Axfood, with the retail chains Willys, Hemköp and Citygross, is the first among food companies to report first-quarter results.
Profit and profitability increased slightly compared with the same period last year. What stands out is that sales volumes in the industry are clearly increasing.
“We simply have more customers,” says Simone Margulies.
“The entire industry has a positive volume trend.”
Don't want to comment
But she doesn't want to talk about how sales are going after VAT was halved on April 1.
You must see some indications, right?
“I cannot comment on the current quarter, but this is the first quarter I can comment on.”
But do you expect higher volume growth after the VAT reduction?
“We have a very hard time predicting what this will do. Consumers are cautious and have been scarred by many years of inflation and higher costs.”
Can affect
There has been a promise from the industry that the VAT reduction will be passed fully on to customers. Are you still keeping that promise?
“Absolutely. As far as I know, the entire market has handled this very well,” she says.
But the VAT reduction will be eaten up by rising costs for food retailers, according to Axfood's CEO.
“What we're seeing now is higher fuel and energy costs.”
“So there are risks that it will have an impact,” she continues.
It will probably appear at different speeds for different products.
“Some products, such as fruit and vegetables, have shorter lead times, while other products have longer lead times,” says Margulies.
