Lindt & Sprüngli: sales declined, but market shares increased

After the pandemic-related decline in the Easter business, the global chocolate markets have grown steadily. The premium segment, in which Lindt & Sprüngli is leading, has grown at an above-average rate. Thanks to a wide range of chocolate tablets, Lindt & Sprüngli continued to benefit strongly from the increased demand for products for personal consumption. The main product lines, Lindor and Excellence, in particular contributed to this positive development in retail trade. The Excellence chocolate tablet range even recorded a double-digit increase. Lindt & Sprüngli responded to the changing shopping behaviour as a consequence of the regulatory measures with numerous entrepreneurial initiatives, such as home deliveries, pick-up services, and the expansion of the e-commerce business. As a result, online sales doubled to around 5% of sales.

The global restrictions and regulations in place to contain the spread of the pandemic unfortunately affected important areas of Lindt & Sprüngli’s business. The company’s own global store network suffered from closures and reduced consumer traffic. Easter and Christmas, the most important seasonal gift-giving occasions, were also affected. Restrictions on the food service segment in North America and the traditional specialty stores in Italy had a major impact on sales. The Travel Retail business also recorded a significant decline in sales due to restricted air traffic.

In the financial year 2020, the Lindt & Sprüngli Group achieved sales of CHF 4.02 bn, which corresponds to an organic sales development of -  6.1%. Despite the negative impact of the second wave of the pandemic, this decline is within the target range of - 5% to - 7%, as announced in the half-year 2020. The Swiss franc again strengthened substantially compared to all major currencies last year. The resulting negative currency effect on the consolidated result led to a decline in sales of - 10.9% in the domestic currency.

Lindt & Sprüngli will achieve the target of an operating profit (EBIT) margin of around 10% in 2020, as communicated with the half-year results 2020. For 2021, the premium chocolate manufacturer is convinced to emerge even stronger from the challenging past year. Lindt & Sprüngli remains convinced that the positive growth of the chocolate markets and in particular the premium segment will continue in the future. In addition, in 2020, Lindt & Sprüngli has laid the foundation for further market share gains with continued consumer focus, increased advertising spends, and various product innovations.