Answear com S A : .com with 55% EBITDA growth in H1 2023

Answear.com, a leading e-commerce provider of fashion, home & lifestyle and outdoor products in the CEE region, summarizes the first half of 2023. The first half of the year saw strong revenue growth and high profitability for the Company despite the challenging market environment. Revenues rose to PLN 556 million in H1, up 48 percent year-on-year, EBITDA increased 55 percent year-on-year. to PLN 31 million, while net profit increased by 282 percent y-o-y and reached PLN 15 million.

- We have had a very successful first half of the year, with a good first quarter followed by a successful second quarter. We are pleased to report strong increases in both sales and profitability. This confirms that Answear is a strong brand that continues to grow despite the challenging market environment," comments Krzysztof Bajołek, CEO of Answear.com.

In the first half of this year. Answear.com consistently pursued its strategy of improving its offer and increasing the share of premium brands in sales. The results achieved by the Company also reflect the effects of its ongoing geographic expansion, with new markets accounting for nearly 10% of sales in the 6 months of 2023. The Company rebuilt its position in the Ukrainian market, where it achieved sales of PLN 156 million in the first half of this year.

- We are satisfied with the margins achieved in the first half of this year, as the margin on sales reached 41.9%, an improvement of 0.7 percentage points compared to last year, despite the decrease in the share of sales based on commissions and the depreciation of the hryvnia," adds Jacek Dziaduś, Vice President of the Management Board for Finance at Answear.com.

The acquisition of ZCP Fashion Trends Group, which included the PRM and Sneakerstudio brands, which lasted through the first months of the year, turned into the first intensive integration and operational activities in Q2, which were successfully completed. These included relocating inventory, launching new domains, starting cross-selling activities, and acquiring new brands. With the acquisition, Answear.com will enter the new attractive luxury sneaker&streetwear segment, and reach a new group of customers, particularly Generation Z.

- We are aware that the market environment for the fashion industry is becoming increasingly challenging. We have already seen the first signs of a slowdown and weakening consumer demand since mid-June. In addition, the prolonged summer and the high temperatures observed in September will have an impact on the third quarter results. This means that it may be a big challenge to achieve as good results in the second half of the year as in the first," concludes Krzysztof Bajołek, CEO of Answear.com.