The core business of Natura (formerly Polbita) is the retail sale of consumer products, in particular cosmetics and chemicals. At the end of 2023, the chain had 252 own drugstores, agency stores and an online store.
Last year, the company increased its share capital twice (by 6
PLN 250,000 and PLN 6,500,000). The new shares were acquired by the shareholder – Corporation of European Pharmaceutical Distributors NV
Drogerie Natura closes unprofitable stores
– The company revised its employment structure in order to improve competences among key staff and to increase process efficiency. This involved staff changes in selected positions at various levels in the organization. (…). Due to the decision taken in 2022 to revise the drugstore portfolio in terms of the possibility of permanently generating a positive result, the plan to liquidate unprofitable stores was continued in 2023. In terms of the remaining sales network
the company carried out activities aimed at improving the profitability of the current portfolio. The company plans to continue such activities in future periods – we read in the company's report.
In 2023, Natura continued its strategy of implementing new technologies, including in the area of logistics, transport network and in the operational and logistics area for E-commerce. The company also continued to optimize processes in stationary stores (self-service checkouts) and in the area of inventory management (WMS/ERP).
Rising costs prompted the company to take action, among others: in terms of renegotiating rents and continuing the energy consumption minimization program.
Financial situation of the Natura network
Natura's revenues for 2023 are PLN 417,436,919.95 and the net loss is PLN 62,984,650.41. What threats does the company see? This is primarily due to strong competition and old IT infrastructure.
Average employment in 2023 was 1,174 people. For comparison, average employment in 2021 was 1,238 people.
According to the management board, the company is able to continue its operations with the support of the Pelion Group, CEPD NV and the consortium of Alior and Erste banks.
Pelion buys shares in the Natura network
On April 16, 2024, CEPD NV sold all its shares in Natura to Pelion SA.
Pelion SA is now the sole shareholder of the company.
Let us remind you that Natura drugstores were included in the portfolio of the Corporation of European Pharmaceutical Distributors NV Group in 2014.
