Sales
€469 M
(+30.9%)
# Stores
345
LFL
+17.0%
EBITDA
€43 M
(+31.5%)
CAPEX
€16 M
Highlights of the year
- Opened the first two stores in Prague
- Achieved the milestone of 1,000 brands in the Hebe Partner Programme
- Launched the international mobile app
- Launch of the banner on TikTok
- 200k+ followers on Instagram and over 600k followers on Facebook
Message from the CEO
2023 was a very solid year for Hebe, despite continued uncertainty and economic slowdown. The Company achieved strong sales growth, grew its online business, and increased market share. In the last three years, with a compounded annual growth above 25%, we have doubled the business.
In Poland, Hebe continued to outperform the market, achieving a strong sales growth, as a result of a clear differentiation strategy. Leveraging on the improved assortment, an assertive promotional activity and a reinforced marketing investment, we continued to develop our unique omnichannel value proposition, while adapting our operating model to customer expectations. In 2023, our e-commerce business grew substantially, further reinforcing Hebe’s position as a strong contender for online leadership in Poland. The Hebe Partner Programme evolved significantly in the year, allowing us to develop our specialised assortment. With a full year of operation, this Programme added more than 1,000 brands to our offer.
2023 was also the beginning of our international omnichannel presence, with the launch of two flagship stores in Prague, complementing a full year of operation of our online stores in Czechia and Slovakia. The progress made in both countries reinforces our ambition to invest in future growth.
After another year of solid growth and improved profitability, I strongly believe that we, at Hebe, have a team ready to continue to deliver a very good performance in our journey to become the leaders of the e-beauty market in Central and Eastern Europe based on the Company’s three strategic pillars: Beauty, Digital and International.
Sacha Djokic
CEO Hebe
More information, particularly about our sustainability initiatives, is provided under “Sustainability” in this Report.
Performance
In 2023, against a difficult economic background, Hebe continued to focus on its differentiated value proposition in Health and Beauty, offering all the latest trends and serving thousands of customers each day in its brick-and-mortar stores and online channels.
Hebe posted strong growth in its stores and online operations and strengthened its competitive positioning. Despite significant inflationary pressure on several dimensions, including on e-commerce investments, the Company maintained strong promotional activity, consistently gaining market share, both in value and in volumes.
The Company continued to deliver a strong sales performance, taking further advantage of seasonal trends. During 2023, the banner grew sales by 26.6%, in local currency, compared to the previous year, with LFL standing at 17%.
Online sales grew 47.6%, representing c.17% of total sales, including the Hebe Partner Programme, which enhanced Hebe’s value proposition and generated additional orders.
International sales grew progressively in 2023, both in Czechia and Slovakia, with significant investments in the year. Despite investing and supporting the new markets’ operations, Hebe delivered a solid improvement of overall profitability.
Net sales
(€ Million)
Having started its international expansion in 2022, Hebe has been posting a steady growth of orders in both the Czech and Slovak markets, following a strong focus on online strategy execution and investment in media.
The mobile app, now also available internationally, continued to gain traction as a sales channel and to prove its importance in the overall strategy.
Within the omnichannel operation, an increased number of orders were picked in stores using existing capacity, reducing costs and lowering delivery lead times.
Despite the increasingly restrictive regulatory environment, Hebe continued to attract customers with several major leaflet promotions and additional special events. This sales dynamic is positively reflected in its increased market share.
All core categories – Makeup, Skin Care, Hair and Fragrance – made a solid contribution to this growth. In terms of products, the Company showed a good performance in professional, natural and dermo cosmetics, in particular in the skin care (with face creams, Korean and Japanese cosmetics), makeup and hair categories.
In 2023 EBITDA stood at 43 million euros, up 31.5% on the previous year, with the EBITDA margin standing at 9.1%, up from 9.0% in 2022.
Awards and recognitions of note
DROGERIA ROKU Grand Prix – Annual Wiadomosci Kosmetyczne gala – along with five other awards.
Best on Mobile award at eCOMMERCE POLSKA awards.
Awarded in the “Own brands – offer of the year” – Blix awards: Consumers’ Choice Retail.
Champion of the Year in the Customer Experience and Excellence in Technology categories – chosen by Consumers, organised by European Conferences United, European Circular Retail Foundation (ECRF) and GfK Poland.