Online fashion sees mixed results across Europe & US in 2024

The start of 2025 saw mixed financial performances among leading global online fashion retailers for the full year 2024. While Amazon and Zalando reported strong growth in sales and profits, Showroomprivé faced a downturn, highlighting contrasting fortunes in the fashion e-commerce landscape.

Strong: Growth In Both Sales & Profits

Amazon Inc (NSDAQ: AMZN)

Seattle-based e-commerce behemoth Amazon reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results, ended December 31, 2024, featuring growth in sales and profits for the reported quarter and full fiscal.

Net sales for the fourth quarter increased 10 per cent to $187.8 billion, compared with $170 billion in Q4 FY23. Operating income increased to $21.2 billion, and net income increased to $20 billion, or $1.86 per diluted share, compared with $10.6 billion, or $1 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2023.

For FY24, net sales increased 11 per cent to $638 billion compared with $574.8 billion in 2023—North America segment sales increased 10 per cent, international segment sales increased 9 per cent, and AWS segment sales increased 19 per cent. Operating income increased to $68.6 billion compared with $36.9 billion in 2023, and net income increased to $59.2 billion, or $5.53 per diluted share, compared with $30.4 billion, or $2.90 per diluted share, in 2023.

The NASDAQ-listed company’s first-quarter 2025 guidance projected net sales to be between $151 billion and $155.5 billion, or to grow between 5 per cent and 9 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2024. The guidance anticipated an unusually large, unfavourable impact of approximately $2.1 billion, or 150 basis points, from foreign exchange rates. It is to be noted that in the first quarter of 2024, the impact from Leap Year added approximately $1.5 billion in net sales. The company’s operating income in Q1 FY25 is expected to be between $14.0 billion and $18.0 billion, compared with $15.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024.

Zalando SE (ETR: ZAL)

Germany’s Zalando’s 2025 outlook projected gross merchandise volume (GMV) and revenue to grow between 4 and 9 per cent, driven by the successful execution of Zalando’s ecosystem strategy across both growth vectors: business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (adjusted EBIT) are expected to increase to a level between €530 million (~$579 million) and €590 million ($644.42 million).

The early March 2025 announcement also reported 2024 performance, according to which GMV and revenue both remained in the upper half of the guidance at 4.5 per cent and 4.2 per cent growth, respectively.

Adjusted EBIT reached €511 ($558) million, up from €350 million a year earlier, and surpassed the updated guidance of €440–480 million. Zalando reported a return to active customer growth in 2024, with the number of active customers increasing by 4.5 per cent to an all-time high of 51.8 million.

In 2024, the company also made significant strides in onboarding new, highly relevant brands and assortments like Versace menswear, Marine Serre, On, and Fjällräven, enhancing its designer and sports offerings. In February, Zalando also became the exclusive retailer for the iconic designer brand Diane von Furstenberg in Europe.

Weak: No Growth In Sales & Profits

Showroomprivé Group (XPAR: SRP)

Showroomprivé (SRP Groupe), a group specialising in flash sales, reported results for the financial year ended December 31, 2024, as approved by the board of directors on March 13, 2025.

Both GMV and net revenues dropped from €1,004.7 million ($1,097.37 million) in 2023 to €999.2 million ($1,091.37 million), and from €677.2 million to €646.5 million, respectively. Operating expenses, as a percentage of revenue, increased 195 basis points and produced a net loss of €39.7 million compared to a net profit of €0.5 million in 2023.

The Group maintained a good level of customer satisfaction during 2024, with an NPS of 53 per cent (stable vs 2023) on Showroomprivé.

Showroomprivé is a European player in the online private sales industry, specialising in fashion, that offers a daily selection of more than 3,000 brand partners via its mobile apps or website in France and six other countries.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (WE SB)