The Czech cosmetics retailer Notino is headed for a record year of sales of around CZK billion. If that’s achieved, it will mark a 50 percent increase in the company’s sales from 2019. The growth has forced Notino to increase its employee count from 800 at the beginning of the year to more than 2,000, the biggest jump since the company was founded in 2004. The company now operates in 24 countries including a network of stores. “We were already growing by 30 percent annually before Covid-19, but this speeded up during the pandemic,” said director Zybnek Kocian. He told SeznamZpravy that he expects Notino to achieve a profit of around CZK 200 million for 2020. As a result of the pandemic, Notino realized it couldn’t continue to rely on its single distribution center in Brno for its entire European network. “During Covid, we realized that the borders that were never a problem in the EU before became a problem,” said Kocian. “Goods were waiting at the border so customers in foreign countries weren’t receiving their packages as quickly as before. Additionally, we knew that if the Czech government closed down the economy entirely, we wouldn’t be able to produce any turnover or send any orders.” Notino’s Romanian distribution center employs 100 people and cost it CZK 40 million.
