Douglas records strong sales and profit growth

European beauty retailer Douglas recorded strong growth in sales of 11.5 percent to 1.44 billion euros with like-for-like growth of 13.4 percent in the first quarter.

The good results, Douglas said in a release, were driven by both stores and ecommerce. While store sales rose 17.3 percent like-for-like, ecommerce recorded 6.1 percent like-for-like sales increase.

Commenting on the first quarter trading, Sander van der Laan, CEO of Douglas Group, said: “Against the backdrop of the volatile market environment, Douglas had an exceptionally strong Christmas quarter both in terms of sales and profits. Our omnichannel business model proved to be a differentiating factor and allowed us to attract customers and increase sales.”

The company added that the segments DACHNL and CEE accounted for the largest share of sales growth in both channels. France and Southern Europe also developed positively with the latter performing well despite store closures in Spain.

Group operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) rose by 19.7 percent to 308.1 million euros in the first quarter and adjusted EBITDA margin also improved by 1.5 percentage points to 21.4 percent. Together with lower financial expenses this led to a rise in net income of 79.3 percent to 126.7 million euros.