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Zabka Group SA (Żabka)Zabka grocer sees no slump in consumer demand
Listed convenience store chain Zabka Group does not see a slump in consumer demand, which could have been suggested by Poland's stats office GUS' retail sales data for September, group representatives told a conference call.
"GUS' figures are not reflected in our results. We do not see a consumer slump, we see a steady increase in demand for our products," said Tomasz Blicharski, Chief Strategy & Development Officer at Zabka.
"LFL is growing not only in value but also in volume, and we are growing faster than the market," he added.
As Blicharski pointed out, citing Nielsen researcher data, the retail grocery market grew in volume and value in the third quarter.
"The third quarter last year market-wise, but also for us, was better than the previous quarters," the Chief Strategy & Development Officer said.
"In particular, September last year was characterised by high temperatures and low rainfall, which increased the base for us. Perhaps market-wise it also had an impact," he assessed.
Revenues of the Zabka Group reached PLN 6.578 billion (EUR 1.5 bln), up by 17.6 percent year on year from PLN 5.594 billion (EUR 1.3 bln). Cumulatively, after three quarters of 2024, Zabka Group recorded revenues of PLN 17.726 billion (EUR 4.1 bln), which is an year-on-year increase of 20 percent.
Group LFL sales grew 6 percent in the third quarter, compared to 12.7 percent growth in the prior year period. Cumulatively, after three quarters of 2024, LFL growth was 8.6 percent, down 2.2 percentage points.
Asked about LFL sales in October, Blicharski said: "There seems to be no significant change in the positive trend seen recently".
pel/ ao/ han/
