The forced store closures as a consequence of the Covid crisis did not spare Zeeman. The turnover of the textile discounter fell by 3.5 per cent last year.
“Resilient to crises”
Zeeman realised a net turnover of 616.6 million euros in 2020. A year earlier, it was still 639.1 million. The temporary store closures caused by Covid played a part in this: the Dutch retailer sold a total of nearly 262 million articles in 2020, compared to 284 million the year before.
Zeeman says it achieved an “excellent profit result”, although the retailer does not provide exact figures. The company adds in its CSR report that it enjoyed a comfortable financial position before the crisis and was, therefore, able to withstand the consequences.
E-commerce grows strongly
At the end of last year, Zeeman had 1,279 stores in seven different countries, reports RetailTrends. The textile chain closed dozens of stores in the Netherlands but opened new ones in France and Spain. The company also made investments in the refurbishment of existing branches.
Online, the retailer is only active in the Netherlands and Belgium. Both webshops flooded with orders during the store closures, which caused quite a few logistical problems for the Dutch company. At the end of last year, CEO Erik-Jan Mares already indicated that he would be investing heavily in e-commerce.
