Market announcement

Title

2009 SALES RESULTS

Message

The consolidated unaudited sales revenue of Tallinna Kaubamaja Group amounted
to 6.4 billion kroons (408.5 million euros), 1.6 billion kroons (104.6 million
euros) of it was earned in the fourth quarter. The sales revenue of 2008 was
6.5 billion kroons (417.4 million euros). The annual sales revenue decreased by
2%, 
the decline in the fourth quarter was 10%. 

In 2009, the consolidated sales revenue of the supermarket business segment
amounted to 4.8 billion kroons (304.4 million euros), exceeding the indicator
of the previous year by 11%. Selver's consolidated sales revenue in the fourth
quarter of 2009 was 1.2 billion kroons (77.2 million euros), decreasing by 3%
compared to the same period of the previous year. In 2009, Selver's monthly
average consolidated sales revenue per retail space square metre was 5.4
thousand kroons per month, showing a decrease of 20% compared to the previous
year. The decrease in the average sales effectiveness of the Selver chain was
adversely affected by the overall economic recession in Estonia and Latvia, the
change of competitive situation in the retail market, the overall decline in
selling prices and changes in the consumer basket's structure. The internal
decrease of the sales effectiveness of the chain was affected by the
enlargements of the selling space during 2008 and the lower sales effectiveness
of the new stores during their commissioning period. The sales revenue of
comparable stores was 6.2 thousand kroons per month, revealing a decrease of
10%. In 2009, a total of 34.8 million purchases were made in the Selver chain,
which is 21% more than in 2008. During 2009, the selling space of the
supermarket business segment increased by 2.4 thousand square meters. The
annual growth of the selling space in Estonia and Latvia was altogether 4%. In
2009, Selver opened 6 new stores, 2 of them in Estonia and 4 in Latvia. In
October, Selver decided to freeze all its business activities in Latvia and to
close all 6 Latvian stores and to make 220 employees redundant. The share of
Selver's sales revenue in Estonia was approximately 17.8% of the republic's
unspecialised retail sales of foodstuffs, increasing by 2.6 percentage points
during the year. Selver is planning to open a new store at Rannarootsi centre
in Haapsalu, Estonia. 

In 2009, the sales revenue of the business segment of department stores was
1,196.5 million kroons (76.5 million euros), i.e. 22% less than in the same
period of the previous year. The sales revenue in the fourth quarter amounted
to 343.7 million kroons (22.0 million euros) of it, while the decrease compared
to the respective quarter of previous year was 21%. In 2009, the average sales
revenue of department stores per square meter of selling space was 4.2 thousand
kroons per month, that is 24% less than the result of 5.5 thousand kroons per
month for the same period of the previous year. At the same time, the average
selling space of department stores has increased by 400 m2, i.e. 2% more than
in the previous year. In the fourth quarter, the growth of sales revenue was
primarily caused by the Osturalli (Purchase Rally) in October and the Christmas
sales which compensated for the sales results of one of the poorest months in
retail business - November, of the sales results of which were 29% lower than
in the same period of the previous year. The sales results of the department
store business segment were affected by large renovations in several
departments during the first half-year. The sales revenue of the I.L.U. chain
belonging to the department store segment amounted to 12.0 million kroons (0.77
million euros), the sales revenue of the fourth quarter was 7.6 million kroons
(0.5 million euros). The first store of the I.L.U. beauty store chain was
opened in the new Pärnu Centre in the second half of March. On November 6th,
the biggest beauty products store in Southern Estonia (330 square meters) was
opened at Lõunakeskus in Tartu and on November 12th, the flagship of the chain
was opened at Rocca al Mare shopping centre in Tallinn. The total area of Rocca
al Mare I.L.U. is 477m². In autumn 2010, a store is planned to be opened in
Kristiine Centre in Tallinn. 

The sales revenue of the real estate business segment outside the Group was
42.7 million kroons (2.7 million euros), showing an increase of 4% compared to
the same period of the previous year. The sales result of the fourth quarter
amounted to 10.3 million kroons (0.7 million euros). 

The sales revenue of the car trade segment for 2009, intersegment transactions
excluded, was 208.6 million kroons (13.3 million euros), which is 58% less than
in the respective period of the previous year. In 2009, 853 cars were sold. In
2008, the sales revenue of the same period from the sale of 2,056 cars was
494.9 million kroons (31.6 million euros). The sales revenue for the fourth
quarter of 2009 was 29.8 million kroons (1.9 million euros) and altogether 79
new vehicles were sold. The sales revenue for the same period in 2008 was 57.8
million kroons (3.7 million euros). A continuing steep fall as in the previous
quarters in the car trade market was seen in the fourth quarter. In Estonia,
1,938 cars were sold in the fourth quarter, which is 44% less than a year ago.
In Latvia, 566 new cars were registered in the fourth quarter which is 82% less
than a year ago. In Lithuania, 1,560 cars were sold, which is 55% lower than in
the previous year. In Estonia and Latvia, the market share increased compared
to the third quarter. In Estonia, the market share increased from 2.1% to 2.2%
and in Latvia from 3.6% to 3.8%. In Lithuania, the market share decreased from
2.8% to 1.5%. The decline of the car trade market in the Baltic states was 70%
i.e. 19,731 cars were sold. A year ago, a total of 64,600 passenger cars were
registered. On the positive side, a public procurement won in Lithuania should
be noted. The scope of the purchase is 68 SUVs KIA Sportage. 

In 2009, the sales revenue of the footwear trade was 179.9 million kroons (11.5
million euros). The sales revenue in the fourth quarter was 43.7 million kroons
(2.8 million euros). In the fourth quarter, the first stores of the footwear
chain SHU were opened at Rocca al Mare shopping centre in Tallinn and
Lõunakeskus in Tartu. The arrival of the new favourable price SHU chain beside
ABC King, Suurtüki and Nero, will enable the Kaubamaja Group to offer the
widest footwear selection to different target groups and in different price
brackets. Two stores were closed in Latvia during the fourth quarter. Out of
the 31 Group's stores, 28 are located in Estonia and 3 in Latvia. 

As of the end of 2009, the Group had over 394 thousand loyal customers, the
figure increased by 14% over the year. The number of Partner Credit Cards was
approximately 10,000. 

The most important targets of the Tallinna Kaubamaja Group in 2010, by using
the synergy between the different parts of the Group, are: 
•	To continuously develop and improve the effectiveness of the Selver chain. To
put the competitive advantage of the Selver Kitchen to a better use and to
increase the percentage of private label products. 
•	To merge and strengthen the footwear business, to achieve profitability.
•	To consolidate the market position of the beauty store chain I.L.U. and to
open a new store. 
•	To improve the effectiveness of Kaubamaja's activities, to continue the
optimisation of operating costs, to achieve better supply conditions and to
minimise logistics costs. 
•	To adjust the car trade segment to the low sale volumes, to raise the quality
and sale of follow-up services. To continue negotiations about adding new
promising car brands to our sales portfolio. 

Raul Puusepp
Chairman of the Board
Phone +372 731 5000