About You goes on an austerity course

The online fashion retailer is missing its revenue targets and is therefore cutting budgets.

Hamburg-based online fashion retailer About You is setting stricter return targets for marketing spending in the future and cutting costs for advertising content and media. That's according to an annual report released Tuesday. It also plans to hire fewer people in non-technical areas and reduce logistics costs. The company, which has been listed on the SDAX since 2021, explained the austerity measures as a result of "ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty."

On the stock market, the About-You share price fell by 70 percent over the course of the year. Founder and co-CEO Tarek Müller bought company shares worth more than one million euros. Despite lowered annual forecasts, he is optimistic about his company. "We also see the current environment as an opportunity for the entire fashion e-commerce industry," he says. "The focus now is on higher profitability rather than short-term growth; we expect a phase of market consolidation."

Despite the period of weakness, the company continues to grow. In the second quarter, the mail-order company, which was founded as an Otto subsidiary in 2014, reported growth of 8.9 percent to 430.6 million euros. About You says it also gained 26.8 percent more active customers. Their number now stands at 12.3 million, according to the press release.