Update from our CEO: A turbulent year has passed

Dear colleagues,

I hope you are all well despite the fact that coronavirus is still affecting all of us to some degree. In some countries, the situation is very serious indeed, while other countries are slowly and steadily going towards a way of living more similar to what we knew before coronavirus.

But the strongest impression I get is that of increasing optimism. Spring has replaced winter, vaccines are being distributed, and whereever we reopen our stores, we can see that customers are returning in great numbers.

And that is just some of the reasons to be optimistic.

What is even more important is the attitude I have seen from JYSK employees in the last 12 months, during which we have been tested in all kind of ways.

Most employees have experienced working in stores that have been closed, one or more times. In the distribution centres and customer service centres, you have experienced the work load double or triple on short notice, and all of us have had to get used to whole new ways of living our life both at work and at home.

Stronger than ever

This has also had an effect on JYSK. And even though I expect a strong comeback once all of our stores have reopened, we will probably not reach the record result of FY20.

But that is okay, everything taken into consideration.

Those who know me well will be aware that this is not easy for me to say, but it is necessary to say it. Just as it is important to once again make it clear that we are a family-owned company with an extremely solid financial situation and great support from our owners.

It does not mean that we should not work very hard to create the best result possible. But it means that I am aware that even with your hard work and dedication, we might have too much to catch up in FY21.

Big investments

That is also why it is important that we do not just focus on the current financial year, but on our plans for the coming years.

During autumn, we will be rebranding all stores in Germany to JYSK, we will keep optimising and improving products across JYSK, and we will increase the number of store activities to open new stores and update existing stores to Store Concept 3.0 at an even faster pace.

This requires huge investments, and even more importantly, it requires all of you to keep showing the commitment and attitude that you have shown during a very difficult year.

I have no doubt that this will be the case, and I am looking very much forward to the years to come.

Best wishes,

Jan Bøgh
President & CEO