KappAhl happy with third quarter results

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Jul 6, 2016

KappAhl, the Swedish fashion brand, had a good third quarter, the company said in its latest financial presentation.

Net sales rose 5.6% to SEK 1.2bn in the period, and same-store sales rose 4.4%. Gross profit increased to SEK 775m for the March-May-period, up from SEK 699m the previous year, which the company said was the result of changes in customer bonuses in Norway and Finland. This affected the profit positively by SEK 9m.

Operating profit was SEK 103m, up from SEK 42m the previous year. KappAhl had 373 stores at the end of the period - 173 in Sweden, 101 in Norway, 60 in Finland and 39 in Poland. The retailer said it continues to look for attractive store locations in its current markets, and to expand its ecommerce.

CEO Danny Feltmann said: "KappAhl's third quarter is sound and showing a continuing positive progress. The sound result comes from our price strategy, with a focus on full price sales, and our amended campaign strategy."

He added: "Investments in IT infrastructure continue, with a continued focus on digital services that connect with our physical stores. Upgrading of stores is continuing at a slightly slower tempo than in the previous year."

KappAhl also recently announced that it has increased the proportion of its sustainability labelled fashion range to 38% from 24% a year ago, up 60%. By 2020, all cotton garments in Kappahl's range will be sustainably produced.