Macintosh Group turnover falls 8 percent in 2013

REPORT_ At 822.1 million euros (1,124.1 million dollars), Macintosh Group turnover for 2013 fell by 8 percent against 2012. In the fourth quarter, turnover fell by 3.6 percent however it showed an improvement over the three previous quarters. At constant exchange rates, turnover fell by 6.8 percent.

“Last year, we stated that 2013 would be a transitional year for Macintosh. This prediction turned out to be true. In fact, Macintosh had one of its most difficult years ever. Poor market and weather conditions weighed down turnover,

at a time when our transformation into cross-channel retailer and the integration at Fashion NL and Fashion UK were under way. Cross-channel activities are a priority in our strategy, which resulted in 2013 in an increase in turnover by nearly 20 percent and a positive contribution in all countries to EBIT,” opined Frank De Moor, CEO, Macintosh Retail Group.

In the fashion segment, the gross margin as a percentage of turnover clearly fluctuated between H1 and H2. In H1, the focus was on retaining the margin by exercising restraint in special offers. This resulted in a higher gross margin percentage. At 51 percent, Macintosh's total gross margin percentage was 1.1 percentage point lower than in 2012.

Owing in particular to the poor month of March, operating EBIT for H1 2013 fell to below 13 million euros (17.7 million dollars). H2 2013 closed with a positive operating EBIT of 12 million euros (16.4 million dollars), owing to a clearly positive Q4. Fashion BeLux, Fashion UK and Living all contributed positively to the operating result of Macintosh except Fashion NL.

Looking forward, The Netherlands-based company feels the first signs of economic recovery are positive for consumer confidence. It states that as changes in willingness to buy tend to follow later, the effect on spending is not likely to be seen until mid-2014 and if weather conditions are more normal than those seen in 2013, they may have a positive impact on consumer.

Image: Steve Madden