Cnova - comment

Cnova’s Q3 sales numbers don’t provide any comfort to Casino as the business continues to deteriorate. Headline numbers are down c.22% albeit against a strong 2021 comparable. However, versus pre-Covid levels, sales have only increased by 7%. More importantly, the number of items sold is down over 20% versus pre-covid levels.

Cnova is concentrating its efforts towards marketplace and B2B services, but even in these segments, the growth doesn’t provide any chink of light for its shareholders (namely Casino).

Searching for a positive, Cnova has increased its number of subscribers to its loyalty program, up 3% to 2.5million customers. The overall number of active clients has reduced from a historic 9-10m customers to 8.8m, the subscribers, at 2.5m account for 44% of all activity, underlying the importance of their loyalty program.

The reality is the business is in cost savings mode, and although Cnova is on track with its targets, this ultimately is impacting top-line growth and potential valuations.