Farfetch Q1 sales rise 46%

Luxury retailer Farfetch has reported a strong start to the year with Q1 revenues increasing 46% to $485m (£344.1m). It comes as it revealed Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) increased by $304.7m (£216.6m) from $610.9m (£434.2m) in the first quarter of 2020 to $915.6m (£650.8m) in the first quarter of 2021, representing year-over-year growth of 49.9%. Digital Platform GMV increased by 59% from $494.9m (£351m)to $790m (£561m) in the first quarter of 2021. Excluding the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates, it said Digital Platform GMV would have increased by approximately 54.3%. Farfetch added that the increase in GMV primarily reflects the growth in Digital Platform GMV driven by strong order growth, new consumer acquisition and an increase in Marketplace AOV from $571 (£406) to $618 (£439) resulting from a higher average selling price, foreign exchange rate movements, higher full price mix of items sold and increased number of items per order. In addition, it reported Q1 2021 profit after tax of $517m (£367m) which includes a $660m (£468m) non-cash benefit arising from lower share price impact on items held at fair value and remeasurements. José Neves, Farfetch founder, chairman and CEO hailed a “tremendous start in 2021” with stronger than expected acceleration in the business in the first quarter and higher full-year growth expectations than initially anticipated. He said: “Our brand partnerships have never been stronger, and our customer and brand building initiatives are resonating well to drive awareness of our value proposition and retention of our valuable consumers. “I am also very enthused by the positive consumer reaction to our recent launch on Tmall’s Luxury Pavilion, and the momentum building behind our Luxury New Retail vision as we see it being adopted by luxury partners around the world.” He added: “I am more confident than ever in our position to go after the significant growth opportunities we see as a digital enabler of the global luxury industry – a nearly $300 billion opportunity which we remain laser-focused on and plan to continue investing behind to deliver significant value over the long-term.” Elliot Jordan, CFO of Farfetch, concluded: “I’m extremely pleased with Farfetch’s strong first quarter where we exceeded our own expectations for GMV growth, while also achieving improved unit economics, operating leverage and adjusted EBITDA as compared to the prior year period. “In light of the continuation of this strong momentum against a more favourable consumer backdrop, we are even more optimistic about our growth expectations for the year, and the value in continuing to invest behind our long-term growth opportunities as we continue to focus on delivering our first full year of adjusted EBITDA profitability 2021.”

Farfetch Q1 sales rise 46%

José Neves, Farfetch founder, chairman and CEO hailed a ‘tremendous start in 2021’ with stronger than expected acceleration in the business in the first quarter and higher full-year growth expectations than initially anticipated

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