The disruption of the supply chain is persisting

The confidence of the consumers in JUMBO Group’s products and services, led sales to an increase of approximately + 0,7% for July 2021, despite the apparent lack of the full range of products due to the disruption of the supply chain and the cost of raw materials.

The total sales for the Group during the first seven months of the year (January-July 2021) were increased by approximately + 10% y-o-y compared to last year’s corresponding period.

More specifically:

 Greece:

In July 2021, all of the Group's stores in Greece continued to operate with a restriction on the number of customers allowed inside the stores, demonstrating an increase along with the online store, of approximately + 2% compared to July 2020.

However, the controlled restraint of the company's exports of goods to the 6 countries in which the Group is present through partnerships (Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Northern Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro), led the July 2021 net sales of the parent company - excluding intragroup sales – to demonstrate a small decrease of approximately -0,7%, compared to July 2020.

In total, during the seven months of the year (January-July 2021) the net sales of the parent company - excluding intragroup sales - were increased by approximately + 3% y-o-y.

Cyprus:

All stores continued to operate with a restriction on the number of customers allowed in the stores. However, due to the reinstatement of measures that prevent or periodically exclude customers coming from abroad, sales in July 2021 recorded a decrease of approximately -3% y-o-y. However, for the seven months of 2021, sales were increased by approximately + 12% y-o-y.

Bulgaria:

The stores continued to operate with a restriction on the number of customers allowed in the stores. During July 2021, sales increased by approximately +11% y-o-y. As a result, for the seven months of 2021, sales were increased by approximately +16% y-o-y.

Romania:

During July 2021, all Jumbo stores in the country continued to operate normally. The sales were increased slightly by approximately +1,84% y-o-y. It is noted that the monthly performance is not directly comparable to the corresponding month of the prior year, as in 2020, due to the restrictions that were imposed for the first time back then, the momentum recorded during the restart of the market was stronger.

The country's average performance is better reflected in the sales of the seven-month period of 2021, which were increased by approximately +28% y-o-y.

Market Conditions

As pointed out by the company’s management since mid-June during the Annual General Meeting, globally, the supply chain has been violently disrupted and therefore balances of years have been overturned.

The recent data regarding the supply chain and the transport costs create additional concern.

The situation, instead of stabilizing and gradually returning to sustainable levels, is worsening.

The market is suffering from unfair practices and partnerships between certain logistics companies that are managing the availability of containers used to transport goods.

On a worldwide scale, no government and no competition committee have made a substantial intervention to break the informal cartel.

The first result of these practices is that the- unreasonable- freights are kept at outrageous levels with various excuses that do not convince anyone except of the naive.

Finally, the combination of the distorted supply chain and the rapid spreading of COVID 19 virus, with the Delta variant, creates an environment that leads 2021 becoming another lost year regarding the profitability and always in comparison with 2019.

In the case there is no spectacular change of the present situation, unfortunately it is very likely that 2022 will be by default an equally lost year, in terms of 2019.

However:

In a turbulent, extremely complex, blurry and unstable environment - without the prospect of growth in terms of profitability - the management of the Jumbo Group constantly works in order to:

1. ultimately not to alter the character and the principles that Jumbo represents towards the consumer, concerning the correlation between the price and the product that is offered

and also

2. remaining loyal to its shareholders-partners by maintaining its policy to distribute dividend every year.