// Zalando will focus on improving profitability this year after a profit slump and dampened sales last year
// But the online fashion retailer said its loyalty program more than doubled its membership to over 2 million compared to the year prior
Europe’s largest online fashion retailer Zalando has seen annual revenues slip by 0.1% to £9.18 billion, missing analysts estimates of £9.20 billion.
To ensure profitable growth in 2023 and beyond, the retailer said it will continue to work on improving its margin, simplifying operations and taking advantage of growth opportunities.
Zalando said gross merchandise value is expected to grow by between 1% and 7% this year, although revenue is expected to trail this within a range of -1% to 4% compared with the prior year.
It expects adjusted EBIT to come in at between €280 million and €350 million in 2023.
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Despite the fall in sales, the business said it has seen its number of active customers grow by 6% to more than 51 million last year despite the “challenges of 2022”.
The online group said its Plus loyalty scheme more than doubled its membership to over two million compared with a year earlier.
Co-chief executive Robert Gentz said: “The fact that we were able to continue to grow our customer base in the current economic environment shows that our core strategy is working.
“We want our customers to love Zalando and that’s why we are deepening our relationships with them. Understanding their needs and likes is crucial. Then they’ll keep coming back to us and stay longer with us.”
Zalando chief financial officer Sandra Dembeck added: “The challenges of 2022 demanded us to be laser-focused on profitable growth and we acted quickly and decisively with measures that improved margins such as the introduction of minimum order values.
“Our healthy balance sheet allows us to continue investing in our strategic priorities whether that’s driving customer excitement around relevant brands and assortment or helping partners to drive their direct-to-consumer business across a variety of channels.”
Gentz added: “Our long-term ambition remains unchanged. We remain confident that we will return to double-digit GMV growth in the mid-term, by further executing on our vision and strategy, and eventually serve 10% of the €450 billion European fashion market.”
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