Online fashion platform Zalando increased its sales in the second quarter by 3.4 percent compared to the same period last year to 2.6 billion euros. It also improved its profitability again. The company thus confirmed its expectations for the entire financial year.
Earlier this year, Zalando reported that its revenue fell by 0.6 percent in the first quarter. At that time, its GMV rose to 3.3 billion euros and its EBIT rose to 28.3 million euros. It was still operating at a loss of 8.9 million euros.
Margin 6.5%
Compared to the second quarter of 2023, Zalando was able to increase its GMV by 2.8 percent to 3.8 billion euros. Its adjusted EBIT rose to 171.6 million euros, an increase of 0.8 percentage points. This represents a margin of 6.5 percent of the company’s sales.
Active customers up 300,000 from Q1, but still down from a year ago
According to the company, the number of its active customers has increased by 300 thousand since the end of the first quarter. It now has 49.8 million active customers. That’s down from a year ago, when the platform had 50.5 million active customers. The number of orders increased slightly from 63.2 million to 63.4 million over the year. The average basket size also increased, from 58.1 euros to 60.8 euros.
Growth drivers
Zalando believes its sales and GMV growth is driven by the expansion of its lifestyle offering with growth in sports, designer and beauty. It has also invested in AI-based inspiration tools.
The platform has also increased its B2B services. ZEOS expanded into Switzerland in the second quarter. The company’s B2B sales rose by 10 percent to 233.8 million euros.
Plans for the rest of the year
Zalando announced earlier this year that it expects both GMV and revenue to grow between 0 and 5 percent compared to 2023. It expects adjusted EBIT to be between 380 million euros and 450 million euros.
Zalando wants to use social commerce to provide shoppers with a more personalized experience
To achieve this, it wants to develop more generative AI solutions and add a new technology site in China. It wants to combine local expertise in social commerce to provide European shoppers with a more personalized experience.