 59 per cent

In the third quarter of its fiscal 2020/2021, thus from November to January, Swedish retail chain Clas Ohlson reported a drop in sales of 9 per cent to SEK 2.635 bn (EUR 259 mio). In local currencies and including newly opened stores ("organic growth"), the fall was 5 per cent, as it was for like-for-like sales.
In contrast, online sales climbed 59 per cent to SEK 288 mio (EUR 28 mio) and then again in February by 112 per cent, while overall sales declined by 13 per cent.
New CEO Kristofer Tonström, who took up his post on 8 February 2021, struck an optimistic note in the quarterly report: "Our long-term effort to create a strong omni offering with improved digital capacity was a major advantage during a different kind of Christmas trading." In Sweden, new restrictions were introduced shortly before Christmas, while in Norway a lockdown was imposed on Oslo in January.
In the nine months from May 2020 to January 2021, overall sales fell by 5 per cent to SEK 6.746 bn (EUR 663 mio). Organic and like-for-like sales remained at the same level. During the same period, Clas Ohlson's online sales totalled SEK 621 mio (EUR 61 mio), thus a 50 per cent rise on the same period in the previous year.