The head of the Otto Group is experiencing a slump in sales in Germany, but growth in foreign business.
(Photo: Isadora Tast)
Hamburg The Otto Group achieved record results for two years, but now the economic crisis is hitting it with full force. “In Germany, our sales fell by 13.5 percent in the first half of the financial year from March to August,” reports CEO Alexander Birken in an interview with the Handelsblatt.
Consumers are paying attention to every penny right now. And a trend reversal is not foreseeable. “Nobody knows what’s going to happen in the Christmas business,” says Birken.
At the same time, like almost all companies, the Otto Group has to cope with rising costs in practically all areas, but can only pass these on to customers to a small extent in view of the already high inflation. That’s why the profit margin is falling this year. “We already know that we will not be able to match last year’s top result,” explains Birken.
Read the full interview here
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