Otto Group revenue to shrink 2 percent

Otto Group has an expected revenue of 12 billion euros for 2022. This is a 2 percent decrease compared to the year before. In Germany, ecommerce sales fell as much as 8 percent, while international sales have increased.

The German Otto Group owns well-known brands such as About You and Bonprix. The ecommerce player shared its 2022 revenue forecast today. This is because Otto Group’s financial year begins on March 1st.

German online sales dip 8 percent

In 2022, Otto Group expects a revenue of 12 billion euros. This is a decrease of 2 percent compared to the year before. This is mostly due to the German market. In Germany, ecommerce sales dipped around 8 percent to nearly 7.5 billion euros. In contrast, international sales climbed 8 percent to roughly 4.6 billion euros.

‘January and February not taken into account’

“We are still above comparative values from pre-Covid.”

The numbers are characterized by the economic consequences of the Ukraine war, Otto writes, as the company’s financial year starts March 1st. “Therefore the strongly positive growth rates of January and February 2022 have not been taken into account,” the company website says.

Sebastian Klauke, Executive Board Member for E-commerce at Otto Group: “Despite very challenging market factors such as high procurement costs, inflation and negative consumer sentiment combined with lower shopping cart values, we are still very clearly above comparative values from the pre-COVID-19 period and have proven – particularly in the run up to Christmas – that we are crisis-tested, have done our homework and have responded well.”

‘Profit will take significant hit’

Otto mentions high inventory levels in recent months.

Still, Otto will take ‘a significant hit’, the company writes. The ecommerce player points to rising supply chain and energy costs, inflation and consumers being more cautious. Otto also talks of ‘high inventory levels’ resulting in higher costs and sales at a discount, ‘as has already been the case in recent months’.

In 2023, the group wants to further invest in digital transformation and logistics, but says it will evaluate the timeframe of these investments.