RAJA Group reports 2022 revenues of €1,720 million, up 43% from 2021

Against a backdrop of economic slowdown and inflation, RAJA Group achieved a 43% increase in sales in 2022 thanks to the acquisition of Viking and organic growth of 9.2%. The Group has thus advanced its strategy to become a European multi-specialist B2B distributor.

RAJA Group reported sales of €1,720 million in 2022, up 43% compared to 2021, reflecting the integration of Viking, an online distributor of office supplies and equipment, which the Group acquired from Office Depot Europe in the fourth quarter of 2021, and organic growth of 9.2%.

Viking’s operating profit for 2022 was €95 million , compared to €103 million in 2021, which includes the expected negative operating result of Viking, the recovery of which started in 2022. On a comparable basis (excluding Viking), RAJA’s Group EBITDA operating profit was €101 million, almost the same level as in 2021.

“The RAJA Group has again achieved almost 10% organic growth. This is a solid performance considering the economic slowdown, supply issues and shortages of some raw materials. It confirms the importance of our diversification strategy. We have become a major player in the European office supplies and equipment market, while maintaining our position as Europe’s largest packaging distributor. Thanks to good cost control, we have maintained our operating result at around the same level as in 2021, while moderating price increases to remain competitive.

Above all, we made progress on our strategic project “RAJA Market”, which will make us a comprehensive partner for our customers. By strengthening the commercial and logistical synergies between our companies, customers will have access to a complete range of products across Europe,” said Danièle Kapel-Marcovici, President and CEO of RAJA Group.

Balanced operations

The RAJA Group has benefited from the growth of its core businesses, i.e. the distribution of packaging materials and equipment – mainly in the industrial, food, retail and online sectors – and the distribution of office supplies and furniture. In addition, sales of material handling and storage equipment recorded double-digit growth. The distribution of cleaning and hygiene supplies and personal protective equipment remained at a good level, despite the declining demand for stainless steel products.

Viking returns to profitable growth

Following the acquisition of Viking in 2021, which followed the acquisition of JPG, Mondoffice and Kalamazoo in 2019, the RAJA Group has become a major player in the European online distribution market for office supplies and furniture. In 2022, Viking recorded – for the first time in a decade – a slight increase in revenue and sales margin.

A new executive team has been appointed to lead Viking. Christa Furter has been appointed CEO, reporting to Alain Josse, a member of the RAJA Group Executive Committee. Simon Allan-Brooks has been appointed head of Viking UK and Ireland.

The team’s priority is to consolidate the growth renewed in 2022, particularly through a new sales and marketing strategy. Viking has created a new sales organisation for its key customers, relaunched its core catalogue in 7 countries and established a UK customer service department. Two distribution centres in the UK and Germany improved stock availability.

Acceleration of the strategic project “RAJA Market”

In 2022, the RAJA Group accelerated its RAJA Market project to become a distributor offering all the equipment and consumables that companies need for their offices, warehouses, factories or shops.

This project consists of expanding and deploying existing product lines across all Group companies by strengthening the sharing of IT, logistics and digital resources. To facilitate these synergies, the RAJA Group set up a new marketing and technology department at the end of 2022, with Nathalie Chapusot, a member of the Executive Committee, in charge.

The RAJA Group continues to digitalize its business. In 2022, online sales accounted for 65% of its revenues, compared to 47% in 2021. Three quarters of RAJA Group’s customers placed orders online, either via one of its 38 websites, by email, online chat or through an e-procurement solution. At the same time, the company continued to invest in improving the customer experience across all channels. Thus, in November 2022, RAJA France, the Group’s parent company, was awarded the Customer Service of the Year 2023 award in the category of business supplies and equipment.

At the same time, the RAJA Group continued to develop its distribution centres. In 2022, RAJA Belgium expanded its Tongeren site by 16,000 m², bringing its area to 65,000 m². RAJA France set up an automated pallet storage system at its Paris Nord 2 distribution centre to increase product availability throughout the country.

A more environmentally friendly offer

The RAJA Group continues to develop alternatives to plastic packaging. Recent examples include 100% paper bubble mailers, recycled textile cavity fillers and thermal insulation paper. The range of recycled and recyclable plastic packaging is also expanding.

The Group is striving to reduce the environmental impact of its operations by progressively decarbonising its fleet and implementing an energy efficiency plan across all its businesses with the aim of reducing annual consumption by 10%.

The new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development department is tasked with managing the Group’s CSR strategy across its 26 subsidiaries. It will focus on harmonising the measurement and reduction of CO2 emissions and assessing the CSR approaches of the subsidiaries and their main suppliers.

Outlook for 2023

The RAJA Group expects continued revenue growth in all its markets in 2023, despite the economic slowdown.

Its priorities are to improve operating profit, return Viking to profitable growth and to implement the RAJA Market project by strengthening synergies between Group companies. The RAJA Group remains open to acquisitions.