Systembolaget increased its turnover in the first quarter of 2023 and reached SEK 7,868 million / 689 M eur (7,756 million / 679 M eur for Q1 2022). This amounts to SEK 973 / 85 eur per Swede over the age of twenty (the age limit for buying alcohol), which is thus the average of what a Swede bought at “Systemet” in Q1. SEK 75 per week, or 6.60 euro per week per Swede 20+.
Despite its monopoly position, the company made a loss of -11 MSEK / 1 M eur, an improvement of 55 MSEK / 4.8 M eur compared to previous years.
In contrast to the increased turnover, the volume decreased and reached 114.5 million litres (115.7 Ml). That’s 14.2 litres per Swede 20+ in Q1, or 1.1 litres per week (all drinks included).
E-commerce decreased by 2.8%, which is mainly due to a reduced demand for home deliveries (you can buy online for delivery in a shop too). It would be interesting to compare that figure with the activity of the independent online wine retailers (permitted thanks to the EU, so-called distance sales).
“Now, customers choose (…) cheaper and fewer goods when they buy”, says CEO Ann Carlsson Meyer, which sounds slightly contradictory when turnover has increased but volume has decreased.
When interpreting these figures one should, however, keep in mind that the monopoly only accounts for around 70% of the alcohol consumption.
Read more: OmSystembolaget
