Picnic International closed 2017 in the red. The online supermarket turned a loss of 45.5 million euros. In 2016, it was still a loss of 5.8 million euros.
This is what RetailNews writes on the basis of Picnic's annual figures. Sales were at 100 million euros. According to co-founder Michiel Muller, that amount roughly doubled in 2018.
Muller attributes the hefty loss in 2017 to a huge investment the online supermarket made in 2017. "That has mainly to do with building infrastructure. We don't disclose exactly what we invested in, but you can see that this is a considerable amount."
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Creating capacity
That investment included the distribution centres Picnic opened in recent years. These were necessary to create sufficient capacity. "In the coming years, we will fill that capacity with orders. Each time, we adjust our growth path and throw investments into the fray. In doing so, we increase our capacity, but perhaps shift profitability slightly backwards."
Costs come before benefits
When Picnic will start making a profit is not yet entirely clear for the app-only supermarket. "We do have an idea and plan for that. But you can still see very clearly that the costs precede the benefits. Today's loss is tomorrow's profit."
