Total international retail sales rose by +11.4% 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 percent to € 9.43 billion. PENNY International increased its turnover by + 14.4 percent to € 8.67 billion. Full-range CEE (BILLA, IKI) achieved turnover of € 4.37 billion with an increase of + 9.3 percent. The number of employees at Handel International 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.
Strong growth at PENNY International
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 percent, followed by PENNY Czech Republic with +17.4 percent and PENNY Austria with +11.0 percent (all figures are adjusted for exchange rate effects). "The once again pleasing development with a double-digit increase in turnover of 14.4 percent to € 8.67 billion is 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," emphasized 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 percent last year to 45 percent," Jäger continued. The number of employees rose by 1,118 to 28,019. The number of PENNY stores was also increased by 87 to 1,790, and 40 new stores 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 as well as IKI in Lithuania). BILLA Bulgaria in particular recorded strong sales growth of +15.0 percent, followed by BILLA Slovakia +9.0 percent and iki in Lithuania +8.5 percent. BILLA Czech Republic was able to increase sales by 7.5 percent in a very difficult market environment. Sales of the entire full-range CEE segment 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 stationary shopping experience. We also further strengthened our position with new store concepts and the rollout of the new loyalty programs 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 range in Austria at BILLA Plus or the expansion of the animal welfare initiative with Fair zum Tier," says Marcel Haraszti, Member of the Management Board of REWE International AG."
The past business year in the full-range business in Austria was consistently positive with turnover growth of + 9.7 percent to € 9.43 billion and an increase in employment of + 458 to 44,290 employees. Another milestone in 2023 was the successful expansion of the BILLA Kaufleute model to ten locations, including the first BILLA Kauffrau in Vienna. "The Kaufleute model is an important strategic pillar in terms of local anchoring. With this concept, we are a strong partner at the side of our merchants, who strengthen awareness of the region and its people in their stores, particularly with tailor-made offers," says Haraszti.
Investment drive continued in 2023
"Despite a difficult market environment in 2023, including rising costs and persistently high inflation, we as Trade International were able to continue our investment offensive and invest more than 1 billion euros in the expansion and conversion of our brands and stores in order to strengthen them sustainably," says Kunath. "Together with our 93,714 employees at 4,565 locations, our goal remains to be the number one for our customers."
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