Zeeman reports €585m in full-year sales, up 6.8%

By

Shomara Roosblad

Published
Jun 7, 2018

Dutch retailer Zeeman announced in its annual Corporate Social Responsibility report that is has recorded €585.1 million in net sales in FY17.

The net sales increased by 6.8 percent, compared to FY16, when the retailer reported €548.1 million in net sales. In 2017, Zeeman sold 283 million products, including apparel, textiles, accessories, beauty and home products. A year earlier, the number of sold articles came in at 273.3 million products.

Zeeman’s Corporate Social Responsibility report did not disclose the profit the retailer recorded in 2017. However, the chain reported that it has invested a total of €18.2 million euros, of which 12.7 million euros was invested in the renovation and inventory of stores and technology. €1.3 million euros was spent at Zeeman’s car park, while an additional 2.3 million euros was invested in the renovation of the retailer’s service office. The retailer said that is has the ambition to continue to make investments in the coming years.

Additionally, Zeeman has further focused on its sustainability efforts. The 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility said that the retailer became a member of the IMVO Sustainable Clothing and Textile Covenant. Furthermore, of all the cotton used by Zeeman, 8.6% is Better Cotton and the retailer used 97% less plastic bags.

Erik-Jan Mares, CEO at Zeeman, said in a press statement: “Corporate Social Responsibility has been part of our way of working since the launch of Zeeman in 1967. In the early days, we did not call it 'corporate social responsibility'. At Zeeman we called it: economical. And that's what we still call it. Economical on people, materials, environment and society. And economical on our suppliers, of course. We have been economical for 50 years now. And we are getting better at it. Because being economical gives us and our customers a lot. Not only money, but also a long-term perspective.”

Zeeman first opened in 1967 in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. The chain currently operates 1,285 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Austria. In 2017, the retailer employed about 5,868 full-time staff.