BERNER Group donates three raised beds and a herb snail to Waldenburg's Kleeblatt kindergarten
Berner Group increases sales by almost 8% and exceeds the EUR 1.1 billion mark for the first time
The Berner Group remains on a growth course and reaches a new sales record. In the past fiscal year 2021/2022 (April 1 to March 31), sales adjusted for consolidation effects were 7.8% above the previous year and reached 1.119 billion EUR (previous year 1.037 billion EUR). There was disproportionate growth in the B2B retail business in the Automotive and Construction segments.
eCommerce sales increased by around 28% to more than EUR 150 million. In the past fiscal year, the subsidiary Caramba Group had to contend with the after-effects of the Corona crisis and suffered a 5.6% decline in sales. This trend was halted in December. The chemical specialist has been growing again for six months in succession, with a significant increase of around 20% in April and May. Overall, the Berner Group started the fiscal year 2022/2023 with an increase in sales of around 6%.
- Automotive and construction are the growth drivers with an increase of 9%
- eCommerce sales increase by 28%
- Sales increase in the first months 2022/2023 by approximately 6%
"I am pleased that despite many distortions on the supply markets and bottlenecks with logistics providers, we succeeded in increasing sales to a historic record. In our core omnichannel trading business, we even grew by almost 10% with the Berner and BTI brands. In contrast to numerous other chemical companies, the Caramba Group has come through the valley after Corona much faster and since December 2021 monthly sales have been above the previous year's figures", says Christian Berner, CEO of the Berner Group.
Sales in core omnichannel trading business up 9.6%
In the omnichannel trading business area (multi-channel sales), the Group with its BERNER and BTI brands increased its sales revenue by 9.6% in the past financial year. For the first time, more than EUR 1 billion was generated here.
The sales trend was driven by good demand, mainly from workshops in the automotive sector (+9.7%). In the previous year, this had still been down by just under 2%. The construction sector was also a driver, with sales up 9.5%.
The Central-North region, which includes Scandinavia and the DACH region with Germany, grew by 4.3%. In the South-West region with the Iberian Peninsula, France and BeNeLux, sales increased by more than 12% and in the South-East region with Italy and Eastern Europe by more than 16%.
B2B customers continue to rely on eCommerce
Since 2015, the Berner Group has consistently driven the digitization of the entire Group and invested heavily in transformation. This continues to pay off: Sales growth in eCommerce is in double digits for the third year in a row (27.8%). The share of online trade in the Berner Group thus rises to almost 14%.
Almost every seventh euro is already generated via eCommerce. If all alternative sales channels are included, i.e. eCommerce, telesales, depots, the share of sales is already more than 25%.
The approx. 5,000 sales employees who have direct personal contact with customers on a daily basis performed 8% better in terms of sales than in the previous year. As a result, the share of total sales corresponds to just under 75%.
"One goal of the transformation is to significantly increase the share of sales from alternative channels and at the same time also increase sales through the sales force. We succeeded in this in the past fiscal year for the third year in a row. By comparison, ten years ago the share of sales from alternative channels was in the single digits. Today, we are much more robustly positioned", summarizes Arthur Jaunich. As CSMO, he is responsible for sales and marketing on the Management Board.
Caramba Group
The Caramba Group looks back on two eventful years since the start of the pandemic. This includes multiple production changes from normal operation to disinfectants and now back to normal operation. Sales developments were correspondingly volatile. After disproportionate growth in the first year of Corona a decline followed in 2021/2022. This development has been halted. The Caramba Group is on track for double-digit sales growth in the first months of the fiscal year.
Good start into 2022/2023
Despite challenging sales targets from the previous year, the Berner Group has made a successful start into the new fiscal year. In the core business of omnichannel trading, the Group is more than 5% above the previous year's figures. All three regions contributed to sales growth, with the South-East region continuing to show the greatest momentum.
"However, we have seen for some months that the developments in the automotive and construction sectors are different. In the construction sector, we are only growing half as fast as in Automotive. The known obstacles such as rising construction interest rates and significant price increases for building materials are not without consequences for demand," says Christian Berner. However, he makes it clear that there is currently no reason for the Berner Group to correct its growth plans. "We want to gain market share", the CEO emphasizes. "I am optimistic that in particular our innovative chemical all-in-one solutions such as the new 'Cleanstar Magic' or the X-TREME adhesive foam will help us to grow disproportionately also in 2022/2023."