- Fourth Quarter and Full Year Development
Following a strong revenue recovery in the third quarter, GrandVision entered the fourth quarter with good momentum. The impact of the COVID-19 second wave subsequently built up through the quarter and slowed our progress resulting in 4Q revenue growth of 1.1% at constant exchange rates. Organic and comparable revenue growth for the quarter were 0.7% and 0.8% respectively.

In the fourth quarter, we continued the strong EBITA momentum from the previous months. However, the increased restrictions in more and more countries due to the second wave in November and December resulted in a deceleration in the EBITA growth compared with the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter profit growth exceeded revenue growth.

Revenue at constant exchange rates declined by 12.2% for the full year with organic and comparable decreases of 13.6% and 14.1% respectively, driven by the COVID-19 enforced temporary store closures in the first half, as well as an overall reduction in footfall through the year. Total e-commerce sales grew 85%, while e-commerce sales generated by our retail brands more than doubled compared to the prior year. Acquisitions made in 2019, including Optica2000 in Spain and McOptic in Switzerland, continued to have a positive impact this year and added 1.4% to revenue growth.

For the full year 2020, GrandVision is expecting an adjusted EBITA margin of approximately 7.5%.

GrandVision reports comparable revenue
growth of 0.8% in 4Q20
Schiphol, the Netherlands – 22 January 2021. GrandVision NV (EURONEXT: GVNV) publishes its preliminary and
unaudited 4Q and FY20 revenue and comparable growth update.
% FY20 FY19 4Q20 4Q19
Revenue growth -13.8% 8.6% -1.7% 11.2%
Revenue growth at constant exchange rates -12.2% 8.8% 1.1% 10.7%
Organic growth -13.6% 5.2% 0.7% 6.0%
- Comparable Growth -14.1% 4.1% 0.8% 4.6%
Growth from acquisitions 1.4% 3.6% 0.4% 4.6%
Fourth Quarter and Full Year Development
Following a strong revenue recovery in the third quarter, GrandVision entered the fourth quarter with good
momentum. The impact of the COVID-19 second wave subsequently built up through the quarter and slowed our
progress resulting in 4Q revenue growth of 1.1% at constant exchange rates. Organic and comparable revenue growth
for the quarter were 0.7% and 0.8% respectively.
In the fourth quarter, we continued the strong EBITA momentum from the previous months. However, the increased
restrictions in more and more countries due to the second wave in November and December resulted in a deceleration
in the EBITA growth compared with the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter profit growth exceeded revenue growth.
Revenue at constant exchange rates declined by 12.2% for the full year with organic and comparable decreases of
13.6% and 14.1% respectively, driven by the COVID-19 enforced temporary store closures in the first half, as well as an
overall reduction in footfall through the year. Total e-commerce sales grew 85%, while e-commerce sales generated by
our retail brands more than doubled compared to the prior year. Acquisitions made in 2019, including Optica2000 in
Spain and McOptic in Switzerland, continued to have a positive impact this year and added 1.4% to revenue growth.
For the full year 2020, GrandVision is expecting an adjusted EBITA margin of approximately 7.5%.
Operating Environment
Although the positive operating trend from the third quarter continued into October, GrandVision experienced an
increasingly challenging environment from the second wave of COVID-19, as governments started to re-introduce
stricter measures to contain the spread of the virus. At year-end, 98.5% of the store network remained open as optical
retail has qualified as 'essential retail' in most markets in which GrandVision operates. While the general restrictions
on retail and the varying levels of lockdown had a negative impact on traffic, our conversion strongly increased. This
was driven by visits from need-driven shoppers with a high purchase intent and aided by our proprietary online
appointment booking tool and safety protocols in store.
The adherence to financial discipline across the Company has remained a core focus throughout the year, and we
were well prepared to face the effects of the enhanced government measures towards the end of the year. We have
also been aided by support from various government schemes in countries such as the UK and Italy, amongst others.
In the second half of the year, we continued to invest in key initiatives, enhance customer safety and further drive omnichannel capabilities.
Given the rising short-term uncertainty following an increase in restrictive measures across several key markets in the
beginning of this year, GrandVision will not be providing an outlook for 2021 at this stage.

Segment Performance
The G4 segment comparable revenue grew by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, while it declined by 11.6% for the full year,
with France and the UK being the most affected countries in this segment. However, the negative impact was partially
mitigated by a strong increase in the total digital influenced store sales (DISS) throughout the year, which also
supported a significant improvement in the conversion ratio. Furthermore, the positive category mix with an increase
in the multifocal category share, largely in France, also contributed to the underlying good performance of the
segment.
In the fourth quarter, Germany and Benelux saw positive single-digit comparable growth, with continuing momentum
in October and a strong performance in December. The UK reported a strong double digit comparable growth,
continuing the trend in the quarter and benefits from weaker comparables with the prior year. This performance
reflects solid commercial execution, as well as an increase in the average selling price driven by higher value optical
products.
The Other Europe segment reported a comparable revenue decline for the fourth quarter of 4.1% and 15.9% for the
full year 2020, with Italy being one of the hardest hit markets in both the full year and the fourth quarter. However,
online sales grew strongly and particularly in Northern Europe and contributed to the revenue increase due to the
successful implementation of subscription models in both the optical and contact lenses categories. Additionally,
Optica2000 in Spain and McOptic in Switzerland were successfully integrated into GrandVision.
The Americas & Asia segment reported a comparable revenue decline of 1.2% in 4Q20 and 20.6% in FY20, with Latin
America and the US markets being amongst the most impacted globally. Turkey remained more resilient, partly
supported by a doubling of e-commerce sales compared to the prior year. Latin America also grew its online business
significantly, improving the category mix with 20% of total online sales being in the optical category.
Management Comments
Stephan Borchert, GrandVision's CEO, commented: "2020 has been a year characterized by the unprecedented
challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak. The resilience, engagement and relentless focus of all our employees has been
a defining element for us and I thank them, as well as our many business partners, for their efforts in enabling us to
keep the operations running where possible, and to serve the critical needs of our customers in a safe and sustainable
manner during these difficult times.
Our revenue performance varied significantly through the months after the outbreak, with a strong recovery in the
third quarter as restrictions were lifted. Towards the end of the year, the impact of the second wave resulted in lower
retail traffic again and a slowdown of the recovery. We expect these disruptions to continue into at least the first
quarter of 2021.
The COVID-19 impact on profitability has been partially offset by strong commercial execution, as well as short term
government support in some countries. I am proud that we achieved continued revenue and EBITA growth in the
quarter.
We have continued our momentum in our digital sales channels, as we have further invested in our omnichannel
capabilities to adapt to the evolving customer behavior. Over 30 of our retail brands across the Group are using our
proprietary online appointment booking platform, which has been a main driver for the increase in our digitally
influenced store sales. We have also seen good progress in the optical category e-commerce and subscription sales.
During 2020, we continue to invest in our in-store customer experience through an upgraded store model with new
omnichannel customer journey elements, and the pilot stores have delivered promising results so far. Subsequently,
we have implemented this store concept in six countries by the end of 2020 and will accelerate the roll-out in the
coming year. With pride, we have recorded another increase in our group-wide net promoter score (NPS) from 65 in
2019 to 70 this year and have received multiple consumer awards across the Group over the course of 2020.
The resilience of our business paired with continued cash discipline resulted in a strong financial position at year end,
with a preliminary net debt of EUR 539M, from an opening position of EUR 753M at the beginning of the year.

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tijd 09.09
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