Systembolaget’s report for the third quarter of 2023 has some interesting figures:
- Turnover Q3 was SEK 9.8 billion, an increase of almost SEK 200 million
- In volume, however, sales fell to 147 million litres, down 4.5 million litres
- Profit (operating profit) was SEK 182 million, a decrease of SEK 48 million or -21%
- Gross margin (operating margin) was 1.86%, down from 2.39%
- “Satisfied customer index” fell to 80.0 (from 80.7)
- 33 million customer visits, i.e. 423,000 per store-day, or an average of the almost 1,000 customer visits per day per shop, with an average purchase of 300 SEK per customer per visit
They also describe a changed buying pattern: customers buy fewer and cheaper products, but shop more often. One can suspect that this is just the beginning of a change in customer behaviour, as inflation and the poor exchange rate of the Swedish krone do not yet appear to have fully affected prices.
Normally, the year-end report also emphasizes the customer satisfaction index, but not this quarter, perhaps because it fell?
They also underline their talent for gobbledygook (e.g. the cryptic abbreviations for their different ranges) by having the “business area manager Business Support” comment on the numbers. Wondering what such an officer does?
Read more: cision
