Douglas posts strong start to new financial year | Progresiv
Germany-based beauty retailer Douglas has enjoyed a strong Q1 with record sales in the important Christmas quarter. From September to December, sales gained 6.0% to 1.3 billion euros YoY. Growth was driven by all regions and sales channels. In-store sales reached 1.0 billion euros – an increase of 2.5% compared with the same quarter last year. The ecommerce business grew 23.2% to 249 million euros in the period. 
The company said an even stronger focus on individual customer needs through personalisation, and wider digitalisation of the business were decisive factors in this respect. The other main drivers were a successful Singles Day and Black Friday campaigns. Douglas added that an intelligent pricing strategy, effective marketing and consistent costs discipline meant that = EBITDA climbed 16 million euros to 191 million euros. Free cash flow improved significantly compared with the previous year, rising 15.8% to 312 million euros. (www.kantarretailiq.com)
