Munich, 25 November 2015. windeln.de AG, the leading online retailer in Europe specializing in products for babies and toddlers, saw significant growth again in the third quarter and has come considerably closer to its revenue and earnings target for the 2015 fiscal year. In the first nine months, windeln.de was able to increase revenue by 76 percent to EUR 118.3 million and improve the adjusted EBIT margin to -8.1 percent (prior year: -10.0 percent).

The growth in the first nine months was attributable to the higher number of active customers (+73 percent) as well as the increase in the average order value per customer (+4 percent), which reflects the continuous expansion of the product portfolio. The online shop feedo, acquired in July, contributed EUR 3.1 million to total revenue in the third quarter. Excluding this consolidation effect, windeln.de recorded an increase in revenue growth of 72 percent year-on-year after nine months. The slightly lower growth in the third quarter compared to the very strong first half-year is attributab

"With the additional option of direct delivery to China, we can offer our customers faster delivery at a more attractive overall cost," says Alexander Brand, management board member and co-founder of windeln.de AG.

The business in Europe outside of the DACH (German-speaking) region achieved clear above-average growth. In addition to the revenue contribution of feedo, growth was also attributable to strong performance in Switzerland and the initial sales generated by the Italian online shop pannolini.it launched in the third quarter. The Spanish subsidiary bebitus was first consolidated at the beginning of October.

The German Shop segment (formerly windeln.de), which represents the largest segment, achieved growth of 65 percent to EUR 97.2 million. The International Shops segment (formerly windeln.ch), which, in addition to windeln.ch, now includes feedo and pannolini.it, recorded an increase of 265 percent to EUR 8.8 million (increase of 134 percent to EUR 5.1 million excluding feedo). As of the fourth quarter, this segment will also include bebitus. The Shopping Clubs segment (formerly windelbar) grew by 114 percent to EUR 12.4 million and now includes nakiki.it, which was launched in August for the

Profitability Meets Expectations

The Group’s gross profit from sales increased to EUR 30.2 million. This corresponds to a gross margin of 25.5 percent (9M 2014: EUR 15.3 million or 22.7 percent). Despite the first time consolidation of the acquired company feedo, which still has a low share of high-margin consumer goods, the Group exceeded the forecast of approximately 25 percent for the year as a whole.

The adjusted EBIT margin1 improved to -8.1 percent from -10.0 percent in the first nine months of the prior year (improvement to -7.3 percent excluding feedo). In terms of sales costs, windeln.de continues to profit from economies of scale. At the same time, however, additional costs were incurred in the third quarter at windelbar due to the expansion of storage capacities. windeln.de is also intensifying its marketing efforts in order to increase brand awareness. The other administrative costs of 15.4 percent of revenue represent a slight decrease over the prior year as well as the second

After nine months, the German Shop segment achieved a markedly positive adjusted EBIT margin of 4.0 percent, even though it was slightly lower in the third quarter mainly due to the introduction of direct delivery and resulting revenue shifts. The International Shops segment was able to improve profitability, while the Shopping Club segment came in slightly below the level of the prior year due to the aforementioned expansion costs.

Goals to Be Reached

For all of 2015, windeln.de, including feedo and taking the additional consolidation of bebitus into account, expects a revenue increase of approximately 75 percent compared to EUR 101 million in the prior year, a gross margin of approximately 25 percent and an adjusted EBIT margin of -8 to -7 percent.