zooplus AG: Sales increase to more than EUR 1.5 bn in 2019 financial year

• Sales increase by 14% year-on-year to EUR 1,524 million
• Sales growth target achieved for the 2019 financial year
• Private label sales of food and litter with above-average growth of 29%
• Number of registered new customers in 2019 increases to 3.1 million
• Sales retention rate remains at a high level of 91%

Munich, January 28, 2020 - Based on preliminary figures, zooplus AG (WKN 511170, ISIN DE0005111702, ticker symbol ZO1), Europe's leading online retailer of pet supplies, achieved sales of EUR 1,524 m in the 2019 financial year (2018: EUR 1,342 m). The year-on-year increase in sales amounted to EUR 182 m or 14% (currency-adjusted: 14%) and was thus in line with the guidance for the 2019 financial year of a sales growth of 14% to 18%. Sales development gained traction in the second half of the year. The fourth quarter 2019 delivered a new record with EUR 419 m in sales and an increase of EUR 51 m (Q4 2018: EUR 368 m), yielding a growth of 14% year-on-year. As the European market leader in the online retailing of pet supplies, zooplus continued on its growth path and managed to further expand its business significantly during the past financial year.

Total sales were primarily driven by business with existing customers, where the currency-adjusted sales retention rate remained at a high level of 91% (2018: 95%). With 22% more new customer registrations than in the prior year, the company acquired a record level of 3.1 million new registered customers in the 2019 financial year. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the company had 823 thousand new customers. The momentum in new customer acquisitions also once again underscores zooplus' appeal to customers in the pet supplies category.

The further expansion of the private label business of food and litter, which continued to perform above-average and reached a sales growth of 29%, also contributed to the increase in sales. The sales share of this high-margin product portfolio increased further to a level of 16% of food and litter sales (2018: 14%).

Sales in the particularly important food and litter segment grew 16% against the previous year. The share of total sales thus further increased and reached a level of 86% in the year 2019 (2018: 85%).

Dr. Cornelius Patt, CEO of zooplus, in his comments on the company's 2019 performance says: "We founded zooplus 20 years ago with the vision of becoming Europe's leading online provider of pet supplies. Today, with more than EUR 1.5 bn in sales, we are by far the number one in online retailing and now the second largest retailer in the overall European market. Thanks to a loyal existing customer base with a sales retention rate of over 90%, as well as a thriving new customer business with over 3 million new registrations, we achieved yet another year of double-digit sales growth in 2019. We continue to work on offering the most compelling and tailored customer proposition in the pet supplies category, and are further differentiating ourselves from our bricks-and-mortar and online competitors. At the same time, our sharper focus on direct marketing and customer loyalty has enabled us to stabilize the slight decline in our sales retention rate in the second half of 2019."

zooplus will publish its final results for the 2019 financial year, including its outlook for the 2020 financial year, when it presents its consolidated financial statements on March 25, 2020. This information will also be made available on the company's website at .

Company profile:
zooplus AG was founded in 1999 and today is Europe's leading online retailer of pet supplies measured by sales. Based on preliminary figures, sales totaled more than EUR 1.5 bn in the 2019 financial year. The company's business model has been launched successfully in roughly 30 European countries. zooplus sells products for all major pet breeds. The product range includes pet food (dry and wet food and food supplements) and accessories such as scratching posts, dog baskets, and toys in all price categories. In addition to a selection of over 8,000 products, zooplus customers benefit from a variety of interactive content and community offerings. The pet supplies market is an important market segment in the European retail landscape. Sales of pet food and accessories within the European Union amount to around EUR 26 bn. Based on the continued vigorous growth anticipated in the European e-commerce market, zooplus expects its dynamic performance to continue.
 

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