The ANWR Group, whose holdings include the German branch of Sport 2000, weathered out the Covid-19 pandemic to end 2020 with a 0.2 percent increase in total revenues to €17.8 billion. Last year posed a tough challenge to ANWR, but the group was able to withstand the crisis thanks to its financial services and its sports business, which enjoyed a positive development, as well as the expansion of its digital strategy, with the launch of new consulting services and a revision of its product ranges.
The profit and loss account benefited from the sale of a property in Düsseldorf in December 2020 which provided a capital gain of around €112 million, giving the group a much-needed financial cushion.
The best-performing businesses within the ANWR Group were the DZB Bank and Aktivbank, which generated €15.3 billion in revenues, up by 2.5 percent from the previous year. By contrast, the affiliated shoe retailers suffered a sharp drop in revenues, down by 20 percent to €1.233 billion, while in the leathergoods retailing sector dipped by 36 percent to €68 million. Only the sports sector kept above water, with revenues up by 1.1 percent to €1.287 billion.
For 2021, sales at the end of August show a mixed picture. The shoe sector recorded the largest losses with a further 18.4 percent drop in sales, followed by leathergoods, down by 3.9 percent. In the sports sector, sales were up by 2.2 percent; while financial services rose by 15.4 percent.
Now that the economy is on track for a steady recovery after the throes of the pandemic, the group expects a brighter future. ”Due to the mix of different industries in many European countries, the ANWR group of companies is also very well positioned for the future. The last 18 months of the pandemic in particular have shown us that our great diversity makes us resilient,” board spokesman Frank Schuffelen said.
The group also released an update on Schuh Mücke, which was acquired by ANWR in 2014. Due to pandemic-related store closures last year, the chain’s net sales fell by 19 percent to €83.9 million from €103.4 million in 2019. Ebitda slipped from a positive €6.4 million in 2019 to a negative €4.4 million in 2020.
In response to the lockdowns, Schuh Mücke, which operates 13 stores and three outlets in Bavaria, expanded its online business, launching its own online shop in 2020. The retailer is also present on ANWR’s schuhe.de platform. Online sales came in at €2.4 million in 2020, up from €1.1 million the previous year.
