Sales at Albert, the second largest grocery chain in the Czech Republic, rose to CZK 49.6bn in its current financial year. More crucially, the company clawed back a profit of CZK 3.8m. It’s not much, it’s true, but it’s a massive improvement from CZK 1.24 billion loss it recorded for its previous financial year (which Aktualne.cz reports somewhat confusingly last 24 months). In its financial report, it points to the acquisition of the Spar network of grocry chains and to a step rise in wages it offered its employees. But the company notes that even in 2017, it increased its wage expenses by CZK 300m and that it plans another CZK 500m increase in wages for its store staff. The company also modernized 70 stores during 2017. Albert operates 330 hypermarkets and supermarkets.
