Profil:
Jeronimo Martins SGPS SABiedronka retailer sees Polish market as very competitive but says inflation is easier to manage than in 2024
Poland's largest retail chain Biedronka, owned by Portuguese Jeronimo Martins assesses that the Polish market is still very competitive, but it is easier to manage with inflation than with the deflation experienced last year, Ana Luisa Virginia, CFO of Jeronimo Martins Group told a video conference.
"When I look at the Polish market, I would say that it continues to be a highly competitive market. If it's easier, it's much easier to manage with a slight inflation than managing with a strong single-digit deflation, which is terrible in all senses," Ana Luisa Virginia said.
Basket inflation at Biedronka was in the low single digits in the first quarter, she reported.
"In terms of level of promotions, I would say that this quarter was probably slightly less than the first quarter of 2024. This had to do a lot with the dynamic of the market," she added.
The CFO thinks that most food retailers were really pressured by a double-digit increase in labour costs last year and simultaneously with deflation at the top line.
She reported that Biedronka's market share increased by 30 basis points after the first quarter.
Biedronka's first quarter revenues increased by 3.4 percent year on year to EUR 5.95 billion.
LFL sales fell by 3.5 percent, the report indicated, due to the calendar effect and the high year on year comparative base.
"We knew that the first quarter would be very challenging, considering all the calendar effects. It was not just the absence of Easter. We had one more day of sales to the leap year. And we also had one more Sunday ban in this quarter versus the first quarter in 2024," she concluded.
pel/ nl/ han/