(AOF) – In the first half, ended at the end of March, Cafom achieved a turnover of 208.9 million euros, up 3.4%. The Overseas division (+2.1% to 128.1 million euros) and the e-Commerce activity in continental Europe (+5.6% to 80.8 million euros) “are growing in a context of household consumption constrained by inflationary pressure”. At a constant number of stores (restated for the last 3 stores opened under the Nature & Découvertes banner), turnover for the Overseas division increased by 1.1%.
The home equipment specialist points out that e-Commerce turnover increased by 13.5% in the second quarter. The group succeeded in combining growth in volumes and prices.
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Concerns remain
According to the Federation of Specialized Trade, Procos, in October 2022, activity fell by 1.5% over one year. Nevertheless, the beauty and health (+ 5.2%) and specialized food (+ 3.5%) activity is dynamic compared to October 2021. The frequentation of the points of sale was very impacted by the problems of fuel and bad weather. Compared to October 2019, the pre-covid year, the drop in attendance is very sharp (-20.9% in October). Shopping centers and the outskirts are more impacted than city centers with a difference of four to five points.
Several reasons for concern exist for the future. The players are experiencing a very significant scissor effect given the increase in their operating costs while the evolution of demand is very uncertain. Very few brands can pass on the increase in their costs to their selling prices. The federation therefore asks, among other things, to limit the indexation of the Commercial Rent Index to + 3.5% for the rents of all companies in 2023. It also invokes an absolute urgency: to cap the price of energy for 2023 and retroact on the contracts already signed to prevent the rate of failures from accelerating.