Half new in ten years

In 2014, we set a goal for the transformation of Axel Johnson. The goal formulation 10/50 means that in ten years, half of what we do will be things we do not do today.

If the 10/50 movement in 2020 was primarily driven by e-commerce growth, then in 2021 acquisitions in our operations were the single most important driver. Seven years into the first ten year period, we have reached 41 percents renewal and are well on track to achieve our 10/50 goal.

OUR VIEW OF TRANSFORMATION IS THREEFOLD:

• Transformation takes place every day, in our operations and in decisions we make when we choose to do something different and better. This is the very foundation.

• The second element is the business development in and around the companies, such as when we introduce new brands and product categories or enter new markets. This is where organic growth in our companies is created.

• The third element is the acquisition of new businesses, which can be done in the companies or directly under Axel Johnson.

In 2021, product development continued within Axfood’s own branded products, such as Garant and the baby food brand Minstingen. KICKS also continued its investment in its own brands such as BeautyAct by KICKS. Growth in e-commerce continued in many places, albeit at a more modest pace than in 2020.

But from a 10/50 perspective, a number of large transformative deals particularly marked 2021. The two largest were Axfood’s acquisition of Bergendahls Food, and Dustin’s acquisition of Dutch Centralpoint. In addition, we continued to grow in solar energy, health, food of the future and industrial automation (read more on page 23).

That we are well on our way to achieving the goal for the first ten-year period is of course positive, but it does not really change our ambitions. The 10/50 target has no end point. On the contrary: Every new year is the starting point for a new 10/50 period, and we want to reach the goal again, again and again.