In terms of sales, the corona crisis was no longer noticeable in all 42 furniture stores. The business is going so well that all furnishing consultants have been brought back from short-time work and new employees are being sought.
“In the past few days we have had an enormously high customer frequency and willingness to buy in all houses. The first week was even better than the strongest comparative week in Christmas business”, says managing director Reinhold Gtebier on Wednesday. All expectations were exceeded many times over.
According to the Kika / Leiner boss, compliance with hygiene measures due to the coronavirus pandemic also works perfectly. “The size of our branches suits us very well when it comes to keeping our distance, the wearing of the mouth-nose mask is adhered to in an exemplary manner and in no way limits the purchase of furniture,” said Gtebier. From Friday, the in-house gastronomy will be open again.
The time of closure was used for renovation work in the Leiner branches in Vsendorf and Salzburg, and four further branch conversions will start in 2020. The plan for new kitchen studios will also be adhered to, with the first opening scheduled for late summer.
The Signa group of the Tyrolean investor Rene Benko had taken over Kika / Leiner in June 2018 as part of an emergency sale from the ailing German-South African furniture company Steinhoff. By the end of 2018, the furniture chain closed four locations in Austria, more than 700 employees (full-time) lost their jobs. In May 2019, the Kika Eastern Europe business was sold to the domestic competitor XXXLutz
The furniture chain boss is satisfied with the implementation of the restructuring. “The first twelve months after the takeover of Kika / Leiner and my appointment as managing director were much more successful than planned in the restructuring plan,” said Gtebier in a press release. Despite the current situation, this gives the furniture company the opportunity to “continue the ambitious investment plan and prepare the company for the future”.
The online trade in the furniture chain is also continuing to develop well despite the opening. The purchases in the Kika and Leiner web shops have increased eightfold in the past few weeks, and the order volume is still high even after the branches have opened. The modernization of both portals planned for 2020 is now being implemented more quickly. By the end of the year, the Kika / Leiner boss wants to further optimize the two online shops both technically and in terms of user friendliness.
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