XXXLutz and Möbelix operator posts €4 million loss as customers change their habits

Until recently, retail chains had little trouble achieving solid growth and profitability. However, last year provided several indications that times have changed, along with the behaviour of Slovak customers.

One sign of this shift is the financial performance of XLSK Nábytok, which operates the XXXLutz and Möbelix furniture chains in Slovakia. Last year, it posted a loss of nearly €4 million.

Market competition

Sconto, Asko-Nábytok, Jysk and Ikea are just a few of the multinational players operating in the Slovak furniture market and targeting essentially the same customers, whose purchasing decisions are based not only on product range and quality but also on price.

Möbelix and XXXLutz are direct competitors of these retailers. Although the two brands may appear to be rivals at first glance, they share the same owner. The XXXLutz Group was founded in neighbouring Austria in 1945.

In the decades that followed, it expanded into other European countries. On its website, the company says it is now the world’s second-largest furniture retailer. It employs approximately 27,600 people and operates in 14 European countries. To put its scale into perspective, the group recorded a turnover of €6.4 billion in 2024.

The group entered the Slovak market in 2008, opting for the Möbelix concept – a discount format offering lower prices. It did not introduce its flagship XXXLutz stores until a decade later, following the acquisition of Kika stores across Europe from the Signa Group in 2019. The deal included five stores in Slovakia, which were rebranded as XXXLutz a year later.

Operating at a loss