Fnac Darty announces revenue growth for Q3 2020

Leading French retail chain Fnac Darty has announced an overall increase of 7.3% in like for like sales for Q3 2020. In spite of challenging conditions, group sales for Q3 topped €1,859 million, up +8.5% on a reported basis and +7.3% on a like-for-like basis.

The French and Swiss markets which account for close to 83% of Fnac’s business saw a 9% increase in like for like sales together with a 6.6% increase for Belgium and Luxembourg but a 6.1% decrease for the Iberian market.

As of Q3, Fnac Darty has a total of 894 points of sales across Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, with further store openings planned before the end of the year. In France alone, the group has 160 FNAC stores (72 under franchise) and 350 Darty stores (132 under franchise). Fnac also has 6 stores in a number of African markets including Morocco, Cameroon and Ivory Coast as well as 2 stores in Qatar.

The business drew positives from its online business and omni-channel model as well as a successful overhaul of a number of services including the Group’s loyalty programme and the launch of the new Fnac+ cross-brand card.

Enrique Martinez, Chief Executive Officer of Fnac Darty noted: The success of our Darty Max offer, for which we have opened online subscriptions, along with the overhaul of our loyalty program and the publication of our third edition of the "After-Sales Service Barometer" are all proof in this quarter of our commitment to innovate and our ability to offer our customers the best omni-channel experience on the market, supported by a unique product and service offering.

TVs and Work from Home Categories amongst Best Performers

The Consumer Electronics (CE) performance in France and Switzerland was deemed ‘solid’ with telephony, TVs and home working singled out as popular categories. By contrast, audio, gaming and photo categories saw a drop in demand. Emerging categories that demonstrated good growth were urban mobility, games & toys, and home/design. TVs and IT products were also good performers in Spain, and domestic appliances were the stand out category in Belgium & Luxembourg.

Innovation & Diversification Showing Some Return

Coupled with the success of new categories such as urban mobility, Fnac has seen a boost in book sales in part driven by its 1 hour click and collect service. The deployment of 4 Fnac pilot shop-in-shops in Manor stores in Switzerland has also seen good results.

Lastly, it’s interesting to note at the end of the FNAC announcement that a return to its ticketing business is not anticipated until the second half of 2021.

For the full announcement click here