Zalando reports profit growth

The online fashion retailer Zalando was able to significantly increase its profit due to the coronavirus lockdowns. The company is even raising its long-term growth target.

Zalando grew faster than originally planned last year. The company was able to increase its gross merchandise volume (GMV) by 30.4 percent to 10.7 billion euros in the 2020 financial year. According to the Group's estimates, this is primarily due to an extraordinary increase in new customers and the strong development of the Connected Retail partner program. This program allows brick-and-mortar stores to sell their goods via the company's platform. An offer that many retailers have apparently taken up due to the coronavirus lockdowns. According to Zalando, the partner program accounted for 24% of GMV in the Zalando store in the fourth quarter of 2020.

In the 2020 financial year, Zalando was thus able to record sales growth of 23.1% to 8.0 billion euros. In the same period, the company generated an EBIT of 420.8 million euros. In view of the latest figures, Zalando expects to continue to grow profitably and anticipates an adjusted EBIT of 350 to 425 million euros for the 2021 financial year. The company also plans to invest up to 400 million euros in logistics and technology.