Hello, and welcome to the BIC Full Year Results 2020 call. My name is Rinkle, and I will be your coordinator for today's event. Please note this conference is being recorded, and for the duration of the call, your lines will be on listen only. However, you will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the call. This can be done by pressing star one on your telephone keypads to register your question. If you require assistance at any point, please press star zero and you will be connected to an operator. I will now hand you over to your host, Sophie Palliez-Capian, to begin today's conference. Thank you.
Thank you, Rinkle. Good afternoon and good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining this Full Year Results 2020 conference call for BIC. As usual, the call will be hosted by our Chief Executive Officer, Gonzalve Bich, and our Chief Financial Officer, Chad Spooner. They will start by a short presentation of our results, and it will be followed by a Q&A session. Let me give the floor to Gonzalve. Gonzalve?
Thank you, Sophie, and good day, everyone. Thank you for joining and attending this call. Before I start reviewing our 2020 performance in detail and how we foresee 2021, I'd like to share some insights we've gained as we look back at last year. There's no question that 2020 was a challenging year for BIC and the world. As I reflect on the obstacles we faced and how we overcame them, I believe that we achieved a solid operating performance, and perhaps even more importantly, showed our resilience as a business. While we have more to overcome in 2021, I want to take a moment to thank the BIC team for focusing on what we were able to control in this environment and for their rigorous execution. Their teamwork resulted in our demonstrating strength in business continuity, commercial execution, efficiency, cost control, and operating cash flow generation throughout the year.
We've become proficient in our operating model, stronger and more agile as a team, and are fully on track to achieve our transformation. While I'm pleased with these successes, COVID-19 has and will continue to have a lasting impact on consumption patterns and shopping behaviors. These continue to affect our categories in a myriad of ways. I am confident that our Horizon plan positions us to meet these changes head on and puts us on a trajectory towards accelerated, innovative, and sustainable growth. Let's take a closer look at our markets in 2020. In stationery, the overall writing instruments segment was hit hard by the shift to e-learning and remote working as people temporarily adapted to new rhythms and norms. A bright spot was the coloring segment, which grew mid-single digits across key markets as consumers leaned into more artistic and creative activities during lockdown periods.
In lighters, lower foot traffic and outpaced demand for hygiene products and grocery products prompted convenience stores to adapt by reducing their inventory of products like pocket lighters. On the positive side, utility lighters enjoyed growing popularity and usage during the pandemic due to increased home and outdoor cooking and the use of candles. This segment delivered a strong performance, growing double-digit in the U.S. Turning to shavers, lockdowns and remote working changed men's and women's shaving habits. These resulted in market declines in our key geographies in both the one-piece and refillable segments. The pandemic did, however, accelerate the shift to e-commerce, with online shaver market growing 50% in value in the U.S. In this challenging context, we focused on what we can control. Thanks to strong teamwork and solid execution, we increased or maintained market share in growing strategic product segments and in key markets.
As you can see, we made noticeable gains in the coloring and permanent marker segments across key countries such as the U.S., Brazil, France, and the U.K., a confirmation of consumer trust in our brand and our ability to succeed as we look to expand into the arts and crafts space. We gained share in pocket lighters in all our key markets, including Brazil, the U.S., Mexico, Germany, and Russia. Utility lighters also delivered solid results, gaining 4.3 points in market share in the U.S. Lastly, in shaver, we outperformed most of our markets worldwide, from the U.S. to Brazil and Europe, as our teams worked relentlessly on effective promotional activities, combined with our success in premium products like the BIC Flex Hybrid and BIC Soleil ranges.
The strong shift to online purchases during the pandemic resulted in an 18% increase in net sales in e-commerce, with double-digit growth across key geographies like the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and India. Our direct-to-consumer sales more than doubled, a 118% growth rate. This went hand in hand with healthy conversions and favorable reviews on our D2C website, bic.com, in the U.S. and France. In line with our goal of engaging with consumers directly as part of our transformation journey, we were rightfully invested behind our strategies and dedicated 83% of media investments to online channels. Though we're pleased with our progress in e-commerce, this slide paints a picture of the pandemic's impact on our customers. Pure players, with Amazon leading, grew 85% through 2020, and their share of our overall e-commerce sales climbed 2-14 points.
At the same time, the pandemic lockdowns caused certain omni-channel retailer sales to plummet. The brunt of this came from the B2B business, like office suppliers, due to office closures. Sales to omni-retailers declined by 10% yearly, with B2B channels down 20%. Looking ahead, our overall e-commerce strategy is on track. We're building meaningful digital capabilities within the organization to accelerate online growth, paving the way to become a genuine omni-channel company. A central piece of our Horizon plan is harnessing innovation to accelerate growth, and in 2020, we demonstrated that we are on track to do just that, with innovation contributing 7.6% to net sales, up one point versus 2019. I'm excited to see the success of our new products, like EZ Reach Lighter, which in just six months has achieved 0.5 market share value in the U.S.
The launch of BIC PrevaGuard, an antimicrobial pen, is another excellent example of how quickly we're responding to what consumers want. In this case, we reacted to their understandable obsession with germs. In just a few short months, we were able to move this product from concept to shelf. In 2020, we signed two exciting partnerships that moved BIC's open innovation system forward. We teamed up with Iprova to create our invention lab using their machine learning-based, data-driven approach to innovation to help us anticipate and respond effectively to consumer needs. This lab accounted for more than 10% of our total patent filings only six months after opening. Our collaboration with the Plug and Play Tech Center, one of the world's largest startup incubators, gives us access to a diverse range of talent that can help us expand our innovation capabilities and support our journey towards more sustainable products.
These are some of the latest steps in our ongoing commitment to nurturing an open ecosystem for discovering and integrating the latest technology internally as well as externally. It's only the beginning of our transformation towards becoming more agile and innovative to better address consumer ever-changing trends. Looking forward to 2021, several new and innovative products will be added to our brand portfolio, all consistent with our Horizon plan to bring more value and sustainable offerings to consumers. In stationery, we will extend the BIC Cristal family with the BIC Cristal Re'New, a premium refillable version of our iconic Cristal made in metal. In lighters, we will test launch the BIC Maxi Ecolutions, which will offer consumers equal levels of quality and safety with an environmental impact reduced by 10% compared to the classic BIC Maxi lighter.
In shaver, we will introduce our new sustainable development hybrid range with both male and female one-piece razors that you can refill with a handle made from recycled materials and housed in 100% recyclable packaging. I'd like to shift now to two key acquisitions in 2020 that position us to boost profitable growth effectively in line with our Horizon plan. In July, we acquired Djeep, which consolidates our leadership position in lighters. The integration is well on track and will support our shift towards a value-driven model, favoring premium and personalized design. In December, we acquired Rocketbook. This marks BIC's entrance into the fast-growing digital writing segment. Rocketbook provides simple, elegant, and accessible solutions to digital writing, which is very much in line with BIC's vision to bring simplicity and joy to everyday life.
I'm very excited about this next step for BIC and the potential it brings as we leverage on their unique brand-building skills and expand our presence into the Human Expression space. We started to consolidate Rocketbook this quarter, and I'm thrilled to share that they had an outstanding performance during the key holiday season at the end of 2020. Their sales on Amazon in the U.S. grew by more than 80% versus fourth quarter 2019, and their U.S. direct-to-consumer business increased by 30%. In November last year, we took our sustainability journey to the next level with our new commitments to reducing plastics dramatically in our products and packaging by 2030. These ambitious targets are a continuation of our historical pledge to sustainability embedded in our Writing the Future commitment.
One of the most important in this fight against climate change, in 2020, we continued to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We achieved our goal of 80% renewable electricity five years ahead of schedule. Our team's health and safety remains an utmost priority. I'm pleased to say that reportable accidents saw a 30% decrease compared to last year. With a significant focus on the health of our team members, we were able to keep them safe and keep production up and running in most geographies despite the pandemic. I'm proud of the measures our team took to quickly ensure that we were meeting, and in many cases, exceeding established local protocols to keep our team members healthy. We continued our efforts to help children succeed in their education. In 2020, we reached more than 67 million children around the world, many through innovative digital programs.
Since 2018, we have served 118 million children, which is a tremendous source of pride for the team. Before moving to shareholder returns, let's take a quick look at our financial performance in 2020, which Chad will take you through in more detail later during the call. Net sales for the full year was EUR 1,627.9 million, down 12.6% on a comparative basis. Normalized IFO was at EUR 229.1 million with a 14.1% margin, in line with our guidance of above 13.5%. This was a solid performance achieved by prudent management of operating expenses and the savings generated by our transformation plan. Normalized earnings per share was at EUR 3.54, down 35.3% versus last year. Free cash flow was strong at EUR 274.5 million, thanks to a strong improvement in working capital.
In line with our Horizon Plan capital allocation policy, 2021 shareholder return is maintained versus 2020 levels at EUR 121 million. It includes EUR 81 million dividend payment through a EUR 1.8 per share, subject to approval at our next annual general meeting in May, and a EUR 40 million share buyback program. As announced in December, we will partner with to pioneer the first European impact share buyback and allocate part of the funds to J-PAL, the global research center working to reduce poverty, and to the BIC Corporate Foundation. I'm thrilled that BIC is a pioneer in this space, as we are historically committed to the education cause, notably through our comprehensive sustainability program, Writing the Future, Together.
Today, sustainability and corporate purpose continue to be meaningful to companies and consumers, and this groundbreaking program will accelerate the path towards genuine long-term value creation for all our stakeholders. As I mentioned earlier, stationery was undoubtedly the category most negatively impacted by the worldwide school and office closures. Back-to-school seasons were delayed or canceled in both hemispheres. Highly dependent on convenience and traditional trade channels, Latin America, Africa, and India accounted for almost 60% of the total category decline year-on-year. Nevertheless, our teams demonstrated strong operational execution, and 2020 yielded several positives worth noting. We maintained share in Europe thanks to great visibility in stores as a result of excellent partnership with our customers and effective and efficient merchandising and brand support.
In the U.S., while the overall stationery market was down 12.2% year-over-year, we held share and outperformed in coloring and permanent markers, thanks to the BodyMark and BIC Kids coloring ranges. These solid executional results were visible in back-to-school replenishment orders, which were around 10% higher than in 2019 in both France and the U.S. It was an incredibly challenging year in Latin America, with a competitive environment that the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated. In Mexico, schools have been closed since March. As a result, more than 33 million students are still remote learning. India is another area where we face tremendous headwinds. Schools and office closures have taken a toll, as have mobility restrictions limiting the sale of non-essential items. The result was a close to 40% market decline. BIC's historic ballpoint pen was the segment most affected, largely due to remote learning conditions.
We nonetheless remain number one, reaching 25.1% market share in value. Turning to lighters, as I mentioned already, the category was affected by lockdowns in all key markets, although there were regional differences. Europe, where traditional stores play a significant role, saw relatively weak performance for the year, notably in France, Belgium, and the U.K. We continued to grow in Russia and Germany due to new listings and effective promotional activities, two of our invest to grow markets. In North America, despite a soft start to the year, full year lighter net sales were flat, which is a great result given the current environment. Momentum in the second half was driven by a successful price adjustment implemented in June, as well as solid promotional activities, which offset the decline. BIC pocket lighter sales outperformed the flattish market, gaining 0.8 points value share.
The utility lighter segment, in which we've invested these last two years, grew 27.1% in 2020, bolstered by shopping trends as consumers turn to home grilling and other lighting occasions. We gained 4.3 points of market share. At the end of 2020, utility lighter sales accounted for 15% of our lighter sales in North America, plus six points compared to 2019. Our overall market performance was boosted by introducing our new EZ Reach lighter, which, as I mentioned earlier, has successfully grown to 0.5% market share in the first six months of its launch. EZ Reach continues to outperform in 2021, reaching more than 3% value share in January. Latin America was a mixed bag, with an especially challenging situation in Mexico. At the same time, Brazil made gains in market share, up 0.7 points. Turning now to Shaver.
Evolving consumer habits were compounded by lockdown conditions that changed personal grooming routines and regimens in various ways. Underpinned by our historical value proposition and the success of our new products, we outperformed in all regions in both female and male segments. We gained 0.6 points in the U.K. and continued to gain share in Russia and Poland. Overall, in shaver, we outperformed the European market for the third consecutive year, driven by both male and female products. Both core and new products did well in the U.S., especially amongst men. Thanks to a more aggressive promotional strategy and placement of gift sets, we won one point value share of the one-piece market, which declined 6.4%. The BIC Flex 5 Hybrid and BIC Soleil Sensitive Advanced performed well, BIC Us, our gender-neutral refillable razor, continued to show positive results from its launch. Brazil's sellout performance was also good.
Our product trade-up strategy continued to prove effective despite the pandemic. We picked up 0.7 points in value share, largely thanks to outstanding performance in the women's segment and a strong promotional push on traditional business for an impressive high of 23% value market share in 2020. This ends the review of our operational performance, I'll now leave the floor to Chad to take you through our consolidated financial figures.
Thank you, Gonzalve. I will begin by reviewing the net sales results for both the fourth quarter and the full year of 2020. On an as-reported basis, fourth quarter net sales were down 18.2% versus last year. On a comparative basis, our net sales were down 10.7%. Currency fluctuations had a negative impact of minus 8.1 points. This was mainly due to the continuing sharp decline of the Brazilian real and the decline of the US dollar against the euro. Net sales for the full year 2020 totaled EUR 1,627.9 million, down 16.5% as reported, down 12.6% on a comparative basis. Here again, the negative impact of currency fluctuations of minus 4.2 points was mainly attributable to the decline of the Brazilian real and the decline of the US dollar against the euro.
The COVID-19 impact on the decrease for 2020 net sales is estimated at around -10 points. The perimeter impact adjustment includes mainly the acquisitions of Djeep and Lucky Stationery in Nigeria. As a reminder, due to Argentina's hyperinflation, we are excluding Argentina from our net sales on a comparative basis. On slide 15, you can see the key elements of the summarized P&L results. The gross profit margin for 2020 decreased 2.0 points to 48.1%, compared to 50.1% in 2019. Normalized IFO for full year 2020 was EUR 229.1 million compared to EUR 331.8 million last year, with the normalized IFO margin of 14.1% this year versus 17.0% for 2019. Let me now review the NIFO margin change for the full year 2020 versus 2019. As just mentioned, the gross profit margin decreased 2.0 points to 48.1%.
Excluding under absorption of fixed costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the gross profit margin increased by 0.6 points. This was driven by favorable foreign exchange and a decrease in raw material costs. This favorability was partially offset by unfavorable manufacturing cost absorption. A decrease in brand support had a favorable impact of 0.4 points on the NIFO margin. Operating expenses and other expenses were higher by 3.9 points, resulting from the sharp decline in net sales. In addition to this, we also had a negative impact from the cost to implement our new organization and higher incentive plan costs compared to last year. This total increase is partially offset by the other OpEx reductions across all geographies as we executed on the OpEx actions announced in May. As we cover the year-to-date non-recurring items from left to right, we had EUR 27.2 million of restructuring costs.
The main drivers of these restructurings are the transformation plan, the closure of our Ecuador factory, and our recently announced Latin American Asia commercial operations restructuring, where we moved to an indirect model in several countries. As discussed in the second quarter, we had EUR 41.7 million related to the sell impairment on property, plant and equipment and trademark. This resulted from lower than anticipated sales due to India's lockdowns, and as a result, lower volume than initially anticipated, which have impacted our planned cost efficiencies. In the third quarter, we had EUR 44.1 million of favorable pension adjustment in the United States. Our year-to-date non-recurring items also include EUR 41.8 million in cost of goods, of which EUR 35.8 million is unfavorable manufacturing cost absorption resulting from plant closures and lower product demand due to COVID-19.
There is also EUR 6.0 million of direct expenses related to additional employee protection implemented to fight against the spread of the coronavirus. Items such as cleaning supplies, masks, and sanitizers. We also had an impact of EUR 3.6 million in operating expenses and other expenses, mostly commercial force under activity due to COVID-19. Let me now review the NIFO margin change versus the prior year for the fourth quarter of 2020. Excluding under absorption of fixed costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, gross profit margin increased by 1.5 points. This was driven by favorable foreign exchange, a decrease in raw material costs, and the favorable impact of June price adjustments in U.S. lighters. Brand support investments remained broadly stable.
OPEX and other expenses were higher by 6.8 points, resulting from the sharp decline in net sales, the cost to implement our new organization, and higher incentive plan costs compared to last year. This increase is partially offset by other OPEX reductions across all geographies. Fourth quarter 2020 non-recurring items include EUR 13.2 million of restructuring costs, of which the transformation plan in Latin America and Asia commercial operations restructuring are among the main drivers. For the fourth quarter, we had EUR 12.3 million in cost of goods, of which EUR 10.8 million is unfavorable manufacturing cost absorption, resulting from plant closures and lower product demand due to COVID-19. The impact from direct expenses related to additional employee protection implemented to fight against the spread of the coronavirus is EUR 1.5 million in the fourth quarter. Slide 18 shows normalized IFO to net income for the full year of 2020.
Year-to-date income before tax was EUR 155.3 million compared to EUR 251.4 million in 2019. Net finance revenue was negative EUR 1.4 million compared to a negative EUR 1.3 million for the same period in 2019. Net income group share was EUR 93.7 million as reported for 2020, compared to EUR 176.1 million in 2019. Normalized net income group share was EUR 159.4 million compared to EUR 246.7 million last year. The effective tax rate for 2020 was 39.7% versus 30.0% last year. EPS group share was EUR 2.08 compared to EUR 3.91 in 2019. Normalized EPS group share decreased 35% to EUR 3.54 compared to EUR 5.47 last year. In 2020, we invested EUR 83.1 million in CapEx, the majority in lighters being at 44% of the total. The overall CapEx level was in line with what we communicated in March 2020, in the range of EUR 80 million.
On slide 20, we see the main elements of working capital. Inventories ended the period at EUR 379.0 million, and accounts receivable at EUR 409.6 million. Trade and other payables were EUR 99.5 million at the end of the year. Accounts receivable had a favorable impact on cash versus December 2019, as we closely monitored and drove our collection efforts in this challenging COVID environment, where all companies are looking to conserve their cash outlay. The decrease in accounts receivable was also impacted by the lower net sales. We had particularly good cash collections in North America and also in Latin America and India, despite challenges due to pressures on local markets.
The decrease in inventory days compared to the end of December 2019 was a result of management's focus on inventory reduction as the impact of declining net sales challenged the company to be even more vigilant with inventory production and management. Consistent with Horizon and the focus on cash management, we generated EUR 275 million free cash flow in 2020, driven by the improvement in working capital that I just described and lower CapEx. To drive operational cash flow generation, we also reduced the amount of OpEx that were initially expected in 2020 by more than EUR 28 million. This is more than the EUR 15 million to EUR 20 million objective announced in May of 2020. This next slide summarizes the evolution of our net cash position between December 2019 and December of 2020.
Net cash from operating activities was EUR 357.6 million, including EUR 233.9 million in operating cash flow and EUR 123.7 million of positive impact from the change in working capital and others. Among the drivers of the working capital were the benefits from accounts receivable of EUR 100.7 million compared to December of 2019, as explained in the previous slide, and inventory, which contributed EUR 46.5 million. We invested EUR 72.5 million for acquisitions, mostly Djeep and Rocketbook. Net cash was also impacted by investments in CapEx, as we invested EUR 83.1 million in 2020. Shareholder return was EUR 117.6 million in 2020, of which EUR 110.2 million dividend payment and EUR 7.4 million share buyback. The EUR 47.3 million of others is mostly related to foreign exchange. Our net cash position at the end of December 2020 was a +EUR 183.9 million.
This ends the review of our Q4 and full year 2020 consolidated results. Now let me give the floor back to Gonzalve.
Thanks, Chad. I'll now take you through our 2021 global market assumptions. They're based on Euromonitor and internal estimates at the end of last year. They do not integrate any major disruptions due to the potential acceleration of COVID-19 pandemic. In Europe, we expect markets to be flat to slightly increasing in our three core categories. In North America, the stationery markets should rebound slowly after a low double-digit decline in 2020. The lighter market is expected to be flat, with utility outperforming pocket lighters. In shavers, the one-piece segment should continue to decrease, though at a slower pace than last year. In Latin America, we anticipate a low to mid-single-digit increase in all categories, including a high single-digit rebound in stationery in Mexico. Finally, we expect a strong recovery in the Indian stationery market.
Before I conclude with our 2021 financial outlook, I'd like to share with you what will underpin our performance this year. Organic growth will be driven by an increase in volumes versus 2020, though we do not expect to recover the 2019 levels, and by new product launches and line extensions. We also expect to further gain market share in key markets. Commercial excellence, and notably revenue growth management, will be a key component of our growth, with both selected price adjustments implemented locally or regionally and efficient promotional activities. Total growth will be boosted by the addition of new businesses, notably Rocketbook, consolidated as of the 1st of January 2021. Gross margin should be flat as positive higher sales volumes and price increases will be offset by an increase in raw material costs, adverse currency impacts, and negative mix due to India's rebound in sales.
Consistent with Horizon, normalized income from operations margin is expected to strengthen. Increases in brand support, research and development, and innovation will be more than offset by the decrease in operating expenses as a % of net sales, driven by the benefit of the Invent the Future and further operating expense reduction. We will continue to focus on operating cash flow with tight controls of inventories. CapEx are expected to be around EUR 100 million. In summary, our 2021 outlook is as follows. While we expect the overall trading environment to remain uncertain and volatile, particularly during the first half, our goal is to deliver +5% to +7% total net sales growth at constant currencies in 2021. To succeed, we will focus on increasing market share in key growing countries through new product launches, efficient promotional activities, and continued e-commerce growth.
In line with our Horizon plan target, we expect to generate above EUR 200 million of free cash flow before acquisitions and disposals, based on improved operating margins and strict control of CapEx and working capital. To conclude, we are entering 2021, another unpredictable year, with clear-eyed optimism. Our transformation is underway, and I'm confident that we have evolved into the right organization to face the challenges of tomorrow. This year, we will continue to focus on what we can control: operational excellence, proactive management of our business portfolio, and the execution of our new consumer-focused business model. Through our Horizon business plan, we have created the momentum needed to accelerate long-term growth and create sustainable value for all our stakeholders. Thank you. I'll now open the floor for your questions.
As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question or make a contribution at today's call, please press star one on your telephone keypad. You will be advised when to ask your question. Star one on your telephone keypad now. We have a few questions submitted. Our first question comes from the line of Nicolas from Exane BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.
Hello. Good afternoon, everyone. I've got four questions, please. The first one on margin. You mentioned improving margin in 2021. Can you help us assess to what extent margin could improve this year? At least give us a range depending on the like-for-like sales development in 2021. Secondly, can you tell us a bit more about the Blade Excellence initiative? Last November, you couldn't say much on that. Can you tell more today what sort of sales it could represent in the mid to long term, and do you expect already some contribution in 2021? Third, according to IRI, the price mix effect on lighter in the U.S. increased quite a lot in January and February this year, 2021. Does that reflect additional price adjustments from you, or it's related to something else?
Finally, just on the perimeter impact in 2021, if we take Djeep and Rocketbook together, what sort of sales are you expecting? Thanks.
Hi, Nicolas. Thanks for the questions. In regard to your first question around NIFO margin for 2021, our annual guidance is consistent with our rise in plan targets. It's focused on accelerated growth and sustained free cash flow generation. In regards to 2021 margin, we expect to grow our operating margins as we see volume growth, positive price impact, and lower OpEx as a % of net sales. That will more than offset the increase in raw material costs, adverse FX, and increase of brand support that we're going to do to drive our net sales growth is a position that we'll let people know that we do see growth, but we're not giving guidance on ranges on the margin, as you probably know. Why don't I take question four since I'm talking.
In regards to perimeter, what we should think about is Rocketbook Djeep and dispositions Pimaco, it's around 200 basis points is what we're looking at from a perimeter impact.
Afternoon, Nicolas. Thanks for your question. On Blade Excellence, as I said in November, a little bit early to give long-term targets two months later, my answer really hasn't changed for you. We do have two existing customers and a robust pipeline that we're working through in 2021. The impact of the existing customers is not material, for the total group results, but our goal is to generate the business through the pipeline that would make it so for 2022. A lot of work for the teams yet to be done, but again, robust pipeline, strong interest from potential projects on Blade Excellence. For your question related to January, February 2021, no, we have not implemented any further price adjustments since the 1st of January 2021 in the U.S. I think what you're first seeing the lapping effect versus last year.
It's the price adjustment of June of 2020 into the 2021 numbers, as well as probably some mix effects owing to our gains of market share and the success of the launch of EZ Reach, which will slowly start having that mix effect impact that you're looking at in IRI.
Okay. In terms of price adjustment, beside the U.S., have you planned anything in other region, notably Europe or Latin America?
Yeah. As we say every year at this time of year, we have a robust price adjustment strategy, and now with revenue growth management being an even stronger pillar within the commercial team, that's definitely something that we're looking at. We look at it at a tactical and strategic level, adjusting for consumer price at the retail level. We'll be announcing those changes to our customers first, and then we'll give you more visibility probably at our Q1 results.
Perfect. Thanks.
Thank you. We currently have one more question in the queue. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one now. Our next question comes from the line of Charles Scotti from Kepler. Charles, your line is unmuted. Please go ahead.
Yes. Hello. Thank you very much for taking my questions. I have four questions. Actually, the first one on the COVID-19 impact, in Q4, it was EUR 13 million, quite substantial, on EBIT. Can you break it down by business line, please? Still on the COVID-19 impact, just for modeling purposes, are you going to keep excluding this impact from your EBITDA adjusted, in 2021 again? Third question on the proceeds, from the sale of the headquarters in Clichy. Why have you decided to reinvest these proceeds into growth initiatives and not returning it to shareholders through a special dividend, for example? Shall we expect this a bigger M&A transaction? I mean, beyond the EUR 100 million yearly budget you have guided on. My fourth question, on the working capital requirement. There was a substantial improvement, obviously, in 2020.
Do you see room to further improve the working capital going forward? Thank you.
Thank you, Charles. Why don't I start, I'll handle one, two, and four, then I'll pass it on to Gonzalve for question number three. First, in regards to the COVID impact, we do not split it out by business line. As you can assume, stationery obviously has the majority of the impact, given the nature of its impact from back to school. That's what we'll say on the COVID impact for Q4. In regards to impact for 2021, we can't predict, I don't think as anyone can, what potential lockdowns or what may come of the next six months with COVID. I think as Gonzalve said, we're cautiously optimistic. We have a plan that is very reasonable. We can't predict any type of COVID impact in advance of things happening, is what we can say to that.
In regards to working capital, the way that I think of working capital is really more than a euro perspective, but it's on the days perspective, because that shows real operational improvement. As you can see, the improvement we made on inventory and receivables over the total year of 2020. We definitely think there's room to continue to prove those number of days on inventory and receivables going forward. We are doing a lot of work internally to drive those improvements going forward as well.
Thanks, Chad. Good afternoon, Charles, thanks for your question. On the proceeds of the sale of the past Clichy headquarters, we will be moving sometime in 2022. Our strategy of reinvesting in growth is absolutely consistent with the capital allocation policy that we announced as part of the Horizon strategic plan. Number one, we invest in the business. We invest in growth, whether that be manufacturing CapEx or other types of CapEx related to commercial growth or those types of activities, which, as I have mentioned before, you should see increasing over time as we balance that for more growth. The second is M&A. When we talked about Horizon in November, it is on average EUR 100 million a year. Of course, some transactions will be higher than 100. We did a few in 2020 that were lower than 100. These proceeds really are to invest in the business.
Horizon is a growth story. That's what we're looking to do. We've reframed our three businesses. In Human Expression, there are a number of different opportunities and avenues for us to go look at where we have growth, where the brand is relevant, the products make sense, consumers are hungry. As we saw in 2020 with the lockdowns, people really wanted to be creative, use coloring, do things with their kids. We need to tap into that, those higher growth segments that will bridge for tomorrow, all while that's what we're doing this year, having sustained shareholder return.
Okay. Thank you very much. I have a follow-up question. What is the right level of OpEx for you in a normal year? Basically, to make it more simple, if revenues go back to 2019, how should the OpEx as a percentage of sales look like?
Once the volumes go back to 2019, our OpEx as a % of net sales should be much improved, right? The actions that we've taken over 2020 to really reframe our operating structure should not grow back to those levels. These were changes that were permanent in structural basis for the most part and have really reset the groundwork. As we said before, when we come out of this, we'll come out fighting because we're in a much better position than we were going into it. There should be improved margins, improved OpEx as a % of net sales.
I think just to ground us all because Horizon was a few months ago. We announced that we've streamlined commercial operations, which by definition reduced some operating expenses. It's really about focus, and it's about investing where we see the intersection of the opportunity between the brand, the product offer, the consumer need, the right level of profitability, so that we can grow over the medium to long term and then continue to grow into those reframed categories. To Chad's point, we'll have a reset once the volumes get to those levels. By that time, we should have reached our growth trajectory that we're looking to have, and then we'll be reinvesting both in structural investments, CapEx, and then in OpEx where necessary.
Thank you. I'm sorry, I have a follow-up question, another one. Last one from my side. I've seen a couple of press articles stating that the sanitary situation in India was improving quite strongly. Do you see this on your business, or is it too early?
I think if you followed India closely during 2020, it was probably one of the most volatile and unpredictable sanitary and business environments, at least that we had to work through at a global level. It is getting a little bit better. I think it is a little bit too early to cry victory, although, as I said, the models that we have used to build our plan are based on a significant rebound of business and the stationery segment in India. At Q1, we will be able to either confirm that positive trend or give you an update. Like everyone, first of all, we want the safety of our team members. We do have a lot of team members in India, and we want to make sure that we are leaning into a positive rebound and not a volatile one.
Thank you very much for your input. Thank you.
Thank you, Charles. We have our next question coming from the line of Marie-Line Fort from Société Générale. Marie, please go ahead.
Yes, good afternoon. I've got many questions about stationery. The first question is to know what cost to you the delay in back-to-school orders from South and East Africa during Q4 in percentage points of your sales. The current question is to know what represent for you today the office specialist in your turnover. I would like to know what represent the coloring segment in terms of sales in 2020 compared to 2019, for instance. It seems in your projections that the rebound for the stationery division is quite modest, despite the fact that in fact, schools have remained open in most of the countries. Why are you keeping such modest approach, and how do you set your production capacity? Would you be able to meet the demand if it's a rebound more than you're expecting?
Sure. Bonjour, Marie, and thank you for your questions. I'll let Chad give you the Q4 answer. I'll deal with the other ones. Office suppliers, as a % of total sales, as you'll imagine, it varies greatly from region to region. In emerging markets, you're talking between 5% and 10% of our stationery sales. In North America, it can be, and it is 40%. Somewhere in between then, depending on where you are in the world. Coloring, in 2020 represented 10% of our total sales in stationery, and the year before that, it was 8%.
A two-point improvement, in line with what we wanted to do or what we are doing as part of Horizon, leaning into that segment, driving into arts and crafts, connecting consumers in an even stronger way with our coloring offer and the different brands that we have in the coloring space in the markets in which we're strong, and then also entering into new markets. The rebound, I mean, we're being cautious. I think that's totally fair. On our assumptions for what stationery. You can't draw quite as direct a link as in some countries, schools are open, and in some countries, they're not. There's different levels. The teachers are still struggling to do planning for the children.
The economy is frankly not where we would all hope it to be, that weighs on impulse purchase and how mom or dad, during back-to-school, shops a set, then the repurchases. I did mention during my prepared remarks that we did see a 10% increase in replenishment orders from customers in France and the U.S. after the back-to-school, that's really down to commercial execution and ability to flex the supply chain. In summary, we're cautious. Of course, we'd love to see full rebound. I don't think it's going to happen in 2021. It's just not the way the governments and the school boards are setting themselves up. To your very pointed question, which I think is a great one about our capacity, a few years ago, we would have had trouble responding to significant increases in demand.
Today, we have the capacity in our global footprint to respond to the demand increases that you're suggesting, as well as the ones that we're planning for. Importantly, to do that in a thoughtful, and structured way with customers to make sure that inventories in stores are in full when consumers are out there shopping.
In regards to your question about the South Africa, what was the back-to-school delay for Q4 is approximately EUR 4 million.
EUR 4 million you said?
Yes.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you, Marie. We have our next question coming from the line of Christophe from ODDO. Christophe, please go ahead.
Yes. Good afternoon, gentlemen. two questions for me. The first one is regarding your midterm target on operational efficiency. You want to save EUR 50 million, and previously, you said that 80% of that will be reached at the end of 2021. Is it still valid, and how much do you already book as a saving for 2020? Basically, how much do we consider as an incremental saving in 2021? The second one is about direct to consumer. You've got a website in U.S. and France, which represent 3% of your sales. Are you going to extend in other area, direct to consumer websites? Thank you.
Hey, Christophe. I will start with the question about the EUR 50 million. We're staying consistent with what we said at Capital Markets Day and what we've said all along is that we're very confident that we'll hit the 80% of EUR 50 million, so EUR 40 million by the end of 2021. As we said in the press release, we've already achieved EUR 25 million of that saving so far. Achieving the other EUR 15 million is not a concern at all of ours, put it that way.
Don't give it all away, Chad. Your question around direct to consumer. We started with the two countries where it made the most sense for us to have the scale on the one side and the depth on the other to really drive a lot of learning. I'm not going to say it's early days, because in D2C, a quarter is early days. It's going well. The platforms are strong. We will continue to roll out when and where appropriate, probably in Europe, in the near future. The one that I think you'll want to keep a close eye on is Rocketbook, right? This is completely new to us. They grew 30% in direct to consumer in the fourth quarter.
They're true omni-channel specialists, and they're going to bring a lot of firepower to that team within BIC, as well as us being able, or the historic legacy BIC structure, being able to help Rocketbook continue to go from strength to strength and grow its business. It's a really symbiotic relationship. As we continue to look for other opportunities in the market, I think you'll see more things from us, not only in D2C, but also in omni-retailer and partnerships with large global retailers.
Thank you.
Thank you, Christophe. We have one last question coming from the line of Nicolas. Please go ahead.
Hi, again. Two quick one. First of all, do you have anything to share regarding the trend in Q1 for January and the first week of February? Have you seen any improvement? Notably on Stationery, are we talking about mostly delays of back-to-school purchase, or you think you will actually lose some sales during that period? Second question on restructuring and streamlining of operation. You did couple of initiatives in 2020. Should we expect another one in 2021? Thanks.
Thanks, Nicolas. Without getting into the details of January and the first week of February, the first weeks have been positive. They do give us confidence, and to continue to work really hard through the first quarter to achieve the trajectory that we want to be on. At the end of the day, I think we're all living it, right? The different lockdowns, they come in the evening, the next day, and then they change two days later. We continue to remain very agile, very vigilant, very focused on what we can control. The back-to-school periods in the key markets that I think you're referring to, Brazil, South Africa, and Oceania. Some of those were pushed by government orders, a couple of weeks left, a couple of weeks right.
At the end of Q1, we'll be able to give you a better steer on what the impact was, whether it was lost sales completely just due to the market, or whether it was just a shift in orders.
In regard to your restructuring question, Nicolas, I think of that as a non-recurring item, right? How do those play out in 2021? I think it's really hard to predict non-recurring items before they materialize. If there's anything that we learned in 2020, was about agility and how to focus on what we can control, right? So we can't give any specific color on non-recurring items for 2021, but it's important to remember we'll continue to focus on efficiency everywhere throughout the business.
Yeah. Whether in commercial or in our industrial footprint
Yep
continue to make sure that we're responding to the market, the consumer, customer needs and demands, and frankly, the difficulty of doing global business, even though we're a diversified global company with manufacturing in so many countries and operations in so many countries, it takes quite a bit to make all the pieces move throughout the year, and I think we've resoundingly demonstrated that through our resilience of 2020.
Perfect. Thanks, guys.
Thank you. We have one follow-up question coming from the line of Charles. Please go ahead.
Yes. Sorry, one last question from my side. Can you tell us what is the hedging rate you have on the US dollar, and also how much of your long position in US dollar is hedged right now?
Yep. Our hedge rate for this year is at quite a favorable rate. We're hedged at 113. Sophie, I know how much we have hedged. We have a very large portion, a good amount, our full year of US dollar for 2021 hedged from a transactional standpoint, so we feel very comfortable where we're hedged at.
Okay. Very clear. Thank you.
Thank you, Charles. There are no further questions, so I will hand it back to the host. Thank you.
Hello. Yes. Thank you. Thank you for your questions. Maybe before ending the call, let me remind you that the Q1 results will be released on the 28th of April. In the meantime, we remain at your disposal for any follow-up questions, and we wish you the best until the next quarter. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Thank you.