GFG NMV soars 24.1%, shows strongest growth in 2019

The active customer base of the company reached 12.4 million, growing by 15 per cent with NMV per active customer also continuing to increase, by 6.9 per cent to €134.9.

Number of orders grew by 20.8 per cent to 8.5 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 2.8 per cent delivering an improvement of 3.1 per cent year-on- year.

“We had a strong third quarter with a good step up in NMV. We have focussed on enhancing our market leading customer experience through broadening our assortment, enhancing our app functionalities and further cementing sustainability as a key pillar of our business – all through our ongoing excellent localised execution. In this way, we continue to invest across our early stage markets, strengthening our growth and path to profitability even further,” said Christoph Barchewitz and Patrick Schmidt, GFG co-chief executive officers.

GFG continues to evolve its assortment strategy with the launch of over 440 fashion & lifestyle brands in Q3 and the introduction of new categories and more exclusive brand collaborations and products. GFG also launched its first sustainable own brand, Aere, and appointed its first chief sustainability officer to ensure sustainability is integrated into every part of the business.

Operational developments further enhanced the delivery experience offered in CIS through an expanded network of pick-up points. 45 per cent of all orders shipped in Q3 were delivered via 300 own pick-up points and over 12,000 third-party pick-up points.

Innovations in app functionality have continued to deliver new levels of customer engagement and strengthened GFG’s app-first approach. Its apps were downloaded over 9 million times and generated 50 per cent of NMV in Q3, up 7 percentage points (pp) compared to the same period last year.

Gross margin for the quarter was 40.5 per cent, improving 4.3 pp on Q3 last year. The rate of growth was flattered by soft performance in CIS in Q3 2018. GFG’s Adjusted EBITDA margin was 2.8 per cent in the quarter, improving 3.1 pp year on year, driven primarily by improved gross margin.

The overall guidance provided by the GFG in the H1 management report is reconfirmed. The group forecasts NMV growth between 20-23 per cent on a constant currency basis, growing to €1.7-€1.8 billion. The group forecasts revenue to grow to above €1.3 billion, whilst continuing to make further progress towards Adjusted EBITDA break-even. GFG continues to forecast its 2019 capex investment to be around €80 million with €41 million invested to date.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (PC)