German organic specialist trade: 6.2% growth in 2018

The sales development in the fourth quarter confirms the previous development: In 2018, the German organic specialist trade achieved an overall increase of 6.2% in daily turnover - despite increasingly tough competition.

In the last two calendar years, stagnating and in some cases even declining daily sales were reported. 2018, however, shows a stable sales development at a mid single-digit level after a rapid start. The fourth quarter brought an increase in average daily turnover of 4.8%.

Our analyses for the sales barometer show like-for-like developments in the German retail trade: Only those operations are taken into account which reported their sales in the survey and comparison period in an identical constellation of location and sales area. We thus make statements about average operational growth rates in the organic food retail trade.

Two sales days less in the 4th quarter of 2018

As a result of the shifts in the number of monthly opening days (minus two sales days compared with 2017) in the fourth quarter of 2018, there are differences between daily sales and absolute monthly sales: In October 2018 (with two more sales days), monthly sales rose by 10.3% and daily sales by 1.8%. In November and December (identical number of sales days), revenue increases of 7.3 and 5.1% were achieved.

Sales development of the operating types

In the first half of 2018, the farm shops had achieved double-digit sales growth - also in the last quarter they had the strongest sales increase with 8.7%. This means that they have achieved an annual growth of 9% in 2018.

After two years of stagnation, the natural food shops and specialist natural food stores also had a brilliant start in 2018. At plus 4.9%, the last quarter was at the level of the two middle quarters. These types of business closed the year as a whole with an increase in sales of over 6%.

The organic supermarkets also achieved double-digit growth in the first quarter. After an increase of almost 5% in the summer half-year, they achieved growth of 4% in the fourth quarter of 2018, which means almost 6% for the year as a whole.

... and what next?

A more than two-year stagnation in sales development in the organic food retail trade was broken at the end of 2017 - and for three quarters, sales in the specialist trade have been developing in the mid single-digit range in "calm waters". Maintaining this trend is likely to be a reasonable target for 2019.

The fact that the sector is showing stable sales growth during the sharp upheavals in the market for organic food - which is becoming increasingly fiercely contested - can certainly be seen as a sign of the strength of the specialist trade and should encourage the organic specialist trade.

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