ABOUT YOU HOLDING SE 1__ABOUT YOU GROUP 2__COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT 3__CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 4__INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT 5__FURTHER INFORMATION
EUR 58.0 | 3.1x |
Average order value LTM | |
(FY 2022/2023: EUR 54.8) | |
EUR 3.2 million
Average order frequency LTM (FY 2022/2023: 3.1x)
Group adjusted EBITDA (FY 2022/2023: EUR (137.0) million)
EUR 1,935.2 million
38.7% | Group revenue (FY 2022/2023: EUR 1,904.6 million) |
Group gross margin (as % of revenue) | |
(FY 2022/2023: 37.8%) |
Note: All selected metrics on this page refer to FY 2023/2024, ended on February 29, 2024.
Annual Report FY 2023/2024
EUR 9.0 million
26.7% | Free cash flow (FY 2022/2023: EUR (261.0) million) |
Adjusted EBITDA margin TME segment | |
(FY 2022/2023: 16.1%) | 2 |
2__COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT |
ABOUT YOU AT A GLANCE1
- Note: For definitions of the key performance indicators please refer to the glossary. In the following annual report, rounding differences may occur in percentages and figures.
3__CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | 4__INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT | 5__FURTHER INFORMATION |
FY 2023/2024 | FY 2022/2023 | |||
User sessions per month (LTM in million) | 126.9 | 133.1 | ||
Mobile sessions (LTM in % of user sessions) | 89.6 | 87.1 | ||
Active customers (LTM in million) | 12.3 | 12.7 | ||
Number of orders (LTM in million) | 37.8 | 39.4 | ||
Average order frequency (LTM) | 3.1 | 3.1 | ||
Average order value (LTM in EUR incl. VAT) | 58.0 | 54.8 | ||
Average GMV per customer (LTM in EUR incl. VAT) | 177.7 | 169.6 | ||
Group results of operations | ||||
Revenue (in EUR million) | 1,935.2 | 1,904.6 | ||
Gross margin (as % of revenue) | 38.7 | 37.8 | ||
EBITDA (in EUR million) | (22.5) | (151.6) | ||
EBITDA (as % of revenue) | (1.2) | (8.0) | ||
Adjusted EBITDA (in EUR million) | 3.2 | (137.0) | ||
Adjusted EBITDA (as % of revenue) | 0.2 | (7.2) | ||
Group net assets and financial position | ||||
Equity ratio (as % of total assets) | 23.4 | 31.0 | ||
Cash flow from operating activities (in EUR million) | 47.8 | (206.5) | ||
Cash flow from investing activities (in EUR million) | (38.8) | (54.5) | ||
Cash flow from financing activities (in EUR million) | (49.9) | (30.4) | ||
Free cash flow (in EUR million) | 9.0 | (261.0) | ||
Cash and cash equivalents (in EUR million) | 163.9 | 204.9 | ||
Net working capital (in EUR million) | (16.9) | 40.7 | ||
CAPEX (capital expenditure) (in EUR million) | 38.8 | 54.5 | ||
Other key figures | ||||
Employees (as of the reporting date) | 1,233 | 1,282 | ||
Basic earnings per share (in EUR) | (0.65) | (1.3) | ||
Diluted earnings per share (in EUR) | (0.65) | (1.3) | ||
Annual Report FY 2023/2024 | 3 |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 | ABOUT YOU GROUP | 5 | |
Spotlight: 10 YEARS ABOUT YOU | 12 | ||
1.3 | Report of the Supervisory Board | 17 | |
1.4 | ABOUT YOU Share: FY 2023/2024 in Review | 23 | |
2 | COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT | 26 | |
2.1 | Background to the Group | 27 | |
2.2 | Report on Economic Position | 31 | |
2.3 | Group Results of Operation | 33 | |
2.4 | Group Non-Financial Report | 41 | |
2.5 | Risk Management | 41 | |
2.6 | Corporate Governance Statement | 48 | |
2.7 | Outlook | 53 | |
2.8 | Supplementary Management Report to the Separate | 54 | |
Financial Statements of ABOUT YOU Holding SE | |||
2.9 | Disclosures required by Takeover Law pursuant to | ||
Sections 289a (1), 315a (1) German Commercial Code | 57 | ||
(HGB) and Explanatory Report |
Annual Report FY 2023/2024
3 | CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | 65 | |
3.1 | Consolidated Income Statement | 66 | |
3.2 | Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income | 67 | |
3.3 | Consolidated Statement of Financial Position | 68 | |
3.4 | Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity | 69 | |
3.5 | Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows | 70 | |
3.6 | Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements | 71 | |
3.7 | Other Disclosures | 108 | |
3.8 | Assurance of the Legal Representatives | 117 | |
4 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT | 118 | ||
5 | FURTHER INFORMATION | 126 | |
5.1 | Glossary | 127 | |
5.2 | Financial Calendar | 129 | |
5.3 | Imprint, Contact, and Disclaimer | 129 |
4
2__COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT | 3__CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | 4__INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT | 5__FURTHER INFORMATION |
Annual Report FY 2023/2024 | 5 |
2__COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT | 3__CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | 4__INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT | 5__FURTHER INFORMATION |
ABOUT YOU Group's Management Board
1.1 LETTER FROM THE CO-CEOs
DEAR SHAREHOLDERS,
DEAR READERS,
Ten years with ABOUT YOU, and we are filled with pride as we reflect on our incredible journey over the last decade since launching on May 4, 2014. Celebrating our tenth anniversary this year, the founder-led ABOUT YOU Group has evolved beyond a mere online store, running two highly successful business lines: ABOUT YOU, one of Europe's leading online fashion stores, and SCAYLE, one of the fastest-growing software- as-a-service commerce platforms around the world. In FY 2023/2024, by the end of this decade, our focus on meeting our full-year guidance led to substantial improvements in profitability, laying the foundation for profitable growth ahead.
Ten years ago, ABOUT YOU was founded with a clear mission: to digitize the offline shopping stroll, making it all inspiring and personalized for the Gen Y&Z. Our discovery- led strategy blends fashion retail with technology and has attracted millions of customers, 12.3 million active customers in the last twelve months alone and more than 33 million unique customers since the Group was founded.
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WE STAND FINANCIALLY STRONGER AND ARE EQUIPPED TO BUILD ON THIS SOLID FOUNDATION WITH THE CONTINUED SUPPORT OF YOU, OUR PARTNERS,
AND OUR EMPLOYEES.
RESILIENCE AND ADAPTABILITY AMID MARKET CHALLENGES
Given a series of economical and geopolitical challenges, the ABOUT YOU Group has navigated through a period marked by persistent inflation, higher-for-longer interest rates, lower-than-expected online penetration and subdued consumer sentiment. As headwinds for the European online fashion industry, these conditions resulted in excessive inventory levels in anticipation of normalized demand patterns, high promotional intensity, and a downturn in sales - notably a 13% decline in Germany in 2023, our home region.
Beyond our foresight and control, we could not simply wait for market conditions to brighten. We rather countered uncertainty with adaptability. Shifting priority from growth to profitability, we turned market volatility into opportunities to position ourselves as a stronger and more profitable business. A tremendous milestone in our Group's history: Despite high market uncertainty, we reached adjusted EBITDA break-even and positive free cash flow in FY 2023/2024.
PRIORITIZING THE BOTTOM LINE TO REACH BREAK-EVEN
Throughout the year, we remained focused on meeting the full-year guidance. Since our listing in June 2021, we have continually reiterated the target to reach adjusted EBITDA break-even, and delivered on this promise. Strict cost saving measures translated into an all-time high adjusted EBITDA, with a YoY improvement of EUR 140.2 million in absolute terms. Not only do these achievements solidify our financial
position but validate that the business built over the last decade can achieve a balance between improved margins and growth after years after years of strategic investment and innovation.
In the last financial year, we have improved gross margin and reduced costs, particularly in logistics and marketing. Lower promotional intensity driven by normalizing inventory levels and a larger revenue share from SCAYLE's higher-margin business have strengthened our gross margin. Fulfillment costs benefited from the absence of onetime expansion costs, easing inflation, and improved unit economics. Underlining our commitment to financial resilience, we reduced campaign activities in the Nordics and Southern Europe, paused large-scale event formats, and shortened break-even targets for new customers to scale back marketing expenses.
SUSTAINING GROWTH THROUGH TARGETED INVESTMENTS
Without neglecting carefully selected investments, the ABOUT YOU Group has grown its revenue through the crisis and outperformed the fragmented online fashion market. Our efforts have led to a 1.6% YoY revenue growth, in line with our guidance narrowed after Q3 2023/2024, and contributed to a 63.6% revenue CAGR over the past ten years.
Our online fashion store continued to amplify brand awareness and capture market share, alongside stronger loyalty and retention of our fashion-oriented and digital- savvy customers. We offered more than 4,000 brands, had over 42 million monthly active
users, and got 126.9 million visits a month in FY 2023/2024. Particularly the monthly visits underscore the ever-growing engagement with ABOUT YOU, fueled by targeted investments in its brand, customer experi- ence, and product assortment.
ABOUT YOU's progressive initiatives included the SHOPPERY campaign giving customers in eight European markets the chance to become a millionaire. By ordering from the online fashion store, they were automatically entered into a lottery for a chance to win EUR 1 million. Additionally, the BLACK WEEKS campaign engaged more than 50 million users via social media and recorded around 2 million orders in the two- week campaign period.
We have expanded our brand appeal and unique assortment through over 40 celebrity brands with high-profile influencers and celebrities, such as model Toni Garrn and actor Jamie Lorente, as well as returning partnerships with "florence by mills" by actress Millie Bobby Brown, goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, influencer Chiara Biasi, and basketball world champion Dennis Schröder. Ranging from womenswear and menswear, to curvy and premium, we have co-created and launched more than 120 exclusive, mostly limited, and always stunning collections in FY 2023/2024.
Besides the Commerce business, we are equally proud of SCAYLE which was spun off into a separate legal entity in August 2023. With around 300 employees across Europe, the software-as-a-service enterprise shop system further expanded its portfolio of brands and retailers - such as Mister Spex, ATP Autoteile, Babymarkt.de, Perfectly Basics, and Manchester United - diversifying
Annual Report FY 2023/2024 | 7 |
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SHIFTING PRIORITY FROM GROWTH
TO PROFITABILITY, WE TURNED
MARKET VOLATILITY INTO OPPORTUNITIES TO POSITION OURSELVES AS A STRONGER
AND MORE PROFITABLE BUSINESS.
beyond fashion and the German market. SCAYLE has the unique advantage of combining profound retail expertise with a modern technological infrastructure. It showcases significant growth, multiplying the online stores powered via its software from 15 in FY 2019/2020 to more than 200 in FY 2023/2024. Clients like s.Oliver, Fielmann, and DEICHMANN have successfully gone live with online shops.
With great appreciation, we thank our more than 1,200 employees for their dedication, which have fortified the ABOUT YOU Group amid uncertainty in FY 2023/2024. Their ability to adapt and innovate, along with their shared values of diversity, acceptance, and tolerance form the basis of our Group's success.
CLEAR PRIORITIES FOR PROFITABLE GROWTH AHEAD
Advancing into FY 2024/2025, indicators suggest that global economic outlook will likely continue to be unsettled, with modest signs of recovery in European consumer sentiment. Slight market growth is expected, like the projected 2% growth of the e- commerce sector in Germany in 2024 by the German E-Commerce Association (bevh), as the market is expected to recover from low levels. The ABOUT YOU Group is focused on building on the profitability and cash generation of the last financial year, with disciplined cost control and strategic investments to accelerate revenue growth, and to further increase profitability.
For the Commerce business, we have set the following strategic priorities:
Customer Engagement: Enabled by artificial intelligence, such as our AI-based shopping assistant MAYA already launched for many ABOUT YOU app users in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in April 2024, UI/UX improvements will boost engagement through a test-and-learn strategy, further personalizing the online shopping experience.
Footprint Expansion: We seek to grow in matured markets and target growth in less penetrated countries, while selectively entering new markets.
Fashion Assortment Expansion: To grow our core fashion assortment, we will continue to leverage our own labels and celebrity brands, for example with rapper Loredana and comedian Teddy Teclebrhan, while also implementing various manufacturer-to- consumer models ("M2C") that are Europe- centric and meet the ABOUT YOU Group's high quality and sustainability standards. Furthermore, we will continue to expand into adjacent fashion and lifestyle segments.
Operating Model Extension: We intend to increase our operating model's 3P share, currently including FbAY and drop shipping, by introducing more marketplace capa- bilities. This model extension will empower brand partners to sell their assortments directly to our customers, and is scheduled to start in the course of FY 2024/2025.
As our B2B business, SCAYLE focuses on the following initiatives:
Footprint Expansion: We plan to solidify our presence throughout Europe, including BeNeLux, the United Kingdom, and the Nordics. Moreover, we are thrilled about a bold move towards global reach: SCAYLE's
expansion into North America, where we have established a local sales team and legal framework.
Vertical Diversification: Illustrating SCAYLE's universal appeal, we are tapping into diverse lifestyle categories beyond fashion, such as eyewear and sports.
Product Innovation: Innovative features to increase profitability, such as subscription, promotion, and omnichannel features, will provide SCAYLE's clients with a tool set for a rewarding and seamless shopping experience.
Your loyalty and trust, dear shareholders, have been essential to our ten-year-long journey. Celebrating ten years with ABOUT YOU, we look back with gratitude on the memories shared and promises kept, building credibility along the way. Today, we stand financially stronger and are equipped to build on this solid foundation with the continued support of you, our partners, and our employees. We look ahead, ready to seize new opportunities and to push forward into the new decade.
Hamburg, May 2, 2024
Sincerely,
TAREK MÜLLER HANNES WIESE SEBASTIAN BETZ
Management Board of
ABOUT YOU Holding SE
Annual Report FY 2023/2024 | 8 |
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CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, | CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, | CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, |
MARKETING AND BRAND | OPERATIONS AND FINANCE | TECH AND PRODUCT |
Tarek Müller has been developing digital business models for online retail for almost 20 years. He started his first business activities on the internet at the age of 13, and by 15, he had registered his first online stores. He has built numerous e-commerce models in different industries and, since 2007, has also advised clients with his digital agencies on the conception and implementation of new business models. This included the Otto Group, which made him one of the Co-Founders of ABOUT YOU and Co- CEO for Marketing and Brand in 2014.
With a degree in Business Management, Hannes Wiese first joined the strategy consultancy Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, where he worked as a senior consultant. In 2011, he moved to the corporate side of the Otto Group as a senior project manager and, within less than two years, he was head of the Group's strategy department. From 2013, he was involved in the project to develop the e-commerce business model that became ABOUT YOU. As Co-Founder and Co-CEO, he has been responsible for Operations and Finance since 2014.
Sebastian Betz has been an expert in complex web applications and strategically advanced software projects since he learned to code at the age of 14. When he was 16 years old, he started his first company for software development and strategy. Having completed projects for national and international corporate clients, he became a multiple founder of technology and software-as-a- service businesses. In 2014, he co-founded ABOUT YOU and has been responsible for Tech and Product as Co-CEO since then.
Annual Report FY 2023/2024 | 9 |
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1.2 ABOUT YOU GROUP
1 Brands available in online fashion store
as of February 29, 2024, excl. Second Love
- Gartner Market Statistics (2023) Market Share Analysis Digital Commerce Worldwide 2022
Since its foundation in May 2014, ABOUT YOU - consisting of ABOUT YOU Holding SE ("ABOUT YOU" or "Company") and its fully consolidated subsidiaries (together with ABOUT YOU referred to as "ABOUT YOU Group" or "Group") - has become one of the fastest-growing online fashion stores in Europe. The ABOUT YOU Group aims to digitize the classic shopping stroll for the young and fashion-conscious Gen Y&Z and creates a particularly inspiring and personalized shopping experience on the smartphone by combining fashion and technology. With the concept of discovery shopping, ABOUT YOU supports customers in expressing themselves individually through fashion. For this purpose, the Company offers creative content and exclusive collections based on its network of influencers and its own products. More than 42 million active users per month can discover more than 700,000 items from over 4,000 brands1 via the aboutyou.com website and the award-winning app. The hybrid model of own inventory ("1P") and brand partners' inventory ("3P") not only increases customer satisfaction, but also the product range by providing access to an extended assortment in the 3P model.
Starting from the core markets Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the international expansion of the ABOUT YOU Group accelerated. Currently, ABOUT YOU is active in all key markets in Continental Europe and in total ships to around 100 countries worldwide with the help of ABOUT YOU Global Shipping.
As part of its B2B business, ABOUT YOU offers its own technology as a cloud-basedsoftware-as-a-service ("SaaS") solution to customers through its subsidiary SCAYLE GmbH. SCAYLE is one of the fastest-growingsoftware-as-a-service commerce platforms around the world.2 It provides the technical backbone for more than 200 online stores and was specifically designed for B2C use cases with a strong focus on fashion, lifestyle, and sports sectors.
SEGMENTS
ABOUT YOU DACH
The ABOUT YOU Group's home region is Ger- many. Together with the countries Austria and Switzerland, it constitutes the reportable core market segment ABOUT YOU DACH within the Commerce business. Headquartered in Hamburg, the online fashion store was launched in the DACH region in May 2014. Since then, it has rapidly grown to a robust business that generates revenue exceeding EUR 900 million annually. In addition, the segment has been profitable at an adjusted EBITDA level since FY 2019/2020.
ABOUT YOU ROE (REST OF EUROPE)
The ABOUT YOU Group reports its Commerce business outside its home region separately in the ABOUT YOU Rest of Europe segment ("RoE"). First markets entered outside the DACH region were Belgium and the Netherlands in 2017. This was followed by market entries in the CEE region, the Nordics and Southern European markets. As
Annual Report FY 2023/2024 | 10 |
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ABOUT YOU Holding SE published this content on 07 May 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 09 May 2024 15:55:08 UTC.
