Farfetch Sales Jump 90% as Online Picks Up Where Stores Left Off

(Bloomberg) -- Farfetch Ltd. said sales surged 90% as customers on lockdown increasingly shopped for high-end clothes and accessories online.

Revenue was $331 million, the London-based company said in a statement on Thursday. Farfetch had reported preliminary results last month, suspending its full-year guidance and warning of a slowdown in growth in its major markets in Europe and North America.

Key Insights

• While the lockdowns will help Farfetch for now, driving more customers to shop online, they may be more problematic long term.
• Many of the brands, boutiques and department stores that serve as the site’s luxury sellers are temporarily offline since they are unable to fulfill orders.
• But the Covid-19 pandemic hasn’t had a significant impact on gross merchandise volume, the company said, because 85% of the products in Farfetch’s main catalog were available from multiple sellers.
• After encouraging signs in China region, where there was a “meaningful acceleration” in the last two months of the quarter, the company saw a slowdown in gross merchandise volume in the latter part of the quarter.
• Farfetch was helped by a bet on high-end casual wear last year. In 2018, Farfetch announced the acquisition of Stadium Goods, a marketplace for sneakers, and in August, it agreed to buy New Guards Group, which owns licenses for the Off-White label.

Share Reaction

• The company’s shares, which are listed in New York, fell 5.6% in extended trading. They have gained about 53% so far this year, recovering from a 42% plunge in 2019.

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