This is an increase of 29.7 percent over the year before. By 2025, the company wants to reach a GMV figure of more than 30 billion euros. The fashion giant today released its fiscal year 2021 results. The German fashion platform reports GMV growth of 34.1 percent to 14.3 billion euros. Adjusted EBIT was 468.4 million euros, a margin of 4.5 percent.
Activity in 23 markets
During the past year, the platform was launched in six new markets: Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia. As a result of this expansion, the platform is now active in 23 markets. At the end of the year, Zalando had more than 48 million active customers, of which 10 million were new customers acquired in 2021. The platform received an average of 5.2 orders per active customer.
We are in a strong position to achieve GMV of more than €30 billion by 2025."
"We are very pleased with our strong results, which demonstrate that we have the right strategy to succeed regardless of market conditions. The growth in new customers and strategic progress in 2021 underscore the tremendous opportunities before us. Using our platform business model, we are in a strong position to achieve our goal of more than €30 billion in total sales by 2025," says Robert Gentz, co-CEO of Zalando.
Revenue of about 12 billion euros in 2022
In a press release, the company mentions its financial ambitions for this year. It expects to increase its GMV by 16-23%, to 16.6-17.6 billion euros. Revenue should grow by 12-19 percent, to 11.6-12.3 billion euros.
5,800 partner brands and 7,000 stores.
The platform mentions that its strong growth is driven by consumer demand and the increasing use of the platform's services by partners. There are now more than 5,800 partner brands and nearly 7,000 stores on the platform. The Zalando and Connected Retail affiliate program accounts for 30 percent of the company's GMV of fashion stores. That's a 6 percent increase over 2020.
Zalando's goal is to achieve 50 percent of apparel store GMV attributable to the affiliate program and Connected Retail. To achieve that goal, the company wants to continue to support partners. It will invest between 400 and 500 million euros, adding four fulfillment centers to its existing network by 2023.
'Zalando will add four fulfillment centers to its existing network by 2023.
David Schroeder, COO of Zalando, says: "Zalando creates benefits for both our partners and customers. Our partners have access to more than 48 million active shoppers, and our customers can easily find their favorite local and international brands. To ensure future sustainable growth, we will continue to invest in scaling and innovating our unique capabilities and infrastructure."
Sustainability efforts
Last year, Zalando also invested in its sustainability campaign. It increased its sustainability assortment to more than 140,000 items. Customers seem to have noticed an increase in this assortment, as sales of these items accounted for 21.6 percent of the company's GMV. In 2020, that share was 16 percent.