Restructuring hits Bon appétit results
finished the year with a strong December performance but this was
not enough to help it overcome the effect of a number of
restructuring measures during 2003.
The company, which was bought by German retail group Rewe last year, said that sales for the year were 2.6 per cent lower than in 2002, despite a 1.2 per cent increase in turnover in December.
Retail sales were 3.7 per cent lower than the previous year at SF2.1 billion, due mostly to the sale of the company's Gourmet Factory unit in January. Gourmet Factory is a 'shop-in-shop' concept located in the Jelmoli department store in Zurich, combining food retail and restaurant facilities.
Bon appétit said that its retail sales were also affected by the decision of the Usego unit to outsource fruit and vegetable deliveries to wholesalers and a reduction in deliveries to the EPA department store chain since its acquisition by another retail group, Coop Suisse, in 2002.
Turnover from the food discount chains Pick Pay, Magro and Lekkerland increased, however, reflecting a shift towards low-price shopping by recession-hit Swiss consumers. Sales from the company's franchised outlets (Primo and Visavis) showed a slight decline, however.
At the catering division, which operates under the Prodega CC, Growa CC and Howeg brands, sales were maintained at roughly the same level as in 2003 despite tough market conditions exacerbated by a decline in tourist numbers due to the hot summer weather. Turnover was just 0.3 per cent lower at SF1.077 billion.
Aldis Service Plus, a French joint venture with the Metro group which supplies the restaurant sector, performed particularly well, increasing sales by 6.7 per cent to €642.7 million.
