Online retail pain confirmed by Zalando losses

The German online fashion giant Zalando made an operating loss that will exceed the expected €28m for the first quarter of 2020 and the company admitted that its original forecast for 2020 could no longer be relied upon. It probably goes without saying that it failed to meet the 19 percent growth in sales that it had predicted. The company's announcement demonstrates it's not just brick and mortar retailers that are having difficulty navigating the dangerous business environment. Zalando said that it would have to reduce costs and put off new investments. It also announced that it would sell clothes for new and existing retailers without taking a commission and would put together €100m in cash in order to be able to guarantee paying its clients quicker than they were contractually obliged to do. Zalando will only be making a new forecast on its 2020 results when it becomes possible to predict how the coronavirus crisis will play out.


Photo: Marbus1966