Valora wants to reduce rents
Kiosk operator Valora has seen its sales drop significantly during the lockdown. It now wants to negotiate rent reductions.
The lockdown caused by the corona pandemic is causing problems for the Valora Group. Sales outlets either had to be closed completely or were only operated with restricted opening hours. The Food Service division was particularly hard hit, mainly because of the particularly low customer footfall at public transport sites and in city centers, Valora said at the presentation of its half-year figures. The division's sales in Switzerland had fallen by almost 40%.
For this reason, the company has announced its intention to negotiate rent adjustments with the landlords of the store locations. For example, it said that sales slumped by 34% from March to June 2020, particularly at busy locations at transport hubs and airports. However, higher rents would have to be paid there than, for example, at locations in shopping centers and city center locations, where sales had fallen by 13%. In view of the increasing shift of work to the home office, Valora believes that this trend could continue in the long term.
The aim now, he said, was to align rents with customer footfall and sales trends by reducing minimum rents and giving greater weight to the variable, sales-related component. One of Valora's major landlords is SBB: Last year, the kiosk operator was awarded the contract to manage SBB's 262 kiosk and convenience areas throughout Switzerland. Valora says that after winning the tender, rental terms at SBB sites rose sharply. (ah)
