The consolidated unaudited profit of listed Estonian retailer Tallinna Kaubamaja Grupp for the first half of 2020 dropped 34.1% on year to €4.1mn, while revenue inched up 0.5% to €346.mn. Pretax profit amounted to €9.9mn, marking a reduction of 21.7% on year. Tartu Kaubamaja department store, the Viimsi Keskus shopping mall, and the historic Kaubamaja building in central Tallinn were also closed and are all part of the group. Consolidated unaudited sales revenue for the second quarter of the year totalled €171mn, being smaller by 5.8% than the sales revenue posted for the same period in 2019.

Kaubamaja said that the crisis months brought on by the spread of the new coronavirus left a deep mark on the economic results of the group in the first six months of the year. Closure of stores and movement restrictions caused the popularity of the group's e-stores to increase explosively, but still, the sales revenue in the segments in which business operations were limited was significantly lower than the sales revenue in 2019.

In order to limit the spread of the virus, the government of the Republic of Estonia declared an emergency situation on March 12. On March 25, an additional order was issued to close all shopping malls from March 27. As a result, all stores of the group's footwear trade segment, the industrial goods departments of the Kaubamaja segment, and I.L.U. shops were closed for visitors from that date.

Kaubamaja said that the emergency situation at the beginning of the spring season, which is very important for fashion goods retail, lowered the sales margin on fashion goods. In May, when shopping centres were reopened, recovery took longer for the Tallinn and Tartu Kaubamaja department stores located in city centres compared with the malls situated on the outskirts, since offices in the city centre were mostly closed and tourists were not allowed into the city.