Douglas sales boosted by e-commerce and stores in Q4 – WWD

PARIS – German high-end cosmetics retailer Douglas said on Tuesday that sales in the fourth quarter of its last fiscal year had advanced, driven by e-commerce and the reopening of physical stores.

The company’s sales for the quarter ended September 30 reached 752 million euros, up 3.4% in reported terms and 7.3% at constant scope compared to the same period of the year former.

Douglas’ online sales increased 16.7% to € 211 million. While the group’s in-store revenue fell 0.9% on a reported basis, it increased 3.7% on a comparable basis to € 537 million.

“Through our consistent digitization strategy # FORWARDBEAUTY.DigitalFirst, we were able to maintain robust e-commerce growth in the fourth quarter, even after the stores reopened, gaining new market share and outperforming the market as a whole. ”, Said Tina Müller, Douglas CEO of the group, in a statement. “After months of closures in previous quarters, stores have now rebounded well. At the same time, we have significantly increased our operating results and, consequently, our profitability as well.

Douglas operating results rose 25 percent to 29 million euros in the fourth quarter.

During its last financial year, the group’s sales reached 3.12 billion euros, down 3.5% on a reported basis and 0.2% on a like-for-like basis.

Douglas store sales were down 20.4% in reported terms and 19.2% on a like-for-like basis. The group said his physical activity had stabilized since the end of the blockages.

In the 12 months, Douglas e-commerce sales jumped 46.8% to € 1.2 billion, up almost 50% from the previous year.

“Long before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, we started transforming Douglas into a digital premium beauty platform,” said Müller. “The early change in strategy meant we were well equipped to deal with a crisis like the corona[virus] when he arrived.

“Our business model is extremely resilient. Our platform strategy for beauty, which includes e-commerce, marketplace and stores, appears to be working well, ”she continued. “We want to invest in the development of e-commerce, while strengthening our in-store activity in order to expand our leadership position and shape the future of the industry from a position of strength. “

Douglas’ platform strategy has evolved.

“We have already deployed our marketplace in five countries, increasing the share of online sales from 25% to 38%,” said Vanessa Stützle, Chief Digital Officer of the Douglas Group. “This underlines our position as the leading single shopping destination for premium beauty in Europe. “

She said Douglas had gained traction with younger consumers and the average shopping cart increased by around 4% to $ 70 in the fourth quarter. During this period, the percentage of e-commerce sales made through mobile devices increased by around five percentage points to reach 71%.

“We are particularly pleased with the number of new customers in e-commerce, which is 12% higher than last year,” said Stützle. “At peak times, we now receive up to 32,000 orders per hour from customers of all Douglas systems. “

In the last fiscal year, the retailer expanded its offering by more than 20%, so that today more than 160,000 products are available in its online store, marketplace and stores.

“Douglas believes that there is considerable growth potential in the pharmacy cosmetics market,” said the company, noting that it had successfully integrated brands such as La Roche-Posay, Vichy and CeraVe. A first pharmacy counter debuted at Douglas flagship store in Frankfurt, Germany on Zeil shopping street.

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