Update from our CEO: Thank you for your efforts

Dear colleagues,

As August ended, so did an eventful financial year in JYSK.

First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your impressive efforts.

It has not been an easy year, and I think it is fair to say that all of us have been affected by coronavirus both in private and work-wise.

Unfortunately, the current development across the world indicates that this will continue for some time to come, and I hope that you will keep focus on hygiene and keeping distance to protect colleagues and customers.

Because, challenging as it is, we have been good at dealing with coronavirus in JYSK and keeping the virus away from our stores, distribution centres and offices.

Let us do everything we can to keep it that way.

Good result

I think that the current economic forecasts cause much more uncertainty for JYSK.

So far we have done great, and despite the setback of having most of our stores forced closed for several weeks, we have quickly regained momentum.

After reopening, our customers returned in even greater numbers than before, as people around Europe prepared for a summer at home by refurnishing their house and garden.

This means that despite the coronavirus setback, FY20 looks very promising in terms of turnover as well as earnings.

Well done to all of you!

Uncertain times ahead

This is worth celebrating, but now we have to shift focus to what will come.

And honestly, it is not easy to predict.

As indicated by our great sales in FY20, the many initiatives taken by European governments to support the economy and consumption mean that we have not yet experienced the actual effects of the crisis in terms of increased unemployment rates and decreased spending.

But that will come, as governmental supporting initiatives are gradually phased out, and I expect that FY21 will be as challenging as FY20, if not even more so.

Therefore it is more important than ever to keep focus on what JYSK needs to do to stay competitive and develop our company.

We have to keep focus on expanding by opening new stores and updating existing stores. One of the biggest projects in that regard is rebranding Austria, where the stores will change name from Dänisches Bettenlager to JYSK on 1 October, including changing all the facades and opening a new online store.

And while doing that, we have to continue to be very cost conscious to ensure that customers will choose JYSK also when finances are tight.

More sustainable

But that will of course not be our sole focus.

Before coronavirus became everyone’s centre of attention, the biggest topic on the political agenda was climate change and the need for companies to become more sustainable.

And even though coronavirus might have a lot of impact in the short run, the efforts to become more sustainable are much more important in the long run. Also for JYSK.

As of FY21, we have adopted sustainability as a sixth pillar of our strategy, and during this financial year, JYSK will set new ambitious targets to reduce our environmental footprint and become more sustainable.

As management we are responsible for making sure that sustainability is part of the decision when choosing suppliers of products, transportation, energy and much more.

But sustainability is also an individual responsibility as the negative climate effect is the sum of all the small choices each of us as individuals take every day.

Therefore I encourage all of you to make the right choices, and remember to think of sustainability every day both at work and at home.

Best regards,

Jan Bøgh
CEO & President, JYSK