A warm welcome to Stockmann Group's Capital Markets Day. My name is Marja-Leena Dahlskog, and I am the head of Communications and IR at the Stockmann Group. Before we give the word to our CEO, Susanne Ehnbåge, who will soon open the day, a short comment regarding the course of the event. We will run the event in two sections. After the first section, there will be a Q&A session, followed by a 15-minute break. After the second section, there will be another opportunity to pose questions. We are delighted to have you all here, and we hope that you will find our presentations valuable as well as interesting and inspiring. So once again, welcome, and now, Susanne, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Marja. Let's see here. Yeah, good. So good afternoon, and welcome, everyone, both all of you that are joining us here today in the Allas Sea Pool, and as well as all of you joining us online. My name is Susanne Ehnbåge, and I am the CEO for the Stockmann Group, as well as Lindex. I have 20 years experience within retail and working the last 10 years as a CEO in different companies. I joined this group in 2018, becoming then the CEO for Lindex, and when I was joining, I was having a very clear goal on what I wanted to achieve, and that was to drive profitability and to increase profitability, and also to make sure that we would have a much more resilient company. In 2017, Lindex revenue was mainly driven by the stores.
That stood for 97% of the total sales. And when I'm talking about having a resilient company, that was then building the foundation and having the right ingredients also to be future-proof. There has, for sure, been a few challenges along the way during these couple of years, but I think we have proven that we have handled those challenges in a good way. Today, Lindex profitability has improved by seven times, and we have transformed our company to a successful multi-channel business, and I would say that we are well positioned for the future. I am thrilled to be here today as the CEO for Stockmann Group, and to share the exciting journey that we are on, and also our clear vision and strategy for both Lindex and Stockmann.
Before we dive into our strategy, I would like you to take a moment where you close your eyes and imagine a company. A company that is known for doing the right things, a company joining the global moment to gain successful growth, a company that can compete with anyone in the world. A purpose-driven company, showing why they exist and what they stand for. A transparent and sustainable company, making a difference for the planet, for the people, and for every customer out there, and while being a strong and successful business. That is us taking the next step into the future. We are in a time that is evolving faster than ever, and we see those changes, not as challenges, but as opportunities. Opportunities for us to act as a leader in our industry, to grow our business, and at the same time, contribute for a better tomorrow.
Steering us towards our future, we have three key pillars that we will go through with you here today. We have an updated strategy for both of our divisions, Lindex and Stockmann. We have a clear plan to accelerate value creation, and we also will present our new financial targets. What we will show you today is how strong the Lindex business is and its exciting potential for growth. We're also going to show you the Stockmann divisions that has a clear plan to grow and to reach profitability using its unique combination of strengths. Today, we will be leading you on our journey, so we have organized the following agenda for you. I will start with an overview across the group, then we will talk about Lindex and how it is a purpose-driven company with great brand strength.
I will then hand over to Caroline Öhgren, and she's the Director of Sales at Lindex. She has a huge experience over many years at Lindex, and I asked her to join the management team in 2019. And importantly, she has an international background that is very relevant for us, driving the international and omni-channel growth going forward. Then we have Elisabeth Hedberg, she's our Director of Design, Purchase, and Production, and she will continue by covering the importance of our unique offering, how we, over many years, have built up skills and processes to deliver upon the needs of our customers, and at the same time, improving the profit margin and also to reach our sustainability targets. I will then conclude the first part of the day, and then we will have time for a few questions before we have a break.
After the break, we will then start with the Stockmann division, where Tove Westermarck, Stockmann's Chief Operating Officer, will talk about Stockmann's key strengths and also the action that we will take to reach profitability. Tove became the COO just before the summer in mid-May, and she's leading the Stockmann leadership team that will deliver upon our new strategy. Tove has held various demanding local and international executive positions during her long Stockmann career. And with her, she has Riku Lyly, who is responsible for the commercial offering of the Stockmann division. Riku joined the Stockmann leadership team during this summer and will drive the development of our offering towards premium and luxury. He also has a solid background working with several international brands, and today he will talk about the offering as well as the important omni-channel setup.
When Riku has finished, then Tove will conclude the Stockmann part. Finally, our CFO, Annelie Forsberg, will sum up the financials. I recruited Annelie in 2018 due to her strong financial expertise, business skills, and also retail background. She has been our group CFO since 2022. After that, then we are ready for some more questions. Everything that we have been delivering until today has been a team effort, and it will continue to be a team effort. In the Stockmann Group, we have almost 6,000 fantastic employees, and it is with clear targets, the right expertise, mindset, and culture, we will deliver result. I cannot, unfortunately, have the whole team with me here today, but I have asked both the management team, teams to join us here.
Regarding then the management teams, they are very experienced and also have the right skills. Starting then with the Lindex management team, it is a proven team. Almost all of the members has been part of the Lindex team since four, five years back, and that means that they have been driving the successful business that we are today, and they also have the right skills going forward. The Stockmann team is being reshaped to execute on the new strategy, and the team is very focused to delivering profitability. This you will hear more about today. I will start by setting the scene of the group. This picture gives you a brief overview of the group's two strong business divisions with high potential.
Lindex is a highly performing business with a profit margin over 14%, and we have a unique market position, and we are the number one in lingerie in the Nordics. We are also a sustainable forerunner within the fashion industry. Stockmann has an iconic brand, a significant loyal customer base, and a strong offering, and its performance is improving. As Annelie, our CFO, will show you later today, in recent years, we have shown positive financial growth. Although, the graph shows a modest decline in the Stockmann Group's revenue in EUR. It is important to note that in local currencies, our revenue increased by 2.8%, meaning then a CAGR of 0.7%.
Notably, Lindex has demonstrated substantial growth, achieving a 17% increase over the years, summarizing to a CAGR of 4.3%. Looking at our adjusted operating result, there's been a significant improvement. The EBIT result has almost doubled from 2019 to EUR 76 million in the latest twelve months, leading to an enhanced EBIT margin from 4.1% to 8%. This demonstrates not only the success that we have had with improving the underlying revenue, but also how we efficiently have been improving also the group's profitability. It is worth emphasizing that Lindex has been a major contributor to the group's development. Lindex is performing exceptionally well, with an EBIT of EUR 91 million and an EBIT margin of 14.3%.
As you can see on this page, we have significantly improved our financial position during the latest year, and we also have the ability to drive future growth, and this is something Annelie will come back to. As you most likely have heard, we have started a strategic assessment of the group. This contains two parts. One, that we are considering a name change of the group to Lindex, as Lindex now represents two-thirds of the group's revenue and is also the main profit contributor. The second part is that we are investigating the best strategic alternatives for the Stockmann division. The strategic assessment is progressing according to plan and will be finalized during 2024. Stockmann will provide an update on this assessment when it's appropriate, and this is not part of the focus for today.
That said, the important point I would like to make is that both businesses have key fundamental strengths and clear plan to achieve their potential. Let me explain... If we first take a look at the Lindex division, we are very excited, and we're also very clear on what to do. Lindex has, over the last couple of years, built up a very strong foundation, and we are ready to accelerate growth. Accelerating growth is our first must-win area. Firstly, we can raise our organic growth of our existing markets and channels to reach their full potential. Secondly, now is the time for us to expand also outside the Nordics and seizing new growth opportunities. Accelerating growth is about increasing the brand awareness and making an impact globally with strong offerings that stands out from the competition, and to have a multi-channel approach, increasing the online share.
Then to continue our successful journey and to stay relevant and resilient, we need to raise the bar further within our sustainability transformation, and that is then our second must-win area. This is about reshaping the existing model, to be in line with increasing legal requirements and also stakeholder expectations. It's about growing with new circular business models, and here we truly believe that this sustainability transformation will also lead to new business opportunities for Lindex. We also see that we can continue to build on our brand strength by elevating Lindex higher purpose and become a thought leader within women empowerment. Our third must-win area is to decouple cost from growth. We have shown a good cost control over the last couple of years, and we are now investing into digitalization of our supply chain, our store network, and also our logistics.
This is both to be enabling growth and also to become more efficient in the future. Our financial targets then, they will be the following: To reach local currency revenue growth of 3%-5% in the mid-term, and when we are talking about the mid-term, then we're talking about 3-4 years. We will, as you know, we are investing in a new omni-channel DC. When that is up and running, we are expecting the growth to increase further, and that is why we also have a target to reach SEK 10 billion of revenue by 2030. We also want to reach 30% digital share of revenue in the mid-term and to reach an adjusted EBIT margin of 15% in the long term.
We also have a target when it comes to sustainability, and that is to achieve our set science-based targets of 42% CO2 reduction by 2030. For Stockmann, it is about turning things around and to reach profitability. We have a clear view upon how that should be accomplished. It is about elevating the offering based on the customer's expectations and strengthen our position further in premium and luxury, and leveraging the iconic brand of Stockmann. The Helsinki flagship store has a central role in this. It's about utilizing the full potential of Stockmann's loyal customer base and to improve engagement and also revenue. Also to ensure a seamless omni-channel experience, especially driving the digital growth in a much more efficient manner. And efficiency overall will be crucial for Stockmann, and here we can see really good signs of this improvement already in the quarter three.
When it comes down to the financial targets for Stockmann division, we seek revenue growth in line with the market growth in the midterm. We aim to reach positive free cash flow in the midterm and to reach adjusted operating margin of 5% in the midterm, and also here, achieving the science-based targets to reduce its CO2 emissions by 42% until 2030. So that sets the scene, and the overview. Lindex is a highly performing business with great potential to increase both revenue and profitability. Stockmann has an iconic brand, a strong and loyal customer base, and will utilize all these strengths to reach profitability. Now, we want to go into the two businesses in much more detail, and we will start with Lindex. We have had a very strong performance over the last couple of years. That, we have shown you today.
you will hear now is about that we are not like any other fast fashion company out there, and we also want to show you our future direction, where we have high ambitions for global, profitable growth. One of our keys in this is our important purpose as a company. Our high purpose at Lindex is to empower and inspire, inspire women everywhere, and this influences everything we do. Lindex started as a underwear company almost 70 years ago, and we have the heritage and the foundation where women have always been in focus. Our higher purpose creates clarity and also underpins the reason why we exist as a company. It was launched in 2018 and has evolved ever since. It's leading our way strategically, also as in our daily business.
I believe that having a higher purpose is not only vital for the long-term value creation, but it's also critical for us to be able to attract and retain the right people, the people needed to drive our future success, and that also drives the culture. We know via our engagement tool, that our employees have a very high engagement and are very committed to Lindex. Our employee net promoter score is indeed strong. It is at 64, and what that says is that we are among the 5% in the consumer industry in the world. So Lindex purpose makes us really strong from several perspectives. So what does that then mean in practice, and how does it show? Let's start with our assortment and competitive offer as one part.
And one really good example here is our new FemTech, where we're looking into the new brand, Female Engineering. When we decided to look into this great opportunity, we had three good reasons for doing so. This was a very interesting market that is going to increase heavily over the next couple of years. Secondly, it's so much related to what we know best, that is lingerie. And thirdly, it's a direct link to our high purpose: to empower and inspire women everywhere. And the Female Engineering assortment, it is about innovative products to improve women's well-being. But as well as empowering and inspiring women through our assortment and offer, we also do that through our actions as a company, from the field to the fitting room and every step in between.
As a major player in the fashion industry, we influence women's everyday lives through our communication and in the way we act. We have made many steps in the right direction, but we're also aware that we can do more. We want to be a positive force, and with our long-term initiative, reinvent the model, we are working to increase diversity and to broaden inclusion. We have, and we want, and what we are hopefully doing and want to achieve is that sort of changing the stereotypical way of how a model is supposed to look like. Let's take a look at a great example of a film that we have done recently that we call Support Your Sisters.
Once you've had cancer, it's always there in your mind. The baggage you carry is something you can't just offload.
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This film touches so many aspects that resonates deeply with what we are. Our high purpose not only gives us a clear direction, it also fuels customer loyalty, consequently leading to a higher revenue and also profitability. During October, together with our customers, we have raised EUR 1.6 million for the important cancer research, and since the start, we have raised more than EUR 20 million. What we are sharing with you here today is a very strong business, and that also have the key factors that sets us apart from others, and which will also play an important role in our journey onwards, and also on how we will achieve our financial targets. Our starting point is a strong one. We operate in a market that is growing and with positive tailwinds that creates great opportunities for us.
We have built a highly valued and strong purpose-driven brand, empowering women with a significant loyal customer base who believes in us. We are a proud forerunner in sustainability, and we are committed to make a difference for future generations. Our differentiated approach has made us resilient, even in times of challenges, and our multi-channel concept gives us great opportunities for global growth. We are not just keeping pace with the market, we are overperforming it, and our growth has resulted in a strong, sustainable profitability, where we have maintained structurally high margins over time. So we have built a solid foundation. We have a well-defined and very clear strategy and roadmap ahead to accelerate and also to take the next step, and I would like to show you this more in detail. So first, this is what is really important about the market.
To manage growth, one of the keys is, of course, knowing the market that we are navigating through. If we take a look at the retail market for the upcoming years, the apparel and the cosmetic retail market is ready for growth. The retail value of this area is expected to grow by 4% in the Nordics and in the Eastern Europe by 2027. To be able to maintain a robust market position in this growth, it is important to make business-oriented decisions that align with the market's trends and also the customer's needs. Right now, it is happening a lot within the fashion and retail industry, and we are welcoming this change.
If we take a look to the right of this picture, we can see the different market trends that are contributing tailwinds for Lindex, where these market trends, in many ways, deeply integrate with our values and vision, what company we are today, and also what company we want to be tomorrow. We have taken important steps in our transformation to a more sustainable business, where we are growing in new ways. We work actively to design garments for circularity and longevity, both in terms of quality and style, and also where we are increasing the proportion of recycled materials. The second factor, female empowerment, that is part of our core and higher purpose. We are exploring new business and growth opportunities, with our FemTech investment being one example. Another example of our transition is our second-hand, where we have piloted several different initiatives.
In addition to that is our transformation to a sustainable business. We have also had a great focus on our digital transformation, where we are now building a strong foundation for innovation, efficiency, and flexibility through a series of investments. So with that said, I'm pleased to say that Lindex is well-prepared and strategically positioned to grow. Our brand is an obvious strength. It has been built on our long experience and history within underwear, which has given us a unique knowledge about the female body and expertise within fit and comfort. Together with our passion for letting kids be kids, we have built a strong, purpose-driven brand, empowering women with a significant loyalty base.
Our latest brand tracking from Q3 here in Sweden shows 95% brand awareness, and that over half of the women in Sweden have made a purchase at least once in at Lindex. So 72% of the women in our three biggest markets, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, are Lindex loyalty customers. And since 2020, we have had an annual growth in the loyalty customers by 11%. These numbers are high, and they are something that we are proud of, and which also tells us that the Lindex brand is very well positioned. It's a brand that not only sells fashion, but shapes a brighter future for women with a unique thought leader position within women empowerment. A more responsible brand, ready for change, that benefits future generations and minimizes the environmental footprint. Let's take a look on the next page.
We have a clear strategy to make a difference for future generations. This is Lindex sustainability promise. If we truly want to empower and inspire women everywhere, we cannot settle by just doing good today. We need to look ahead and also work for what matters both today and tomorrow. Our promise is divided into three parts. It's about empowering women, respect the planet, and to ensure human rights. We have made significant progress in both developing the business as keeping our promise, and here we have highlighted some examples. Since 2017, we have been able to reduce our climate impact, that is our total emissions, by 22%. This has meant that we have done a great work throughout our value chain to reach this kind of result, because at the same time, we have also increased our revenue.
Another great example is our important initiative that we actively work on, and that is our We Women program. Here, we are working for a more equal and inclusive workplace in our supply chain. So far, we have reached over 114,000 workers, of which 68,000 are women.... Our goal is that by 2025, Lindex suppliers, who account for 80% of our production, will have implemented the We Women program. We can see for those that have, have already implemented it, or approximately 60%, that we see improvement within areas such as female leadership, women-friendly workplaces, and also closure of gender pay gaps. We have a clear plan going forward, and we can see also that we have the market's trust, looking here to the left then, and that Lindex is perceived as a leader within sustainability.
If we now take a look at the apparel retail market, we can see that women's lingerie and kids' wear are two strong and resilient categories compared to the overall retail industry. These businesses show resilience through tough times and represent 70% of Lindex's total sales, which creates promising opportunities for us. In addition to this, we are also resilient in other ways as well. Within our product range, a significant portion is what we call basics. These are timeless and essential items in our assortment offer, and currently, approximately 60%-70% of our product assortment falls under this category, which also ensures stability. We always strive to have a customer-oriented and sustainable assortment that is appreciated among our customers, and that also includes having a good price to quality.
In the Swedish market, our products are recognized as a top choice for quality, holding the number one position and also among the top two for offering value for money. Everything we do is focused on our customers. Therefore, it is also of high importance to us to be where the customers wants to meet us. If we take a closer look at the channel perspective, we have a strong multi-channel concept that gives us great opportunities for global growth. Our stores are among our core—Sorry, our stores are the core among our channels and stands for 80% of our sales. And despite this being a very high proportion, we have managed to grow our like-for-like sales in our stores. And maybe more importantly, we have focused really hard to improve the profitability of our stores, and today, 99% of our store portfolio are profitable.
Our multi-channel business is built on both our own stores and e-com, but also important collaborations with digital and physical partners. And in the last couple of years, we have seen a significant growth of our e-com and also third-party channel, which has had a CAGR of 35% and 75% in local currencies. And the fact that we have managed to grow our existing channels at the same time as we have been exploring and finding new sales channels, is a good recipe in what we strive to build. We will come back with more details regarding the different channels and how they all contribute advantages for organic growth in both existing and new markets, as well as building our brand awareness later on today.
So, we know that we have grown our channels, but we have also managed to stay strong compared to the market, and this during challenging times. We have overperformed the market's average, significantly, where the market has been growing by 1%, while we have been growing by 4.3%. The pandemic, the inflation, and other pressures have been real tests, but instead of turning these challenges... We have turned these challenges to opportunities to learn, to grow, and to improve. Going forward, our key factors for growth will be to grow outside the Nordics and digital growth. We will continue to explore new business models and new offerings, such as the FemTech area. Thirdly, we will continue to expand in our existing markets and channels. Our growth has not only been strong, we have at the same time achieved improved, sustainable profitability.
During the latest 12 months, we have an adjusted EBIT margin of 14.3%, compared to the peer group average of 8%. And as I mentioned before, it has been challenging times with unexpected external pressures, both the pandemic, impacts of high inflation, disturbances in the supply chain, and added to that, a weakened Swedish krona, both compared to the euro and the US dollar. And despite this, we have not only achieved our goals, but we have surpassed them.
To continue this great development and sustainable growth going forward, our key drivers will be: to diversify our offer and our omni-channel approach, we will build further on our track record of OpEx improvements, where our new highly automated omni-channel warehouse will be an important enabler, both in terms of growth in more channels, and at the same time, to increase our efficiencies. Another key driver is the digitalization of our supply chain and also our store network, which also will enable more efficient and a smarter way of working. Lindex has high set goals to continue to grow in a sustainable and profitable way, with a clear strategy and direction ahead in how to accomplish what we strive for. We will accelerate growth in both organic and also new growth. We will transform into a sustainable business, and we will decouple cost from growth.
And by doing that, we will win and succeed in meeting the future. We have now looked into our strategy and the plans to accelerate value creation, and as a next step, we will deep dive into our key strengths. That will be then the Lindex brand and our loyal customer base, and after that, we will look into our channels, offering, supply chain, and also sustainability. Let's start then with our brand and customer base. As you will see, we are positioned in such a great place. We have the right ingredients to build our future success. I would like to begin with showing you a film that describes the DNA of Lindex and also our brand.
Tomorrow is coming. The power of change is in our hands, and everything we do is with a purpose. Getting up in the morning, getting dressed, taking a walk, making a stand, because we are change makers. Thread by thread, we're challenging the industry. Always forward-thinking, paving the way for tomorrow. Starting right here, right now. We do it for the world around us, the women, the feminine, the indecisive, the young, the old, the petite, the curvy, the mothers, the fathers, and the children. But moving forward requires a strong foundation. Our Swedish heritage gives us that. We know the seasons. And good design, equality, and innovation is in our blood. We have the power, we have the knowledge, and the will, and we have the best tool in the world, fashion. People-powered fashion, functional fashion, inspirational fashion. Our promise to the world is fashion for a better tomorrow.
So Lindex is a customer-centric brand, and I would like to give you some more figures from our latest brand tracking, and that confirms that we are also highly valued brands among women. In Sweden, we lead in all three categories. That is in lingerie, womenswear, and also kidswear. And at the same time, we are a leader within women empowerment and also sustainability credibility, which we are very happy about since these are areas that are very important to us. We are also top-rated for high-quality products among our peers, and that we offer great value for money. And as I mentioned earlier, 72% in the Nordics are members of our loyalty program, and we still continue to succeed in growing our customer base, both in our more mature markets as well as in our newer markets.
Here you can see how our customer base has been growing since 2020, and how we have attracted more than 5.7 million identified customers. This is a great validation of our strategy and also how appreciated and strong the Lindex brand are among the women out there. This also gives us a fantastic opportunity, to continue to deepen our customer knowledge and to further develop our offering based on insights and also customers' needs. And our significant loyalty customer base is also a really good source for growth. Since a loyal customer is worth much more and also grow in value over time. And here are some very important facts and data points. We know that a loyal customer has 18% higher purchase value compared to a non-loyalty customer.
We also know that the value of the annual spend by a loyal customer increases by 2.5x over the first 10 years. Added to that, it lowers our marketing costs and also the need for us to buy external media. Our loyalty program is also a strong basis for gaining market share. As you can see here, in Sweden, 83% of the women aged 18-65 are members of our loyalty program. It is a very strong level. In Norway, the same figure is 73%.... Here in Finland, here we have a great potential to both improve the number of loyal members and also our market share. So what this says is then that in our more mature markets, thinking especially about Sweden and Norway, we still have a great potential to continue to grow.
This we can do by getting more customers to buy from several categories, but also that we have this great opportunity where we can launch new interesting product categories, such as the Female Engineering, and have a direct dialogue with so many women. This is something we will talk more about today concerning the Female Engineering. Now it's time for me to hand over to Caroline Öhgren, Lindex's Director of Sales, and she will give you a deep dive into the Lindex multi-channel business.
Thank you, Susanne. Hi, everyone. My name is Caroline Öhgren. I have a long history in Lindex, driving sales and profitability in our sales markets. Lindex has always been a company moving forward, breaking boundaries, and taking on exciting challenges, and so has I. I joined the management team in 2019 as Director of Sales, and together with our fantastic team, our mission is to drive and develop our sales channels. Today, I will introduce you to Lindex sales channel, our multi-channel business, and how we will deliver growth within Europe and beyond. Lindex is today driving and developing a multi-channel business, and it's about how we use the strength and the opportunities within each and every sales channel, and it's all for growth and profitability. It's about to get the global brand awareness and the global reach.
It's also about increasing the experience for our current customers and our future customers. And it all comes down to how we play the different channels for long-term growth and for profitability. And together with our omni-channel approach, it offers many advantages within organic growth, in existing markets, as Susanne mentioned, and as well, expansion into new markets, and also investigating new potentials within new sales channels. So Lindex multi-channel business will drive overall growth, and that leads us to the next slide. To give you an overview on our sales channel, we have a very strong store network in 18 markets, and Susanne just mentioned 99% of our stores are profitable, and we are also showing a stable growth.
Our digital sales are delivering a profitable and a significant revenue growth, a 38% in CAGR between 2019 and Q3 2023 across 34 online markets. Our third party within wholesale has demonstrated impressive growth, and it's providing us with opportunities to enter new markets and, of course, gaining valuable customer insights. We are adding on more sales channel. We are now in November, launching marketplaces. That is a model within third party, but here we have control over the stock and the margin and the offering. So here we are launching with Zalando, and based on the third-party data, we will start with Germany, Netherlands, and Denmark, and we will add on more markets in 2024. And to note here, all our current markets or current channels are profitable.
But let's take a bit deeper look into our channels, starting with our store network, and as I mentioned earlier, our store network is profitable, and it is flexible. We have a strong geographic coverage, especially within the Nordics, and here we are offering a unique try, touch, and feel experience. Our stores excels in brand building, such as community engagement, the events, personal services, and more. With a high customer engagement, and as well, a high employee satisfaction over industry standard, and also a high conversion rate. When a visitor enters a Lindex store, over 24% choose to buy, and that is a quite high number in the fashion industry. So we at Lindex, we know how to run profitable and efficient stores. We are also enhancing the customer experience and also the efficiency, and that is through digitalization.
So here we are investing in an efficient, new point of sale system, RFID, for accurate stock management, AI-driven information flow, and as well, scheduling, digital communication, and also future self-checkouts, as some examples. So our stores uniquely strengthen the omnichannel approach, ensuring an efficient and convenient shopping experience for our customers. And the Lindex omnichannel approach, the seamless integration between the online and the offline, that gives us many advantages, benefiting the customer, but it's also benefiting us. And we are constantly developing and fine-tuning features that is supporting a smooth shopping experience. And to give you some examples, to guide the customer's choices, we are offering tailored product recommendations and also product rating and reviews. The customer can use the Lindex app and scan the item when in store, and then shop it online.
The purchase phase: here, the customer can buy online, but they can pick it up in store. They can order their online product when in store, for example, if the store is missing a size. When you are at home, you can check online if the product is available in your local store. We are also serving our customer with a post-purchase experience within return and exchange, cross-channel, they can choose. Here, I would like to highlight that within Lindex, we have a very low return rate. Overall, it's only 6%, and the online customers, only 7.6% is sent back to our distribution center. This is low. We know the figures with the digital platforms, where we can have a return rate between 30%-50%.
We are also using customer service, customer feedback for our own constant improvement, and we are using automated post-purchase communication to inspire the customer to revisit us. We are constantly developing within our omni. Upcoming, we are focusing a lot more on deepening the personalized experience for our customer, AI-based chatbots, and also ship from store, to mention some areas. Our omnichannel approach showcases our commitment to truly deliver an integrated customer experience. This page almost speaks for itself. Our omnichannel supports growth. An omni channel customer spends three times more compared to a single-channel customer. Our omnichannel supports loyalty. The omni customer buys from all three categories: lingerie, kidswear, and womenswear.
Our omnichannel supports profitability, both of course, with a higher average purchase, but also that 60% of the customer choose to do their return in store, which gives us many benefits, such as cost efficiency, but also the potential of additional selling. For Lindex, it is important to continue to build on our omnichannel approach, especially within growing our digital share... So our digital share, which stands for within the e-commerce and third party, it currently sits at 19%. But as Susanne just mentioned earlier, we have had a strong and consistent growth and profit the recent years. Our digital channels have good margins, low cost base, and as I mentioned earlier, a very low return rate online.
In 2020, we launched our new e-com platform, and that has really giving us the right foundation, both from a development point of view, but especially when it comes to, to growth and future expansion. Our target for 2026 is to have a digital share of 30%, and here we see big growth potential, both with within our existing top markets and as well, new and upcoming markets. In our existing markets, we have a strong foothold. We have a deep understanding of the local dynamics. We also have a very loyal customer base. We are well-positioned to take market shares. We can also see growth potentials within our 34 online markets, where we have experienced when we localize them, we can see significant revenue growth.
And here, we have 12 out of 34 markets that are localized, so more markets are in plan. So to sum this up, Lindex has big opportunities to increase our digital sales. And on top of that, we also have our digital third party, who will drive expansion across Europe and beyond. We launched with third party 2018, with ASOS, and since then, we have delivered a profitable and strong revenue growth. We have and are expanding our network of partners, and this approach has unlocked a numerous of advantages for us. So third party is giving us global awareness and a reach out of our brand. And a striking example that you can see on the page is when we launched with Zalando, we saw a significant growth on our European site during the launch period.
This is what third party is about. It gives us access to market in a fast and a cost-efficient pace. It's helping us to refine our strategies and adapt to different markets. It is giving us a wider customer base and the possibility to globally test our offerings. Of course, it is increasing our sales and our profitability, but our access to third party is giving us really important insights and data for our future expansion and growth. It's paving the way for us to play our other channels from a reach, brand, sales, and profitability perspective. To enable our growth journey, we are investing in a new distribution center. Our new omni-channel distribution center is a key element of our multi-channel business. It's a very important enabler for growth. Our new DC is located in Alingsås.
It's right side outside of Gothenburg, and it's designed for growth. Here, we will streamline our sales channel to one efficient stock operation, leading to a projected annual EBITDA saving of EUR 10 million. This highly automated warehouse will reduce transactions for e-commerce orders compared to the existing manual operation. It will give us lower rents and positive effect on our margins, and Annelie will talk more about this on the financial part. We have planned for future expansion, so we are ensuring that the capacity is built for future growth. Sustainability is a high priority with this BREEAM Very Good certification, self-generated electricity, and we are preparing for an infrastructure for transportation electrification. We are aiming to start the operation in Q4 2023, and we will maintain our existing warehouse operation during a six-month transition period.
So by the first half of 2025, our warehouse will be fully operational. And to wrap up this section, we at Lindex, we are ready to unleash global growth. This will be led by digital sales, supported by our omni approach, and as well, our strong store network. And all of this position us for market expansion, brand recognition, and overall growth. And to be truly successful in a multi-channel business, you need a fantastic offering. So I will hand over to Elisabeth now, and she will walk you through that.
Thank you, Caroline. Good afternoon, and nice to meet you all. My name is Elisabeth Hedberg, and I'm the Director of Design, Purchase, and Production, with the key responsibilities on offering and supply chain. I have a long experience within this area. I started 29 years ago as a buyer in Lindex, and now I have had most positions and responsibilities within buying, production, sustainability, and everything else, I suppose, around product. Both in head office and also out in production markets abroad. So I've been in this current role for the last six years, and my focus has been to strengthen the offer and to strengthen the margins, and to make a stronger and profitable and sustainable supply chain.
Today, I will explain to you how our offer is unique, resilient, and profitable. How we are using our 70 years of experience to make such an attractive offer, how we are using our efficient supply chain to secure our margins, and how we are using our expertise within our supply chain and in offering to secure future growth and profit. Let me start to tell you about our great offer. Lindex offering is based on three almost equally big business areas. Each category has their own design, DNA, and strength. The strength within lingerie is a assortment, is the technical and innovative design, which has made Lindex the number one lingerie retailer. Lindex kids assortment stands out with a distinctive graphic expression and a playful design.
Our philosophy, Let Kids Be Kids, has positioned Lindex as one of the strongest player within the kids market. Our womenswear delivers a mix of everyday essentials and seasonal keys that has proven very profitable. So we have a really strong base to, with great opportunities to build further on. So what is making the Lindex offering so, and assortment so unique? Well, our focus on women and kids, together with a clear brand purpose, help us to make a strong and unique offer. And as Susanne mentioned earlier, our assortment mix is resilient. The big share of lingerie and kids assortment, and the fact that 70% of our assortment is timeless essentials, make us less exposed to fashion risks. Our outstanding position as the number one in lingerie and a strong fashion brand is truly unique.
With our heritage and long experience, we are the lingerie expert. We know fit and comfort, and within this area, we can compete with anyone in the world. As Susanne mentioned, our loyal customer base is also a fantastic strength, and lingerie is a key loyalty driver. Our wide size range is a big competitive advantage, and we have the widest size offer among peers in lingerie. If we talk about womenswear, we integrated our plus size concept all into our regular assortment already in 2016, because we wanted to offer a wide, inclusive, and inspiring assortment to all our customers, regardless of size. This was before the body positive movement, and of course, gave us a lot of growth in increased brand image and a very loyal customer base.
Sustainability is a part of our Lindex DNA, and it's always a factor as well as quality and high price value. This has positioned Lindex as a leader in sustainability, while at the same time generating a high profit. So these are great foundations to secure our margins and growth. So design is a unique capability, and that skill we have within Lindex, it reflects our Scandinavian heritage and the long experience of the female body fit and comfort. Our specific design DNA for each of our business areas is created by our own design team, is driven by our customer insights, and our innovation to create newness and inspiration. When we design our garments, we always do it with sustainability in mind.
We work actively to design for circularity and longevity, both in quality, style, and material, and by making the right choices in the design process, we can make a sustainable difference, both in the production process and in the finished garment. So let me take our denim designing, for example, as an example, so you understand, and the steps we are taking to make it more, our styles more circular and reduce environmental impact. So for example, we have taken away the accessories, like rivets and badges, so that our denim can be easier recyclable. We are doing wear tests and customer service to make long-lasting denims, both in quality but also in style. And when the designer choose a denim wash, the environmental impact, for example, water consumption, energy consumption, is always taken into the consideration. We have also introduced a 3D design.
Moving to 3D design gives us a complete new way of working and gives us shorter lead times and increased efficiency. This is a really important enabler. It means that we can get a really fast speed flow from design idea all the way to customer. So high quality and fit and innovations are proving highly profitable, and we are using these foundations for new growth. So we are very focused on growth. We constantly develop our offerings for further growth and global expansion. For example, using our own e-commerce site to offer external brands as a complement to Lindex's own offer. We have the customers on our site and the trust. Another development is our premium range. We add premium materials or innovation or premium functions into new offers.
For example, we have been really successful with our premium quality knitwear and with the lingerie offer, we are using innovative material and production solutions to increase fit and comfort, and this gives us a possibility to expand into higher retail prices. And a big focus is to future-proof our business, to shift to circular materials. One example is our partnership with Södra and their innovative fiber OnceMore. We produce over 1 million garments per year in this OnceMore fiber, and OnceMore fiber is the post-consumer textile waste mixed with certified wood. And next year, we will scale it up to further 1.5 million pieces, which means that 35% of all our viscose will be in OnceMore material.
We have also recently signed a long-term agreement with our Finnish fiber supplier, Infinited Fiber, with their unique fiber Infinna, made of 100% post-consumer textile waste. This new fiber will be an alternative to our cotton fibers, and is another important step for our transformation to a more sustainable and circular assortment. We are also expanding into new offer for younger women in order to increase our customer base even further. Two more interesting areas that I will give you some more information, is the FemTech and the premium second-hand businesses. You may not be aware, but there is a revolution in female care taking place right now. Sanitary pads and tampons will replace by better and more comfortable, reusable, high-performing garments. Welcome to the world of FemTech. FemTech is about innovation and technology for women's health and wellbeing.
So there is a revolution for women's quality of life around the corner. FemTech apparel market is growing fast, and we see a great business opportunity here. In the Nordics, the market is estimated to be worth up to EUR 420 million in 2027, with a growth of 20% per annum. By using our underwear expertise in new ways and meeting trends in the global market, we pre-launched our FemTech brand, which we call Female Engineering, in January 2022, and officially launched it in September 2022. And it's no coincidence that this reflects in the significant increase in interest over time in FemTech products, as you can see from this graph. The purpose is clear: to make everyday life better with innovative products.
The assortment includes absorbent underwear with technology that improves life for women's different stages, such as menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause. Today, we have a wide range. For example, reusable period-proof panties, absorbent maternity underwear, and our latest product category, our innovative menopause clothing with anti-flush technology, keeping women cool when they are hot, and warm when they are cold. We have invested in innovation within this area with our strong partners. We have our own patent, and we are building our own IP portfolio. We target the 5.7 million Lindex customers, we have the trust, and we have the channels. Today, Female Engineering is sold in the Female Engineering's own site, Lindex e-com site, and in 250 stores, and there is a big interest from our third-party partners.
So with Female Engineering, we position Lindex in a very attractive growth market with great potential. Premium second-hand is another very interesting and growing market, and it fits well with the Lindex transforming into a more sustainable and circular business. Our timeless quality fashion is very suitable for second-hand, and we have seen very positive effects when selling our baby and kids' assortment as second-hand, which is a great receipt that our focus on longevity pays off. We see great engagement from our customers. We have successfully piloted several premium second-hand initiatives, such as pop-up store, test pilot online, and have today seven stores with our second-hand offer in the Nordics. So second-hand is really fitting well into our brand and sustainability promise, and having a positive effect on our business. So another key area that set us apart from our competitors is our strong supply chain.
It delivers efficiency, it's resilient, and it's sustainable. We work with long-term partnerships with carefully selected suppliers, where 30 suppliers produce 80% of our order quantity. That means it delivers more competitive business terms, and the ability for continuously innovate and improve our products, it's sustainable, and it's efficient. We have 5 production offices in our key markets. They work closely with our suppliers and factories. They are fully empowered, which means that they can operate much more efficiently. They drive our sourcing and supplier network, and secure price value, optimized lead time, and higher margins. On top of that, it's resilient. So we have been focusing on building resilience and mitigate risks within our supply chain. Our supply chain was really tested during and after the pandemic... and the actions we took was one of the success factors of Lindex result during that period.
It's also sustainable. Our business success relies on choosing the right partners who share our values, and working together to maintain both strong, profitable relationships and high ethical standards. We use our business leverage to reward our long-term supplier partners who are sharing our vision for a transparent and sustainable fashion industry, have the aspiration to move beyond compliance and focus on continuous improvement, and commit to empowering women, respect the planet, and ensuring human rights. In addition to that, it's also the circular materials which will play a crucial role for the fashion industry in the future. We are planning to increase the share of products with recycled materials from 41%-70% in 2026. Now, even though if we have a really strong supply chain, we are not standing still. Now, we are ready to take the next step.
As Susanne mentioned, there is a big focus to digitalize the supply chain. A few capabilities that we are currently developing are the forecast planning, digital supply collaboration, and as I mentioned before, the 3D design. On top of that, we are also focusing on European production. As a result, we will see improved efficiency, shorter lead time, higher stock turnover, and traceability. So a lot of exciting initiatives in our supply chain that we will see now and in the future. Our supply chain is also a strong enabler for the Lindex sustainability promise, so I would like to spend a few minutes to focus on that important part of the business. So Lindex has had high ambitions within sustainability over the years, and we have achieved a lot.
Lindex is recognized as a forerunner in sustainability by our customers and other stakeholders, and we are ready to take it to the next level. Our sustainability promise is a guiding star in everything we do, and our promise include both people and planet, and as you can see, we are making progress in all areas in our commitment. And, if I can highlight a few, so Susanne already mentioned that Lindex is the creator of We Women, and also Lindex is the partnership with WaterAid, focusing on women's sanitation and menstruation hygiene, reaching 15,000 people. On the planet side, I would like to highlight our progress within recycled fiber, where more than 40% of the assortment has recycled content.
We have also reduced our CO2 emissions by 22% in the last five years in absolute numbers, while still growing our business. Now, we have set our science-based targets, and we will have to take big steps further, and it requires innovation, collaboration, and dedication, and we are confident that we will deliver. On the human rights side, we have a robust due diligence in place, and we have particularly been focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion in our own operation with an awareness program. And I would like to show you now a short video that capture what DE&I means to us. Let's enjoy.
I speak Hindi, Punjabi, and English. I am South Korean. I am from Iraq.
I'm Ukrainian.
I am Swedish. I work out.
I know a secret language.
I love pizza. I'm a networker. I am an introvert.
I'm creative.
I'm a positive person. I believe in life after death. I'm not afraid to take bold steps in life. I'm proud of my family. I work at Lindex. I work at Lindex. We are different, all of us. Some of us are parents, some are creative, some like sports, some are in love. We all identify with different parts of our being. As a company, the more diverse we are, the more inclusive we get.
So to bring this section to a close, with the foundation, with the foundation in place, we strongly feel that we are ready to meet the legal and stakeholder obligations and seize the business opportunities within circular transformation, and also leverage our higher purpose to be a thought leader within the industry. This is the foundation to drive performance and enable Lindex to win in the future. So thank you very much. I will now hand over to Susanne.
Great. Thank you, Elisabeth, and also thank you, Caroline. So what the Lindex team has been showing you, this is what it's all about. You have heard about the great market that we are in, and also Lindex's strong brand that has been building a significant loyal customer base over time. Caroline explained the strength that we have built up in our supply chain setup, and we also have a strong profitability and a very clear purpose in each channel. Elisabeth told you about our unique and resilient offer, and also the actions and the position that we are driving within sustainability. Lindex is a brand ready to unleash global growth. You will hear more about the financial side of this story later today from Anneli. And now we will have time for a few questions related to the Lindex division before we have a break.
After the break, then we will focus on the Stockmann division and also the financials. At the end, we will have time for more questions then related to the Stockmann division and maybe more deep dive questions in the financials as well. So questions then.
Let's start with the questions here in the audience at the Allas Sea Pool.
Yes, thank you for the presentation. My name is Maria Wikström, from SEB. I have two question, which one is, I mean, you, you target for 30% sale, share of sales from, online.
Mm-hmm.
I'm kind of curious, I mean, what is the share currently on Lindex lingerie?
Ah.
-that really moving to online, going forward, or do you think that's more like a product that you purchase in store?
Yeah, and maybe I can continue, and then let's see if Caroline would like to add something. As for now, we are around 20%, in the digital share for Lindex, and then I'm including both our own e-com and also the digital partnerships that we are having, and the ambitions is then to reach 30%. When it comes to the lingerie, here we can see a slightly lower level, when it comes to buying from the digital channels, and we see that this is mainly driven because it is about comfort and fit. Many of our customers likes to buy it in store, but when they have started to buy the lingerie at Lindex, then they—we can see that they continue to buy at Lindex and also get more comfortable also buying through our own e-com.
You said it very well.
Okay.
But we can also, of course, add on that, we have seen historically wise, you know, that we are this online and underwear, it is growing. So, we see that, for example, the omni experience, we have a very good, like, the Bravolution program, where you can find your fit. Of course, it makes it much more easier to buy it online when you know your model. So this is an area where we think it's going to be very important for building on, building on the omni.
Mm-hmm. And maybe saying also, lingerie is not only about bras. We sell a lot of other categories within that area that are super strong in the digital part as well.
Thank you. Then the other question coming up, as I mean, a lot of new targeting, like customer targeting tools are available today in advertising. And then, I get pumped up a lot of brands that I never heard of. So do you think this is a threat to, like, the legacy brands like Lindex? That, I mean, there is new brands coming to targeted audiences, or how do you think, I mean, the future of, in this new advertising world?
Shall I start? Yes. And I think here, I mean, we have a very strong foundation, and we have built a strong brand here over time. And even though, of course, we should always be aware of what's happening and what our competitors, new competitors, are also doing, but I feel really comfortable that we are so good in our offering, that is really, really strong, super strong in lingerie. I don't think anyone will beat us here. And what we have, the approach that we have within kids' wear, that really stands out. We can have another, a lot of other competitors doing a totally different thing, but what we are doing is very unique.
But of course, that means that we still need to be on our toes in our communication to make sure that we are getting new customers and also keeping the customers that we have today. Anyone who wants to add something?
I think you said it really well.
Okay.
Yes. Thank you very much.
All right, it's Joonas Häyhä from OP Financial Group. Thanks for the presentation. Firstly, a question regarding what you mentioned. You highlighted digital as a key driver for future growth. So, could you elaborate a little bit. What kind of experiences have you had with the third-party platform sales? Obviously, growth has been strong from a relatively low base-
Mm.
but, overall, what are the experiences? And, also, can you discuss the financial implications of that? How is the margin in-
Mm
... third-party sales?
Yes. I suggest Caroline start this time.
Yes, you know, our experience with third party has been great. We have a very strong offering, so we had a good receipt from the partners that we have, that our offering is strong. We have also, as you mentioned, we have grown the last couple of years. We also are in dialogue with new partners that are showing interest for our brand. And of course, as I mentioned earlier, it's a huge benefit for us because it's paving the way into markets where we are not that present. So we are getting really valuable data and insights to kind of pave the way for other channels within the multi-channel business as we have in Lindex.
Maybe just to add about the profitability, because what we, the approach that we have had is sold is sold, so we don't have any issues with getting any returns. Looking at the profitability, it's also very nice in this channel for Lindex.
Okay, thank you, and maybe a second one, regarding the supply chain. You've been mentioning a few times before in the quarterly reports and such, that the supply chain efficiency has been improving. Can you shed some light on that? What kind of concrete actions have you been doing on that front?
Sure. Hand over to you, Elisabeth.
Yeah, so we constantly working to improve the supply chain, and, I think also it's, I would say the last, the last years during pandemic and just after the pandemic, it was a lot about, kind of, make sure that we got the, they had the right goods at home. But I would say in the supply chain, when it comes to the, the, the profit, we're talking quite a lot about the material consolidation and also supply and production consolidation. So those are the two that we have really seen very positive effect from, and that is the big... It's a very big part of the cost.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you. Calle Loikkanen from Danske Bank. I had a question on the, on the margin side of things. Does accelerating growth negatively impact or significantly impact the margins negatively? Because, your long-term target on the margins, that is 15%, but you were already at 14.3% in the last 12 months.
Mm.
And then also it's a long-term target versus then the sales growth-
Mm
... target, which was a medium, I think you mentioned three- to four-year, target. So, how does the margin dynamics work, now in the midterm with the-
Mm
... with the growth?
Mm, a good question. We aim to maintain the very nice profit margin that we have seen now during the recent times. And with that said, we are investing in the future, and these are, like, the key things that we have been talking about today, that we are investing in growth, also our sustainability transformation, as well as in efficiency. And here we have the OCDC, we also have the store network, and also that we are looking into digitalizing our supply chain. And these things we see are paying off and that then gradually will give us the result, also improving the gross, the profit margin even further than reaching the 15%.
All right, that makes sense. Thank you.
Thanks.
Rauli Juva from Inderes, hello. Two questions from me as well. Firstly, on the share of digital sales, you are targeting 30%, but if that would go to, let's say, 40% or 50% in the next 3-5 years, what would be the implications for your operations and financials?
Yeah. I wouldn't be sorry if that would happen. Actually, our own digital channel is the most profitable one. So of course for us to be able to increase that is really good for our total profitability. With that said, it's really built on an omni-channel approach, because as Caroline explained here, it is a lot about how the customers are moving and also how I mean, we have a really low return rate, but having the stores here are super important for us. But with that said, every krona more we can get in the sales of our own channel, digital channel, is super good for us.
But if that would be kind of cannibalizing the store sales, would it still be net positive for you?
I guess that depends on how we're treating the stores and what kind of negotiations and how we develop those further.
Yeah, sure.
That will also be very important for us.
Sure.
Mm.
Then, maybe a bit of detail, but I noticed on your market share numbers that you seem to have a significantly higher share in Norway, in the womenswear. Is your offering somehow different there, or what's the reason for that?
Should I? No, we have the same offering, so it has no different. What we can see is that of course, we have differences between the Nordic markets, depending on, of course, what type of competition we have, but also how long is our history there. So, of course, we are not, like, comparing the countries. We are looking into what is our possibilities, and in Norway, it has been a great interest in that part. But of course, it also gives us a foundation to grow in other parts. So I can say we have potential in Norway.
Mm. Okay, thank you.
Hello, it's David from eQ. I have a question on the marketplaces and the third parties. When you're addressing Europe, how different is the marketing strategy you're using when it's a smaller market share in a larger market and-
Mm
... almost purely digital sales channels?
Would you like to take that, Caroline?
Yeah. Of course, it's totally different. You can't compare that to the way we are working in the mature markets. And of course, when it comes to marketplaces, we are launching now in November, so that will be a field for us of testing during 2024. We need to test and learn here how to drive that. So, I have to come back on that question maybe next year, then we know more. But of course, it will be totally different comparing the Nordic markets.
Mm-hmm. Mm.
Thank you.
Okay, then we will take some online questions. Referring then to Lindex financial targets, so maybe a question to Susanne. You talked a lot about Lindex growth in the future, but the target is only 3%-5%, which could be considered a low growth. Why were you not comfortable targeting, for example, a 5%-7% annual growth? And don't you see that being possible in the midterm?
Mm-hmm. Yes, a good question. Here we see that the omni-channel distribution center is a super important enabler for us to be able to continue our growth, especially working with several channels that we have today. So this is an important enabler for, I would say, the digital channels, especially. And when we have that up and running, then we also see that we have also in our financial targets to accelerate them and the revenue further. That meaning then that we have also a target until 2030, with the SEK 10 billion.
Yes. Then a question regarding sustainability. More EU regulation is coming, and by 2025, companies will be required to pay a fee for waste management and separate textile collection system must be set up. How will this impact Lindex, and how transformational are these EU regulations for the industry?
Would you like to answer?
So of course, we know that there will be a lot of changes and a lot of regulations will come. So, but first of all, I would say that we believe that we have a head start here when it comes to sustainability, as we have also proven that we have worked a lot with this. So we see this as, first of all, it's quite good because we will have the same, we will have a level playing field here, so that it will be the same for everyone, and we will have a competitive advantage.
What we are doing now, even we don't exactly know when these different regulations will take place, this is what we are now, the whole roadmap in sustainability is making us ready for these things that are coming. So, yes, we... So for us, I think for Lindex, I think we will manage, and for the industry, well, maybe not all-
Mm
... but some, and some not.
Mm-hmm. Mm. Yes.
Maybe just to add, I think it was a really good answer, Elisabeth, and what we are already now doing tests is also that we are taking back-
Mm. Yes
... materials that we are actually now testing and reusing and making new garments with.
Absolutely.
That is like-
That's the one of the-
... the starting point of this.
Yes.
Mm.
Thank you. We now have a time for one short question in order to keep then our schedule. So, shall we take it online or anyone in the room? So then we go online. Could you share insights into Lindex's main online marketing channels and how you integrate them? I'm particularly interested in the role of TikTok in your strategy, given the popularity among young people, how significant is it for Lindex, and how are you leveraging it to engage with younger audiences?
Mm-hmm. Caroline, maybe?
Of course, when it comes to the market and marketing and the media, the landscape has changed a lot. It has transformed during the years, and so has it for us, of course. TikTok is really interesting for us, and especially also now when we are entering new offerings with Female Engineering, for example. We are also elaborating regarding young lingerie, or second-hand. We know that the younger customers are really interested in that. So of course, TikTok has been a platform where we think we can reach new customers.
Yes.
Good.
Thank you. Then we have received a couple of questions related more to financials, also regarding the Stockmann division and the restructuring, and we will come back to those questions then in our second Q&A session. So now we will have a 15-minute break, and we will continue at 3:00 P.M. Finnish time. Thank you all.
Thank you.
Thank you.
... So, welcome back, and I hope that you had a good break. Thank you, dear Lindex colleagues, for a fantastic presentation. I do love your brand, but I tell you, I love Stockmann more. In this following section, my colleague, Riku, and I will focus on the Stockmann division before we finish the day on the financials. Let me start by introducing myself. I am Tove Westermarck, Chief Operating Officer of Stockmann division. I absolutely love retail, and I'm pretty much born into it. I started my career as a little girl in the backroom of my grandmother's shop in a small town in Finland. Most of my professional career, I have been with Stockmann, and I have experience in all commercial core roles, as well as in driving strategy.
I have been in my current role since May, and together with the team, we are driving the future strategy for a new chapter at Stockmann. Our business has a fantastic brand with committed customers. But looking forward, we see exciting opportunities with a renewed focusing of our four key elements: First, to elevate our offering with an increased focus on premium and luxury. Secondly, leveraging and growing our loyal customer base with more sophisticated personalization capabilities. Thirdly, delivering a seamless omni-channel capabilities for the enhanced customer experience. And last, but definitely not least, all of which is being built on improved operational efficiencies through smooth processes, automation, and digitalization. And today, we will expand on each of these elements in more detail to give you a clear understanding of the future of Stockmann.... Stockmann is the leading multi-brand omni-channel retailer in Finland and Baltics.
We have some excellent achievements, which provide a very strong platform. We have a wide offering with approximately 1,000 brands, and our 150 of those are with exclusivity or a very limited distribution. This is something we have focused on developing, and we'll tell you more about today. We have an omni-channel presence with 8 physical stores and e-commerce in our core markets. In 2022, online accounted for 12%, our physical stores for 79%, and services and rental income for 9%. The Stockmann brand is known by almost everyone and loved by our customers in all our markets. Our brand awareness is at amazing 100% in Finland, and we have 1.4 million loyal customers.
Even during a challenging year for retailers, Stockmann division reported a 10% revenue growth in 2022, with an even stronger growth in fashion, where we performed strongly exceeding the market growth. So, as I said, a very strong platform from which to write this new chapter. The reason we believe we will be successful and deliver profitable growth is built on the following six key points. The underlying market is clearly supported for a multi-brand retailer like Stockmann, and we are positioned to grow by more efficiently leveraging on our iconic brand and valuable loyalty customer base. Our unique multi-brand offering of products and services is set to be delivered to our customers as a seamless experience through both our physical stores and online. Today, we have a clear customer-centric strategy for future growth, which we will provide more color on during this presentation.
It is the combination of these elements that will drive the future success of Stockmann. So let me go through each of them in detail, but first, starting with the market trends. There are strong and attractive market trends driving the growth in the premium and luxury space. On the left of the page, you can see that the market size is EUR 9 billion, and while the total market growth is estimated to be 3%, we see that luxury and premium apparel market growth is expected to outgrow the rest of the market. Premium apparel market is estimated to grow by 5%, and luxury market on an impressive growth of 8%. These markets together account for EUR 2.4 billion, which is a very sizable market to take share of.
On the right, you can see the trends that are supporting this growth and Stockmann's business. The first is the spending polarization, where customers are, on the one hand, trading up in certain categories, such as accessories and handbags, which we can see in our figures and business. It can be the same customer wearing a Stockmann private brand T-shirt together with a Louis Vuitton bag. At the same time, there is an increased focus on sustainability. This means that while consumers are buying fewer items, what they buy is of much higher quality. They want to buy a good product that lasts for life, and this is what we offer. On top of this, tourism is set to grow by over 50% for the coming four years, supporting sales in premium and luxury items.
As Stockmann is an iconic brand, we are an obvious destination. As you can see, we are very well positioned to unlock the potential of these trends to leverage the unique position of Stockmann. To do that, you need to be accessible. When speaking about retail, the omni-channel capabilities are absolutely vital, and especially so for premium and luxury categories. Studies show that customer shopping from omni-channel shop more frequently and buy over 2x more compared to customer who are shopping single channel. On top of that, customer experiences are increasingly more important and drives the increasing relevance of the physical space, and that more than 70% of the luxury and premium products are bought in store. Consumers want to touch and feel the products and make an experience of the buying.
How often do you buy an expensive suit or dress without a second opinion or someone coming with you? As an example of the importance of experiences, we just have had a great success of cooperating with Finnair in celebrating their 100-year anniversary. To mark this occasion, they took over the flagship store, where we offered customers a unique experience in combining the two strong brands of Finnair and Stockmann. So, as you can see, experiences are increasingly important, and we are positioned to take advantage of them. And a key part of that strength is the strength of our brand.... The Stockmann brand is iconic, built on great history that is woven into the very fabric of Finnish culture, and this is because our business has always been focused on core values. The purpose, our reason to exist, is to be a marketplace for good life.
What does this mean? It means to establish a marketplace where customers not only discover the products and services they require, but also elevate their quality of life through meaningful experiences, sustainable offering, and a sense of belonging, a sense of community. You can see how this is reflected in the brand awareness, with 100% of the Finnish population knowing who we are and what we stand for. This, combined with 44.1 million visitors each year, means that every inhabitant in our three markets would visit Stockmann five times a year. There are not many brands or companies that could say the same. In line with our value proposition, we offer a curated collection of premium products and experiences, enabling the seamless shopping at any time and any location.
Among those customers knowing the brand, 93% considered buying, and out of the 93% who considered buying, 80% bought. Again, metrics that any business would be proud of. At Stockmann, we have a brand promise, which is to elevate shopping into an experience. We want every visit to leave a memory, and our teams, the Stockmann people, are focused on creating a feeling that lasts. That's our brand promise. We measure this with the Emotional Value Index, where the customers are asked to evaluate their emotional experience in big part of our customer touchpoints. This index can vary between -100 and +100, and we have had a good progress over the years, now being at a strong level of 62. In the most positive touchpoints, such as events and Instagram Live shoppings, we reach results even above 90.
As you can see, we hold a very special place on our market, markets, which we have worked hard on to build and maintain. As a result, we have a sizable and loyal customer base of customers who trust and commit. What is now crucial is how we leverage this. Our customer base is a great asset and includes over 1.4 million loyal customers, and the amount has been growing. They are critical to our success, as their spend accounts for a big share. They shop more often, and they have high spending power with our platinum customers, shopping almost three times more often than the next level of loyalty program. Importantly, we get extremely valuable insights on consumer behavior to further curate the offering.
Also, we provide a valuable channel for direct marketing, which increases the efficiency of our marketing spend, and the data as well is also very valuable for our partners. So as you can see, a very strong asset for Stockmann. Our focus is now on developing our program to activate our sizable loyal customer base, as well as attracting new customers. And here you can see the elements for how we will deliver this program. The first is to develop the My Stockmann loyalty program, which will be renewed, and incentivize our customers so that they can have a better shopping experience with us. This will include incentives to use the gathered points, personalized offers, and benefits depending on the preferences and level, such as events, pre-access, gifts, et cetera. We are also building out analytics and personalization capabilities further to better understand and thus serve the customers.
The advanced data enables us to develop our offering and to give more tailored recommendations. This will drive revenue, increase engagement, and add value. As we have an extremely strong brand, and we'll know our customers even more thoroughly than today, we will be able to explore new revenue streams. This means that we will act as a communication platform, selling retail media opportunities, such as in the Finnair takeover case. This means that we will explore commission-based models, one example being selling cars as part of our campaigns, and that we will partner up with top brands, such as exclusive cooperation with the Finnish shoe designer, Minna Parikka, to offer unique and personalized advertising to our loyal customers.
As you can see, we are operating in an attractive market, and with the strength of our brand and the loyal customer base, we see many opportunities to write this new chapter for the future. At this point, I will be handing over to Riku to talk about how we will deliver this in our offering and in the omni-channel model.
... Thank you, Tove, and good afternoon from my side as well. My name is Riku Lyly, and I am the Chief Stockmann Style Officer. What that means is that essentially everything that we offer to our customers through our physical and digital stores goes through the hands of myself and my team. I joined Stockmann 2.5 years ago from Adidas, where I had Nordic marketing director roles, and prior to that, I've worked in digital retail at XXL Sports and Outdoor. I joined Stockmann at the very beginning of the turnaround story, and what really drew me here was seeing the fantastic key elements of the business: the brand, the offering, and the customer experience, and seeing how they could be so much more than the sum of their parts.
And that is why I'm happy to walk you through today how our unique offering and omni-channel capabilities combined will deliver sustainable and profitable growth for Stockmann in the future. Tove talked about a strong brand and a strong loyalty base, and I will now tell you how that is translated into a comprehensive and well-balanced offering that delivers both experience and convenience. Growing with premium and luxury is a key growth driver for our offering going forward. Fashion is leading that strategy, with 48% share of sales, with a strong CAGR growth of 9%. The development in the premium and luxury segment is showing even stronger development. Cosmetics and home, with 16% share of sales respectively, are balancing the offering with steady development and mitigate market fluctuations across the categories.
The home category has leveled some after the strong performance during the pandemic, and we're currently reshaping our home strategy. We're leveraging our customer data to focus our offering on the strongest areas of growth and profitability, and we look to bring home back to steady growth contribution within the near future. Food category, offered in Baltics through our own grocery stores and in Finland through strong partners, is a very important differentiating traffic driver and accounts for 11% share of sales. And finally, our offering is complemented by services, concession partners, and rental partners that widen our offering, create additional revenue streams, and with a lower cost impact, as well as a lower impact on our capital.
The development numbers seen here in this category is not fully comparable due to the changes of our rental premises after the sale of our department store properties in 2021 and 2022. However, our strategy emphasizes developing growth in this area, and we are, for example, reshaping the concepts of our department stores to attract new partners into our premises. This comprehensive offering, with a focus on premium and luxury, creates a very unique market position for Stockmann. As stated earlier, the premium and luxury segment is outgrowing the market, and our focus on this market, or on this segment, combined with our omni-channel approach, positions us perfectly to grow with this market.
There is no other player on the market who can offer as wide of an offering with a strong focus on premium and luxury, available to customers both physically and digitally, and which is complemented by interesting services and related partner offering. Against the local players, we stand out with a significantly wider offering, with a clear focus on premium and luxury. As said, the premium and luxury segment is preferred to be bought in physical stores, with tourism playing an important part, and this creates Stockmann a very strong competitive advantage against the international online pure players. The well-balanced offering stands on several steady feet that help us mitigate and adjust to market trends. Most importantly, it makes us commercially relevant to our customers 365 days a year.
This combination of premium and luxury offering available through physical and digital channels creates a strong competitive position with clear growth potential, and the whole Stockmann team is dedicated to execute this sharpened approach. Going forward, we are restating our commitment to premium and luxury as a way to secure sustainable growth and profitability. We currently have over 150 brands in our offering that have a very limited distribution and that differentiate us strongly. Since 2020, we have added well over 100 brands in the premium and luxury segment. Max Mara Studio, Marni, Missoni, Barrett, Balmain, Lardini, to name only a few. Whereas fashion on average showed a CAGR growth of 9%, the premium and luxury segment at Stockmann has enjoyed even stronger 14% CAGR growth since 2020.
In 2023, we broke new ground by introducing Louis Vuitton in our Helsinki flagship. Those of you familiar with the luxury market know that there is no stronger testament to the trust in our Helsinki flagship than the stamp of approval by Louis Vuitton. Building on that, we have ongoing dialogue with the majority of the top, top-tier luxury brands, with a clear target to create a true luxury destination in our Helsinki flagship. But we also work diligently with our full assortment. We're increasing the level of premiumization of our offering across all of our channels, and we're also looking to increase the profitability and efficiency of our value segment offering, where you can find our beloved and profitable own brands...
The mix of brands across different categories gives us a lot of opportunities for growth and profitability no other player on the market can equally match. So the way forward is clear. We are taking leaps to make our offering relevant to secure future growth. We're leveraging our customer data to personalize and optimize our offering development to further curate and expand to areas with the strongest growth and profitability potential. We're creating a true luxury destination in our Helsinki flagship, and we are driving the premiumization of our offering across all of our channels, as this is the part of the market that shows the strongest growth. And finally, we're not forgetting our commitment to sustainability, as this is what our customers want from us. We're working to decrease the climate impact of our offering by focusing on sustainable quality and longevity of the products that we offer.
Premium pricing on increasingly sustainable and high-quality products is a key factor in achieving both our sustainability and growth commitments. We're exploring opportunities in the circular economy models with the partners such as Relove Secondhand in Helsinki and Tampere stores, as well as a take-back program pilot with Ninyes in Helsinki. This strong offering, a strategy focused on growth, profit, growth and profitability, will be amplified by our strong omnichannel approach. Our omnichannel approach consists of physical stores on prime locations and an e-commerce that reaches the entire market potential. In total, this approach created over 44 million visits to Stockmann in 2022. Our physical stores are on prime locations in growing cities in Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, and a few selected shopping centers. All of these locations share a strong population growth, active tourism, as well as very high buying power.
In Helsinki flagship, we are creating a true luxury destination, but we are updating the experience towards premium and luxury in all of our channels. Our e-commerce offers us access to the entire market, and we develop that experience relentlessly. We're leveraging data for more personalized experience and offering. We're currently overhauling our master data and piloting with AI tools for improved product information process, as well as return, reduced returns. The ultra-fast delivery pilot from 2022 is now in full swing and available across all of our physical channels, and will be added as a delivery method in our e-com in the near future. The backbone of this operation is a state-of-the-art distribution center in Finland, in which 90% of the SKUs are in automatic storage.
And the next leap in automation comes with e-com or e-com order packaging for even faster deliveries and improved cost efficiency. We look to cut the delivery time for the key commercial moments of the year in half with this new technology. So this omnichannel approach gives us opportunities to compete across all channels with strong market growth, supported by future retail trends. And the growth for Stockmann in future comes from engaging customers to our omnichannel experience. The department stores are evolving, and Stockmann will be in the forefront of that development. We're elevating our physical stores to be so much more than just shopping. A visit to Stockmann is an afternoon with your entire family, with interesting offering and experiences to each one of you.
Or it's a drink or a lunch with a friend or a colleague in a location that really needs no further explanation. And whether you're looking for inspiration for a new dress on your way to work or ordering a gift to your mother-in-law, wrapped and delivered from the comfort of your own sofa, Stockmann.com is available 365 days a year, 24/7. And we have seen that turning single-channel customers into omnichannel customers is a clear growth driver. An omnichannel customer is up to 5x more profitable than a single-channel customer, and this is the potential that we are unlocking. We're leveraging our loyalty customer data for improved experience, and we are developing our loyalty customer program for further engagement. And we are systematically tracking and improving the experience across all of our channels measured in EVI, as Tove just explained.
Engaging our customers into the omnichannel model offers us opportunities for significant growth and profitability as retail keeps on evolving. To finish off, our unique premium and luxury offering, and the continuously evolving omnichannel experience, creates a position where we see both organic growth and growth from continuous improvement in how we engage with our customers. This, of course, requires a very strong operational model that Tove will now continue with. From my side, thank you, and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
Thank you, Riku. We talked about our three focus areas. Mm-hmm?... There we go. The three focus areas: the loyal customer base, the elevated offering, and the omni-channel approach. But for all of this to work, you need a strong operating model. The operational efficiency is a key area in driving the profitability, which I have been focusing on since having this role from May. We have already made significant progress this year, such as improved staff, our management for a more cost-efficient structure. We have also focused on IT by consolidating a multitude of different services and systems to fewer strategic suppliers. And in terms of marketing, we have optimized our spend so that we are more focused on data and campaigns which reach our customers and can be measured. These initiatives have already resulted in EUR 3 million less costs over a 12-month period.
But what is exciting is that there is more that we can do in terms of the next steps. We see significant opportunity in digitalizing our supply chain through the end-to-end optimized cost-to-serve model. During this year, we have piloted radio frequency identification in Helsinki department store, and recently made the decision to roll out the technology to all stores. With RFID, we can track each individual product and significantly improve the stock level accuracy in the stores, resulting into increased turnover, faster delivery process, and overall improved customer experience, both offline and online. Additionally, we are working on digital platform transformation, combined with AI and process automation, to significantly increase the efficiency further.
For example, today, we have a highly manual procurement process, supplier and product onboarding process as well, which can be digitalized and automated, resulting in higher efficiency and better data quality to support our online sales. We have already today a very highly automated distribution center, as Riku was mentioning, and we are working further to increase the share of automation in the packaging. This will almost fully automate our online order fulfillment process, and this is planned to go live next year and will result in further efficiency and faster delivery, but also supporting our sustainability commitments. So a lot to get excited about, which brings me to my final slide. As said at the start, Stockmann is writing a new chapter, but this is not just a strategy, it's also the backbone, the reason to believe the path towards growth and profitability will be delivered.
There are the three focus areas. Firstly, to elevate the offering. Secondly, to grow and leverage the loyalty customer base. Thirdly, to ensure the seamless omni-channel experience. In the longer term, we will further expand to new revenue horizons to increase the share of non-merchandise-related sales, including growth in the retail media sales, third-party commissions, and business to business. All of this will be delivered through further operational improvements, increasing automation and digitalization. We, me and my team, with our people, are excited about this new chapter in our story, which we are very confident will deliver sustainable profitability and growth. Thank you. Now I give over to Annelie to go through the financials.
Thank you very much, Tove. Hi, everyone. I am Annelie Forsberg, and I am the CFO for both Stockmann Group and also for Lindex. I joined Lindex during 2018, and also was appointed as a group CFO in 2022. Like the rest of the team, I have an extensive retail experience. I have been working within retail for more than 20 years, and I have also been working close together with Susanne before in former companies, and my clear focus here is to link the financials to the business critical performance. And that should be that slide. Yes. Sorry for that. Okay, so I want to start with setting the scene here and showing how the group has demonstrated growth during the latest years.
Starting with revenue, the graph shows a modest decline here, but like Susanne said, the CAGR in local currency is 0.7%, and Lindex has been the growth provider here and has achieved a yearly CAGR of 4.3%, so that's very strong. Continuing with the operating result, there has been a significant improvement during the years. The group's result has almost doubled during these years and is now summarizing to EUR 76 million. Also, this is clearly driven by Lindex performance, and like seen here in the graph here. Also important to say here is that the Stockmann division has improved significantly since 2020 and ahead. For the earnings, this leads to an operating margin for the group of 8%, where Lindex operating margin reaches 14.3%, which is a very strong performance.
This demonstrates how the group has improved earnings during the latest years. In addition to the improved earnings, the group has also achieved a strong financial position. Today, we are debt-free, except for a bond. We have more than 400 lease agreements accounted as liabilities for all our stores and warehouses. But as they have no interest-bearing component, we, likewise other retailers, display the net debt excluding these lease agreements. During quarter three, we have also signed for further financing by a revolving credit facility of EUR 40 million, meaning that our liquidity is strong, and we have a positive net cash position. The improved profitability and debt freeness has also helped us improving the equity ratio, and that now reaches 59%, which is very strong. Looking also further into that, we have a healthy underlying cash flow.
This lays a solid and good foundation for a sustainable and future growth. Like Susanne earlier showed, both divisions have outlined clear financial targets for the future. Lindex aim for a continuous growth, targeting a yearly increase of 3%-5% in the midterm, and a clear target of 10 billion SEK in 2030, and that is a major growth. Today, the revenue is 7.2 billion SEK. The digital share of revenue is set to 30% in midterm, and as Caroline earlier presented, that share is 90% today. The operating margin aims to be maintained at the later years' levels, and in long term, reach 15%. Additionally, Lindex, as well as Stockmann division, plans to reduce CO₂ emissions by 42% by 2030, compared to 2022, and this is in line with science-based targets.
So summarizing Lindex, we see a really attractive picture for the future, together with a strong momentum. So now, if we look at Stockmann division here, you previously heard both Tove and Riku tell how the Stockmann division is already successfully implementing strategic actions. And in financials plan, how does that transfers? Looking into the revenue target, the focus for the midterm is a growth aligned with market trends. And with market trends, we here mean Finland, Latvia, and Estonia, with comprising of fashion, beauty, and home categories. Regarding cash flow, our goal is to achieve a positive free cash flow in midterm, and that will also be helped by a target of increasing the profitability to a 5% adjusted operating margin in midterm.
Then, also summarizing Stockmann division, we see here an iconic brand that holds substantial potential for growth and will renewed focus on achieving a notable improvement in both cash flow and profitability. Right, I want to show how both sides of the group looks in more details now, starting with Lindex. Like shortly stated earlier, Lindex has shown a steady revenue growth with a CAGR of 4.3% in local currencies. The COVID year, 2020, impacted the revenue when 15 out of 18 physical markets were closed during some time. But on the other hand, then, we managed to really fuel the digital channel. This means that the growth has been exceptionally strong for the digital channel, with a CAGR of 38%, which includes both our own e-com and also partnering on other digital platforms.
But at the same time, another impressive achievement has been made, where the comparable physical stores have grown their revenue with 3% annually. During the years, the Nordic markets have shown strong performance and have grown annually with 3%, and also Lindex international footprint has expanded with a growth of 10%. Among the product categories, our core, the lingerie, has had the most significant growth with 8%, but the other categories have also performed strong during this period. So looking into the historical growth for Lindex, it aligns perfectly with our financial midterm targets, and it's a good evidence that the target for growth is not only realistic, but also attainable. Then, continuing to explore the profitability in Lindex channels.
Here, it's evident that both our digital and our store channels are highly profitable, where the profitability successfully has been increasing in recent years. Especially, our digital channel shows a strong profitability, and this is explained by many various things. First, we have a low cost base for our digital sales channel. Also, like Caroline explained, we have low return rates, and this, together with, we have the gross margins are almost in line with the stores, the profitability has been very successful, especially since we have this digital sales growth of 38% in CAGR. Furthermore, our physical stores have developed very successfully. Like both Caroline and Susanne has told you, 99% of all our stores are profitable, and that's quite remarkable.
This achievement really reflects our successful work with how we have been working with both gross margins and also efficiency. Looking ahead, we anticipate even greater potential with our ongoing digitalization efforts. This is a great strength for Lindex, when the sales channels together play a fantastic mix. Like said, during the years, Lindex has improved the gross margins and successfully separated cost from growth. As seen in the slide, we've gone from gross margins at 62.7% in 2019 to above 65%. At the same time, we have lowered our cost percentage from 55.6% to below 51%. Certainly, our achievement is rooted in several focused areas and actions. Let me take a moment then and explain these key margin drivers in more detail.
Firstly, like Elisabeth also presented, we have successfully consolidated our supply chain and developed to be more flexible and more efficient. That significantly contributed to an improved gross margin and reduced costs. The sourcing area is very interesting, and we recognize further potential here, and we'll continue to develop this area. Secondly, our efforts in managing markdowns have been successful. We've refined and learned a lot how we steer our campaigns, how we replenish most efficiently, how we work with clearances, et cetera, and this ongoing work is set to continue. We believe that with the new Omni-channel Distribution Center and digitalization technologies like RFID and AI automation, there's room for further improvement within this area. Thirdly, strategic price adjustments have played a vital role in maintaining healthy profit margins, especially in response to market dynamics and the fluctuating US dollar.
And that is a currency that is extremely important for Lindex, since 80% of all purchases are made in U.S. dollar. Fourthly, we have strengthened our position within the lingerie market, which is characterized by high margins, and that as well has contributed to our good margin development. In addition to these areas and actions that has mainly driven gross margin development, we have implemented several efficiency measures, both working with the store optimization, ensuring that our physical stores are placed and operated effectively. During latest years, we have both closed down stores and opened up new stores as well, and here, Lindex is seen as a very strong tenant within the Nordic market, and that has also helped us to be successful in many of our rental negotiations.
On the cost side, we have implemented a new staff scheduling system that has helped us with effective workforce management and has made us more efficient within the stores and the warehouses. Besides all these things, we have in everything we do, a extremely high cost focus, and we drive actions all over the company. Through all these combined efforts, we have driven the good profitability growth for Lindex. And this can be seen here in slide. Here, we can see how the profit has grown substantially during the years, and we now have a 14% in operating margin. For the future, Lindex target is to further expand, and we know that we will have new costs for this and also for the sustainability transition. However, we are confident that our ongoing measures will mitigate the increased costs.
Our immediate goal is to sustain the same operating margin as in recent years, and with a long-term aim of achieving a targeted 50% operating margin level. Coupled with growth, this will significantly increase our operating result. As heard here today, we have focus areas for how to improve the business and margins. That includes digitalization within many areas, and again, let me explain these margin drivers for the future in more detail. Firstly, in the supply chain, we see a lot of potential to further improve our operations with help of further digitalization. Both how we work with demand purchasing, how we work with 3D design, how we can work with shorter lead times and supplier data. And this will help us to improve both flexibility and shorten our lead times, and thereby also positively impact our margins.
Secondly, we will soon have our new omni-channel distribution center, and that, this will be in quarter three, 2024. Here we will gain both higher efficiency together with the improved flexibility with one stock operations, and this will contribute to an overall margin development. Caroline also mentioned the digitalization investments that we are currently driving in our stores. This will both ensure a future smooth operations and better experience for our customers, and on top of that, it will also lead to better store efficiencies. Examples are self-checkouts, RFID for stock, AI for scheduling and information flow. Another area is the premises cost management, and where we have, as said, a strong position as a tenant, and that we will also use. Here we are also making investments today for LED lights, digital screens, et cetera, and this all investments will also lower our future costs.
Lastly, we are embracing automation and efficient processes across all our operations that will reduce costs. So summarizing the Lindex slides, we have some key points. Lindex is a high-performing business. Lindex has a top-line growth momentum with a clear target to continue that growth. Lindex has also succeeded with a profitable growth, and here we have a lot of ongoing initiatives, which will give further potential for the future. So now on with the Stockmann division. First key point I want to make here is that Stockmann division has already showed a positive growth trend latest years. Although the revenue has not matched the level seen in 2019, there are a couple of reasons for that. Firstly, during that time, we had more retail space and tenants. Secondly, there has been a significant decline in tourists from Russia and Asia.
For the future, we see recovery in the tourists, like Tove mentioned, although we have not calculated with 2019 year's level for the coming revenues. When comparing to 2020, the revenue has grown by 4% annually, especially the development during 2022 was good, with the increase of 10%, like Tove mentioned. Looking into 2023, here, it's crucial to note that the revenue effect, figure here is affected by the timing of Crazy Days campaign. And we held that in October this year, and last year it was held partly also in September. We have these Crazy Days campaigns twice a year, and since they significantly boost both sales and operating result, the timing of these events has a substantial impact on both sales and result.
It's worth mentioning, although we have not reported the numbers here, that it was a successful campaign in October. Consequently, the reported revenue and reported result is not directly comparable. Excluding the effects of Crazy Days, the revenue on a rolling twelve-month basis would have been higher compared to 2022. Since twenty twenty, our sales in stores has grown significantly with 8%. The online sales has declined, which is explained by both peak of COVID pandemic during 2020, where we saw traffic on exceptional levels, together with the Crazy Days timing this year. With the strategic actions that Tove and Riku spoke about, we feel confident in positive growth here for the future.
Looking into the categories, the growth from 2020 is driven by fashion, and then especially by the luxury and affordable luxury segments, but also our own brands for all our categories have had a significant increase. This also emphasize that our strategy is achievable to further meet market trends with the right offering and omni-channel experience. At the same time, the business has kept stable gross margins and reduced costs. Like earlier stated, year 2019 is not fully comparable due to that we then had more retail space and more tenants income, which also affected costs. Looking into the cost side, we have had a strong cost focus on overall. Note, in quarter three, that the new management succeeded with very good cost saving here, like we have discussed earlier today, and we have a good potentials regarding further cost savings.
So in comparison to the performance in 2020, Stockmann division profitability has substantially been strengthened. Important to note here as well, is that the timing of Crazy Days in quarter three, in 2023, had a significantly negative impact here in this context, so the 2022 number is not fully comparable to the latest 12 months. And in addition to Crazy Days impact, we also have had higher clearance sales due to warm weather. Together with that, we received retroactive pandemic support during beginning of 2022. Looking ahead, our midterm target is to attain a 5% operating margin. This goal is supported by several strategic actions. Firstly, we are focusing on boosting revenue through the strategic actions that Tove Westermarck has been talking about.
And then we mean both how we elevate the offering for our iconic brand with more premium and luxury, how we can use the data we have and grow with our loyal customer base, and ensure that we will have a seamless omni-channel operation. And with increased sales, we can scale upon our existing cost base. Secondly, we can target an increased share of full price sales, where the latest years have been quite hard, impacted by high clearances, like earlier mentioned. We have improved how we work with stock intake, and RFID will also help us further with less clearance and stock accuracy. Moreover, we are committed to cost efficiency improvements. Here we can see that we have already started, like mentioned before, and we have further things to develop here.
Lastly, we are also focused on supply chain improvements with help of technology and data analytics, and that will make our supply chain more agile and more cost-effective. So in summary, for Stockmann Division, we have several clear actions to achieve our objective for the midterm profitability and actions, and we believe that we will have a positive cash flow in midterm. Right. So now, when looking into the overall result for the Stockmann Group, we can see the following picture. Here we can conclude that both divisions have shown positive development latest years. Starting with Lindex, it's visible how Lindex managed the COVID year 2020 very good, despite all challenges and lower revenue. And now the division reports more than double profitability. Stockmann Division was hit very hard during COVID year, but is now recovering in a good pace.
Looking at the common group cost, they represent a minor portion and are, in future, expected to remain at the same level as now. This shows a strong group profitability. Looking into the adjusted operating result for full year of 2023, we have increased our guidance to the range of EUR 75 million-EUR 90 million. This adjustment reflects our increased confidence in the company's performance and future prospects. Then let's look at the growth in cash flow terms. As seen here, the group's cash flow is solid, which is illustrated here in this graph. Lindex is high performing and delivers our operating free cash flow with EUR 83 million for the latest twelve months, excluding the omni-channel distribution center.
Stockmann Division is clearly impacted by the Crazy Days campaign in the -31 million here, where both EBITDA and net working capital are impacted. Without disclosing the exact number, cash flow can be compared with the last year level, which then was -21 million EUR. Together, this results in a cash flow for the group of 50 million EUR for the latest twelve months. The more normalized CapEx in the business is estimated to approximately EUR 20 million-EUR 25 million for Lindex, and 10 million EUR for Stockmann Division. During the years 2022-2024, a total of 110 million EUR from the free cash flow will be used for Lindex omni-channel distribution center. Until end of September, approximately 70 million EUR of that sum has been invested, and another 40 million EUR investment will follow this and next year.
So the cash flow for the group is very healthy and also enables further growth. Like earlier stated, the group is presently in a robust financial position. All department stores have been successfully sold, where Helsinki flagship was the last property, which was sold in April 2022. All interest-bearing debts are paid, meaning that the group is now debt-free. Since April 2022, the group is in a positive net cash position. The sole remaining debt is a EUR 72 million bond that is due in 2026. Impacted by less debts and good profitability, the equity ratio has shown a very good improvement latest years, and is now standing at 59% when we exclude the lease liabilities, like earlier mentioned. So this robust financial stability offers a solid foundation and flexibility for the future. Finally then, to update you regarding the restructuring program.
As Stockmann division was hardly affected during the COVID in 2020, the Stockmann part went into restructuring. One of the company's main priorities is to end the restructuring as soon as possible. This is progressing in a good way. Like earlier stated, all department stores are sold, and the group is debt-free, except for a bond. There are still disputes regarding terminated long-term lease agreements. The counterparties claims that Stockmann should pay the total lease amounts for all outstanding years, but the restructuring supervisor means Stockmann should only pay 18 months. These claims and disputes are now being discussed with the different counterparties, and we are gladly progressing here. During the latest week, we have had meeting with all counterparties here. In October, we made a settlement with Fennia that was registered in court during beginning of November.
The outstanding claims are in total EUR 43.6 million, and have significantly decreased latest years. We have also made a prudent provision with EUR 80 million for these disputes. Our goal, as said, is to end the restructuring process as soon as possible, and we have ongoing discussions with the three outstanding regarding the three outstanding disputes here. So what are then our financial highlights in summary? Starting with Lindex then, and here we see a robust growth track record that also is aligned with our strategic targets. The margins are strong, and so is the cash flow, but we have further potential for improvement. The Stockmann division achieved a post-COVID growth in line with our strategic targets, and here we are now aiming for significant improvement in cash flow and profitability as well, which we have already seen.
Finally, for the total group, we see a strong financial position with solid cash flow, which is currently being reinvested back into the business to fuel future growth and development. This means that both divisions are well positioned to accelerate value creation, and that the group has a strong financial position to further reach the new financial targets. Thank you very much, and let me now hand back over to Susanne.
Thank you, Anneli, and thanks for delivering the financial side of the story as well, and also a big thank you to Tove and Riku, to also present the Stockmann division's strategy. We are now delighted to take a few more questions, and I think the rest of the team should also stand up, please. Do we have any questions from this room to begin with?
Yeah, let's start.
All right. Thank you, Joonas Häyhä from OP. Regarding Lindex, you mentioned that you aim to grow in new markets and new channels. Could you elaborate a little bit the cost side of that expansion? What kind of cost increases are required to reach this target?
Caroline, would you like to take that question?
Yes, I can do that. As I presented earlier, we have a model where we are starting, you know, with the third party, the marketplaces, who is a really cost-efficient way of doing expansion. Then, of course, localizing our sites. 12 out of 34 sites are localized at this point. It means that we have a big potential, because we can see that we have a really good revenue growth when localizing. So that pace is the way we see forward. Then, of course, going in fully into a market that of course will require investments. Good?
Okay, thank you. Maybe a second one. You recently updated your guidance based on the strong performance in Lindex. Could you elaborate on the previous assumptions behind the old guidance? Why? What has gone better in Lindex?
Yeah. The previous guidance was a range from EUR 65 million to EUR 85 million, and it's now increased to EUR 75 million-EUR 90 million. And we see with the current trading that we have that we are in a position where we increase our results better than the original guidance was. And we see that the... We have all the triggers we have talked about earlier today here.
... Okay, so is profitability in Lindex improving in Q4, basically?
It's better than our former guidance.
Okay, thank you.
Your target for, for the, margin, for the department division is, 5%, and I'm kind of curious, I mean, looking into the past performance, that how did you come up with with that number? Is that benchmarking for the other international, which have went more to the luxury end of the, the department store, or how did you come up with the 5% EBIT margin?
Would you like to start there, Tove?
Yes. So, what we see is that when we are upgrading our assortment and moving into the premium and luxury segment, and as well, we are looking into going into that segment, we are looking into the different business models as well. So there are both the tenant business model as well as there are the concession models, what we are looking into.
Any further questions then from the... Yes, Rauli here, I think.
Yes. Hi, Rauli from Inderes. Following up on that, on that margin, if I looked right, the Stockmann division should improve around 9 percentage points from the current level, so can you break that down a bit? How should that improvement be distributed in gross margin improvement and OpEx to sales?
I can start. Yeah. We see, for the Stockmann division and reaching the adjusted operating margin of 5%, we see several actions to drive that performance. Both, we see growth, and also that we see increased gross margins, and here we are also know that the historical levels have had been hit by clearance sales, et cetera. And now we have the possibility to drive the gross margins in a better way. And also we have the cost efficiency here, and we where we already see that we have big potential here-
Mm.
to further. So it's three, three things together.
Okay. And then more operationally also on the Stockmann division, your performance has been obviously unacceptable for quite a long time, so can you just summarize what are you doing differently from here onwards?
Yes, so we are driving a much more focused customer approach and utilizing our vast customer data to have the insights. As well, we are repositioning our offering towards the premium and luxury according to our customer expectancies. And then the omni-channel development has been already significant, and we are further improving, which will result then in an inspirational and well-working online, and with a combination with the physical store experience, which will realize into its full potential in the Helsinki department store, the flagship.
Thank you. And maybe just follow up on that last thing. And you highlighted also in the release the role of the Helsinki-
Mm
... flagship, so could you consider closing down some of the other smaller department stores as kind of part of the margin improvement?
Right now, we focus on delivering and improving the profitability in all of the existing locations.
Okay, clear. Thank you.
Yes, thank you. Samuel Vilén of Nordea. A good bit of continue what Rauli mentioned there, you mentioned many times the offering and going towards more the luxury. With just, you know, simple arithmetic, you know, for example, dividing the revenue by the annual visitors in the Baltics, and let's say the flagship store, it's around EUR 15-EUR 16. Of course, with luxury, this amount could be increased, but are you, for example, worried that this could have an adverse effect on the amount of people making purchases? Why or why not?
You want Riku to-
Yes. I mean, of course, we're very committed to developing the premium and luxury segment, and we see a lot of potential there because of the increased unit prices. But I think it's really important to remember that our offering is balanced, and we do have the ability to adjust our strategies and how we present ourselves to the customers through different levels of our offering. And as Tove mentioned, there is a trend of people trading up in some categories and maybe then sticking to basics in others, using Louis Vuitton bag with a Stockmann own brand T-shirt. And what we are able to do is we are able to cater to that customer and several different customer segments.
I'm not worried that this would alienate or decrease our ability to inspire our customers across a wider customer group.
Okay, thanks. So maybe a bridge from that, I know probably the brands that you're offering have also a key role in this. You mentioned that you are offering, for example, these exclusive brands that you can't find elsewhere.
Yep.
Why these brands are choosing Stockmann and not, for example, the other competitors? What is your, like, value proposition for their side?
... Well, as I mentioned in my presentation, in Finland, there really is, I would say, no other competitor that can offer the same kind of scale, same kind of traffic, same kind of brand allure as Stockmann can. So if there's a brand that wants to that is very particular about their brand presence and the customer experience, Stockmann really is the key destination for those brands to enter a new market. So it's a strong competitive advantage, and this is something that we hear from new brands and existing brands every day in our discussions with them.
To add to this, I want to mention the 1.4 million loyal customers and a very valuable customer base.
Yeah
which we have and offer.
Yeah. So basically, from the start, from the day one for these new brands, we are able to deliver a target group, which is a very powerful negotiating leverage for us.
Yes, thanks. And probably a short, short last question from my side, about loyalty program. You obviously mentioned that that's something that you want to develop on.
Mm.
And you also mentioned that there are some clear indications, of course, that you can leverage your sales with the loyalty customers. But, can you share some insight for the stickiness of this? For example, this loyalty program is such that if one becomes a loyal member, how sticky is that they are making purchases compared to ones that aren't loyal customers?
Yes, so we see, as we saw that we were referring to the frequency, how often they visit, and we see this growing by. We have three levels, so we see this growing level by level. So being more committed, yes, they get into the program and getting more active as part of their loyalty.
All right. Thank you.
Calle Loikkanen from Danske Bank. It sounds pretty straightforward, maybe not simple, but pretty straightforward to kind of upgrade the assortment and, and, you grow that way and increase the gross margins and, and, and focus on cost efficiency, all of that. But what are the kind of biggest risks from your point of view? What could happen that creates a situation a few years from now when that you can't really reach the margins and the growth targets? What's the biggest risk, in your opinion?
No, we are, as well as other retailers, we, we see that the, the consumption, the market situation and, and, consumption power. On the other hand, saying, when saying that, I see and we see that we have a very, strong, customer base, which is more resilient to the, the market environment currently. But that as, as a risk to be, to be mentioned, that the market circumstances.
All right. Thank you.
We could maybe then take an online question here. Maybe to Annelie. You referred to midterm in your financial targets. Is that three years or what?
We are talking 3-4 years here for midterm, and long term is about five years.
Yes. Thank you. Then we go to Lindex. You could maybe continue, Annelie, there. What is your working capital need for Lindex going forward?
The working capital need for Lindex will be on the approximately same levels going forward as it is today. We see that we will have. We, we know that we will sell in more markets, et cetera, and we will have higher accounts receivables, but on the other hand, we are also have a lower stock due to what Elisabeth also talked about, that we have lower short lead times. Yep.
Yes.
We are mitigating it in a quite efficient way.
Yes. And, how about then, how will the CapEx situation look like after the investments in the OCDC, our distribution center?
Yeah, we are looking at a normalized CapEx level for Stockmann division at approximately EUR 10 million, and for Lindex, 20-25-
Mm.
for the coming years.
Still staying a little bit in the warehouse topic, so would Stockmann benefit from the new Lindex warehouse?
I can take that one.
Mm.
I would say that Stockmann has a well-functioning DC already in Jussla, and it's in the right location. So at this point, we don't see that this is something that will happen, that we will then add the Stockmann items at the new warehouse at Lindex.
Jussla is located then in Vantaa, in the capital area in Finland, close to our department stores in the capital area. About Lindex and expansion, potential expansion, so Lindex has little or no, or no presence in Poland. Is the Polish market interesting for Lindex?
Maybe I can start.
Mm.
I think this is a market that is interesting, where we also have digital growth, and that could be a potential market for us addressing with also all our own stores going forward.
Still about Lindex and market. I'm interested in understanding which global markets Lindex finds most promising. Have you considered expansion into regions like U.S., Asia, Africa, or the Middle East, or do you find these markets as not interesting? And then a follow-up question still, what factors influence your decision-making in these potential markets?
Maybe I can start, and then I will hand over to Caroline. Today, we are having stores in 18 markets. We have 34 markets that we have our own online digital presence. And I said that here we have a promising start to improve that and improve our market shares in those markets. Looking outside Europe, at this point, I would say this is mainly for the third party and working together with franchise business. Caroline, would you like to add something?
Oh, you answered that very good.
Good.
Okay. Then we still had a question related to the strategic assessment. So are there any news related to the strategic assessment that concerns the future of the Stockmann division?
I mean, as stated earlier today, the progress, the procedure, and this is progressing according to plan, and we aim to have it finalized during 2024, and we will provide more information when appropriate.
Okay, do we have in the room more questions? Maybe one more interested on your thinking about the owning or basically selling and leasing the new distribution center. So have you come to a conclusion that you want to own it for the future as well, or would you consider leasing it and selling it and leasing it back?
I think it's good that we have the opportunity. We have not made any decision at this point, but we have the flexibility to do so if we want to in the future. Mm. Would you like to add something?
No, I have that. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
That's all.
Yeah. Maybe just clarifying, I'm thinking about the Stockmann division here, and we have presented a strategy, and I think what is really mattering here and what is the difference is that we have a very few but important topics that we are focusing on. And I think looking at the past, maybe we have trying to do too many things at the same time. And I think that is a key thing to be able to deliver upon the result that we are talking about here. That is to be really focused.
Yes. Okay, then we still have a couple of online questions. So you have communicated recently that your aim is to end the restructuring program as soon as possible. Can you elaborate on how this is going, and have there been any new troubles in the recent days?
Like stated earlier, we have three ongoing disputes, and we also had a settlement with Fenja during the latest week that was registered. We have good progress here, and we have dialogues, like I said before, with all the counterparties within this area. So, yeah, it's progressing in a good way.
Yes. Then there is a question regarding potential future investments. So do you have any ideas about any new major investments that could be coming after the warehouse investment has been finalized?
At this moment, we do not have any more major investments in that kind of category. No. No.
Yes. And, if Stockmann Group change, Stockmann Group would change its name to the Lindex Group, would the head office still be in Finland?
We have not taken any decision to move the head office.
Mm-hmm. Any questions then from the... Oh, here from the venue. Do you want to comment, JC Holding, Peek & Cloppenburg as a new owner? Any comments regarding that from the management?
I don't have anything to comment regarding that, no.
Yes. And then we have a bit lighter question to our speakers. So are you wearing, and am I wearing Stockmann and Lindex clothes? So, yes, I am wearing. How about you others?
And then Kai and I are wearing Stockmann and Ted Baker.
Yes. Yes. Okay. I think here are now the questions at the moment, what we have got. So, anything more from the audience here at the Allas Sea Pool? Great, then.
Mm-hmm.
Yes. Okay.
So, great. I would like to close today by thanking all of you for coming, and also for your time as well. I, together with our team, I have really enjoyed the opportunity to talk to you about our updated strategy for both of our divisions, as well as our clear plan to accelerate value creation, and then our new financial targets. I think during this day, I hopefully we have been able to show you how strong the Lindex business is and also its exciting potential for growth. We have also shown you the Stockmann division that has a clear plan to both grow and to reach profitability using its unique combination of strengths. Thank you!