The Danish retail chain just released its latest consolidated financial statements, surpassing last year's top line record with a 31% growth and a result before tax that, according to Group CEO and co-owner Mikkel Grene, is highly satisfactory.
Søstrene Grene Holding presents a turnover growth of 31% from DKK 2,184 million to DKK 2,856 million for the financial year 1 May 2024 to 30 April 2025. Gross profit increased from DKK 830 million to DKK 1,005 million, while profit before tax fell slightly from DKK 213 million in 2023/24 to DKK 210 million.
Mikkel Grene, Group CEO and co-owner, is very satisfied with this year’s results:
“I am very proud that once again this year we can deliver such strong results both at the top and bottom line – and with a significant turnover record. Profit before tax was also set for a significant record but ends up marginally below last year's result due to a new accounting principle for the allocation of costs on store locations, which reduces the result by DKK 23 million at the bottom. But we can only be very satisfied with the result in a year in which we have made massive investments in the Group and significantly increased our workforce to prepare for future growth and development."
Store expansion and Christmas season behind record turnover
According to the Group CEO, the top-line growth is partly driven by the expansion with many new stores and not least a record high Christmas performance in 2024.
"The opening of new stores is driving significant turnover growth. In the 2024/25 financial year, we opened 47 new stores, primarily in the UK and Germany. Especially the UK has contributed significantly with 130% growth due to many new stores and, of course, the very warm welcome we have received from British customers," says Mikkel Grene and elaborates that customer loyalty is certainly not something he takes for granted:
"Søstrene Grene is nothing without our many loyal customers, and once again, a fantastic Christmas season has contributed to this year's results. Every year we welcome more than 100 million customers in our stores, and we have more than 43 million visitors on our website. That comes with great responsibility. For us, it is about much more than just selling products - it's about giving customers a special feeling when they step into our universe. That is why we work hard to create that special Søstrene Grene experience for our customers both in stores and online. Moreover, this year's result has only become a reality thanks to the many talented employees at the offices and in our warehouses - and not least the more than 4,000 employees in the stores who welcome our customers every day."
Mikkel Grene also explains that over the past year, the chain has worked on building an even stronger retail setup, which can also be seen in the results:
"This year's result also reflects the implementation of a successful retail strategy, where we have strengthened our central retail organisation at the headquarter and moved more from being a wholesaler to once again being a retailer. That means most of the stores we open today are either joint ventures or 100% owned by our holding company, which is naturally also reflected in the results. At the same time, we have some valuable long-term partnerships with franchisees in selected markets, where close communication and support from headquarters are key elements in our collaboration."
The consolidated financial statements for the Group cover the part of Søstrene Grene owned by the brothers Mikkel and Cresten Grene. Søstrene Grene stores operated on a franchise basis are not included in the consolidated results.
Massive investments in the future
In addition to the store network, Søstrene Grene is investing heavily in logistics and technology these years.
"This year’s result is also satisfactory given the massive investments we are making to build the foundation for the future. We have invested close to DKK 100 million in an SAP implementation and DKK 116 million in equipment and robots for a new state-of-the-art logistics centre in the Netherlands. In total, over the coming years, we will invest more than DKK 340 million in our logistics operations in everything from the most modern and advanced robots to more traditional logistics equipment. We will also continue our digitalisation journey by investing in new technologies and AI solutions that will bring Søstrene Grene into the future," says Mikkel Grene and adds:
"Last but not least, we continue to invest significantly in the responsibility agenda. During the past year, we have invested time and resources in expanding and refining our climate accounts with more specific data to obtain a more accurate picture of where we need to create the largest reductions to meet our ambitious climate reduction targets by 2034."
Expectations for the year
Despite the many investments, the ambitions and expectations remain high for the current financial year, says the Group CEO:
"The ambitious investment plans naturally impact our cost base, which has increased significantly with a rapidly growing organisation at the headquarter, a new logistics centre and a new IT system. Therefore, we are focusing on cost management this year, and that may sound a little paradoxical when you look at the strong result we are presenting. The explanation is that the cost base has increased significantly, and it will take time before we can fully utilise the new logistics capacity in the Netherlands and the value of the new IT system, which will not be fully implemented until at the beginning of 2026."
Mikkel Grene emphasises that although Søstrene Grene is expecting growth in the current financial year, the chain is not expected to really benefit from the major new investments at the bottom line until the coming financial year. Specifically, he expects a profit before tax between status quo and DKK 230 million before tax for the group in the current year, as well as turnover growth of between 20% and 30%. For the calendar year 2025, the expectation is to have opened a total of 67 new stores and to reach a total store turnover of DKK 4.3 billion including franchise stores and VAT.
"Søstrene Grene is in a good place, but we are very ambitious and constantly work on developing our business on all parameters. This financial year we are building the foundation for the future, which costs not only money but also focus and energy. But now we can see the light on the other side and are already working on the strategy towards 2029. Here the task will be to make full use of both the new motorway and ‘the Ferrari’ we are building. I expect this will benefit us already from next year, when we will accelerate business development to meet the needs of future customers. We must seize new business opportunities and take larger market shares while at the same time minimising risks in our business," concludes Mikkel Grene.
Key figures Søstrene Grene Holding: (DKK 1,000)
Turnover
2024/25: DKK 2,855,792
2023/24: DKK 2,183,560
2022/23: DKK 1,795,138
Profit before tax:
2024/25: DKK 209,639
2023/24: DKK 212,732
2022/23: DKK 183,657