Musti's Re-Platform Ate Its Online Quarter While Stores Grew 3%

Musti Group just posted a visible example of what happens when a retailer rebuilds its e-commerce platform mid-flight: online sales grew 5.1% in Q2, with like-for-like growth of 1.3%. The culprit, per the company: "re-platforming of its e-commerce offering." Meanwhile, like-for-like store sales grew 3% in the first six months, with improved performance in all segments, according to the company.

Digital's share of total sales dropped from 23.2% in 2025 to 21.4% this year.

The evidence stack

Musti's H1 numbers make the trade visible. Total net sales rose 14.7% year-over-year to €277.1 million ($315.5M), with the December 2025 acquisition of Portuguese retailer ZU contributing €17.2 million ($19.6M) to net sales. Online sales increased by 7.3% in H1, accounting for 22.1% of total revenue. But in Q2, online like-for-like growth was 1.3%, nearly flat.

The stores delivered like-for-like growth across H1, the company reports. Norway posted 11% comparable growth over the six-month period, with results also benefiting from the NOK exchange rate and the May purchase of Petco Retail. Sweden added ten locations in H1, eight company-operated and two acquisitions, with revenue growth also supported by a stronger SEK exchange rate against the euro. Finland's revenue dipped 0.1% in Q2, with H1 growth of 1.4%, the result of comparable sales slipping 0.4%.

Store count grew from 420 locations in 2025 to 522 in Q2 2026, including veterinary clinics. Customer count rose from 1.8 million to 1.9 million, not including the Baltics or ZU.

CEO David Rönnberg called it "resilient underlying demand" and "the ongoing appeal of our network."

What the pattern predicts

If you're an omnichannel retailer planning a platform migration, the Musti numbers suggest online growth can slow during the transition. Budget for it. The stores can keep delivering while the site rebuilds.

For independent retailers watching this from the outside, the read is simpler: the physical store kept converting while Musti's digital channel slowed. Musti's gross margin improved 1 percentage point to 44.2% in H1, "mainly driven by the investments during the last year, especially the increased share of production of own brand food in the own factory," the company says.

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The thing that would prove this wrong

Musti says the platform issues are temporary and expects online growth to recover. If the next quarters show digital sales accelerating back to stronger growth, then the migration pain was worth it and the new platform unlocked the scale they paid for.

But if online growth stays weak while the stores keep delivering steady comps, the lesson holds: platform changes can carry execution risk.

Musti posted a net loss of €7.8 million ($8.9M) in H1, wider than the €4.4 million ($5M) loss in the same period last year. Rönnberg attributed the loss to "strategic investments in growth and scalability," naming digital infrastructure, warehouse upgrades, ERP rollouts, and product mix work. The company views these costs as temporary.

For the full year, Musti expects "a gradual return to its long-term growth rate of 4%," supported by a forecast increase in the number of puppies and kittens and improving consumer spending power across European markets toward 2027, citing an improving GDP outlook, wage increases and stable interest rates.

What to watch next

If you're a brand relying on Musti's e-commerce channel to scale distribution in the Nordics, the online growth you modeled isn't materializing yet. Consider building out independent store distribution or other channel plays while the platform stabilizes.

If you're a store owner who delayed a site rebuild because the quote scared you, Musti's numbers show the physical business kept delivering while the digital side rebuilt. Invest in the store experience first, the margin's there, the customer's there, and it doesn't go offline when the migration runs long.

The thing to watch: whether Musti's next-quarter online comps recover or stay flat. If they stay flat, every retailer planning a platform bet should budget for longer timelines and higher costs than the initial estimate.

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