Coop Group Annual Report 2014 Key figures Key figures Total sales Net sales 28 174 CHF million 27 163 CHF million Net sales in Switzerland Net sales abroad 19 821 CHF million 7 341 CHF million Number of sales outlets Net sales from online shops 1 971 Retail 1 124 CHF million 199 Wholesale / Production +24.1% Equity ratio Profit 46.4% 470 CHF million 1.7% of net sales Earnings Net sales before interest and tax (EBIT) in CHF million as a % of net sales in CHF billion 828 30 26.6 26.7 27.0 27.2 900 9.0 709 713 737 760 25 750 7.5 19.0 20 600 6.0 15 450 3.7 4.5 2.7 2.8 2.8 3.0 10 300 3.0 5 150 1.5 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 0 Coop Group business areas As at 1 March 2015 Coop Group Retail Wholesale and Production Coop Supermarket Transgourmet Group Bell Group Coop Restaurant Transgourmet Switzerland Bell Switzerland Coop@home Transgourmet Central Bell Germany Coop City and Eastern Europe Bell International Coop Building & Hobby Transgourmet France Toptip / Lumimart Others Import Parfumerie Coop manufacturing Christ Watches & Jewellery companies Interdiscount Swissmill Microspot.ch Chocolats Halba Dipl. Ing. Fust Sunray Nettoshop.ch / Schubiger Steinfels Swiss Coop Vitality pharmacies Coop Bakeries The Body Shop Switzerland Reismühle Brunnen Betty Bossi Nutrex Marché Restaurants Switzerland Pearlwater Mineralquellen Coop Mineraloel Cave ITS Coop Travel Coop Banana Ripening Plant Coop Immobilien Railcare Others Retail Wholesale Production Coop Group Annual Report 2014 Lead-in 2 – 5 Management report 6 – 46 Corporate governance 47 – 60 Financial section 61– 95 Hansueli Loosli and Joos Sutter Foreword 150 years of sustainable success The Coop Group can look back on a history spanning 150 years. Its structure as a cooperative and the sustainable management of its operations stand the test of time down to the present day. As an internationally active retailer and wholesaler, the Coop Group generates total sales of 28.2 billion francs in 2014 – an increase of 1.4% over the previous year, adjusted for exchange rates. The foundation stone of today’s Coop was laid which owns the Nettoshop and Schubiger brands. 150 years ago. In 1864, in Schwanden in the Canton In the wholesale sector, Transgourmet will acquire of Glarus, the textile industrialist Jean Jenny-Ryffel a majority stake in the German company Sump & founded the first Swiss consumer cooperative Stammer, a leading specialist in the supply of food- based on the seven principles of the “Rochdale stuffs to cruise ships and international hotel chains. Society of Equitable Pioneers”. It was subsequently This acquisition effectively demonstrates our subsumed in the “Verband schweizerischer Kon- determination to make our wholesale business sumvereine” (VSK), an association of Swiss con- more international and more diversified. sumer societies set up in 1890. A long and eventful history of mergers, name changes and structural With a view to further strengthening the future adjustments eventually led to the emergence of market impact of the Transgourmet Group, all its Coop as we know it today. What had begun as a companies were given a uniform corporate design in small consumer cooperative had now grown into an the year under review. This step also involved a internationally active retail and wholesale group. name change for a number of sales brands. In order to meet the needs of the catering / restaurant But despite all these changes, one thing has always sector even more effectively, collection and delivery remained the same: our structure as a cooperative. are also becoming increasingly interconnected. Then as now, our maxim is that we belong to our members, i.e. our customers. We focus all our ef- Besides marking “150 Years of Coop”, we had two forts on satisfying their needs. Rather than seeking further anniversaries to celebrate. Firstly, we com- to maximize our profits, we reinvest them – which memorated the introduction of Coop’s own-label also benefits our customers. brand 100 years ago. It was entered in the Swiss Federal Brand Register in 1914, making it the first This form of sustainable management of our opera- nationwide own-label brand in the Swiss retail tions pays off – we were able to achieve further sector. Secondly, we celebrated the 25th anniversary growth in 2014. With total sales of 28.2 billion of Oecoplan, Coop’s first own-label sustainability francs, the Coop Group achieved exchange rate-ad- brand. As was again demonstrated in the year under justed growth of 1.4% in its Retail and Wholesale / review, sustainability works well as an attribute Production Business Areas, compared with the that sets us apart from the competition: starting at previous year. At 27.2 billion francs, net sales – a high level, we achieved further growth with our adjusted for exchange rates – were 1.3% up on the own-label sustainability brands and quality labels, 2013 figure. In the retail segment our net sales rose posting net sales of 2.3 billion francs. by 2.0% to 17.7 billion francs. This result is particu- larly gratifying given the challenging economic envi- The foundation stone for today’s Coop Group was ronment in 2014. We will continue to face major laid by people with a vision. Thanks to the work challenges in 2015 – not least due to the decision done by other committed people, many further mile- taken by the Swiss National Bank to abandon the stones have been added to this foundation – hence exchange rate floor between the Swiss franc and the success story that is Coop. We should there - the euro. fore like to express our particular gratitude to our approximately 77 000 employees for their untiring The online business is performing particularly well efforts on behalf of our customers. at present: in this field the Coop Group posted net sales in excess of one billion francs for the first time in 2014. Its online shops in the retail sector lifted sales by 52.4%, while online sales in the wholesale business grew by 10.4%. Hansueli Loosli Joos Sutter We further strengthened the Coop Group in 2014 Chairman of the Board of Directors Chairman of the Executive Committee by making acquisitions that will enable it to achieve sustainable growth in the future as well. In retail, we consolidated our position in the catering / restau- rant business by taking over Marché Restaurants Schweiz AG, Switzerland’s leading concession gas- tronomy company. Dipl. Ing. Fust AG underpinned its leading position in the electrical household appliances segment by buying RS Vertriebs AG, Lead-in Foreword 3 Coop Group Annual Report 2014 Milestones in 2014 150 years of Coop New brand identity with Takeover of Marché Restaurants The Coop Group celebrates its Transgourmet Schweiz AG 150 th anniversary. The first Swiss In Germany, the Transgourmet The Coop Group takes over Marché Restau- cooperative society operating in brand replaces the former Rewe- rants Schweiz AG, Switzerland’s leading accordance with the seven prin- Food service sales brand. Trans- concession gastronomy company, thereby ciples of the “Rochdale Society of gourmet and Selgros Cash+Carry expanding its expertise in the restaurant / Equitable Pioneers” was founded are now marketed as a joint en- catering sector. in 1864, in Schwanden in the Can- terprise under the Transgourmet ton of Glarus. It joined the “Ver- Central and Eastern Europe um- band schweizerischer Konsum- brella brand. vereine” (VSK), an association of Mondovino’s new world of wine Swiss consumer societies that was Takeover of Fribourg-Sud In launching the Mondovino Wine set up in 1890 and renamed Coop shopping centre Club, Coop further expands its of- Switzerland in 1969. Coop takes over Centre Com- fering and advisory skills as Swit- mercial Moncor AG, to which the zerland’s largest wine merchant. Nettoshop AG now part of Coop Fribourg-Sud shopping centre in This takeover strengthens Coop’s Villars-sur-Glâne belongs. Coop Aid for flood victims expertise as an online retailer of already operates various sales Coop donates half a million francs electrical household appliances. formats in this centre. to the Swiss Red Cross to benefit Nettoshop.ch is the lea ding online flood victims in Bosnia-Herze- store in Switzerland in this field. govina, Croatia and Serbia. January February March April May June Core: new strategic alliance From Howeg to Transgourmet Together with the European retailers Colruyt Howeg is now marketed under the (Belgium), Conad (Italy) and Rewe Group Transgourmet label. The market (Germany), the Coop Group sets up the Brus- leader in the Swiss wholesale sup- sels-domiciled Core purchasing alliance. plies business now operates along with Prodega / Growa Cash+Carry New quality label: “Miini Region” under the Transgourmet Switzer- Coop’s historically wide range of regional land umbrella label. and local products are now marketed uni- formly under the “Miini Region” (My region) quality label. The launch is supported by a large-scale campaign involving a variety of activities. Pilot project: dual-purpose chickens In and around Zurich, Coop starts selling the first organic eggs from dual-purpose chickens. Unlike traditional breeds of chicken, the males of this layer breed are suitable for producing meat. Meat from dual-purpose chickens is already on the shelves in March. 4 New look for Coop member press Four prizes for electric trucks Switzerland’s most widely read weekly newspaper Coop receives no fewer than four awards is now published in a modern magazine format and for its energy-efficient, emission-free has a stronger focus on young families. 18-tonne electric trucks equipped with solar energy equipment: the Energy Online shop for Building & Hobby Globe Award Switzerland, the Swiss and Switzerland’s leading building supplies retailer the European Solar Prize, and the Zurich enters the online business.