MySale aims bigger in Europe

MySale Group, a well-established online fashion retailer that runs flash sales sites in Australia, New Zealand and south-east Asia, assures it is "well positioned" to take advantage of recently-made commercial partnerships with Arcadia Group and Sports Direct.

Announcing its full-year results for the year ending 30 June 2014, the company said it was ready to expand its international operations having recently secured some key relationships outside of its home markets, and therefore, to aim bigger at the European market.

MySale group to be “very dominant” in the UK

Its latest acquisition is that of a majority stake in a Danish flash sales site, the latest stage in an expansion strategy that has already seen it launch in the UK, the US, Hong Kong and South Korea this year alone. MySale has not disclosed the price of the acquisition but it's noteworthy that it comes after MySale launched websites in Britain and the US following its Aim listing in June.

The acquisition of 60 percent of invitetobuy.dk, a 150,000 member shopping club, “marks an important step in our development as a group as we continue to expand our global offering and serves as the springboard for bringing the MySale brand to the Scandinavian market. We have an established position in Asia and are growing in the US and are looking to grow our position in Europe,” said a delighted Jamie Jackson, MySale's founder and first executive.

In the same vein, Jason said his company will be “very dominant” in the UK, where it launched in July, due to its “very aggressive” pricing and the vast array of brands on its site. MySale also recently acquired and re-launched premium flash sales brand Cocosa in the UK and it is at advanced stages regarding an international unveiling of the brand.

In the full year to June 30, MySale Group reported group revenues up by 23.3 percent to 224.3 million Australian dollars. Mobile commerce accounted for 56 percent of sales, up from 51 percent a year earlier, while average annual revenue per active customer increased by 7.2 percent to 280 Australian dollars, reported Bloombrg. But while gross profit rose to 60.4 million Australian dollars, while costs took the company into the red at the bottom line with losses of 62.1 million Australian dollars from a profit of 5.8 million Australian dollars last time the company issued an earnings report.

On a positive note, the e-tailer's total membership base has increased from 8.3 to 12.5 million during the year, with the number of active customers growing 18.7 percent to 827,000. Over 25 percent of new members were acquired through the business's mobile application, added the company in a statement.

MySale shares trying to leave IPO's pricing dent behind

Shares in MySale — which runs short-term sales on various brands — plunged on listing after a misplaced decimal point listed the shares in pounds rather than pence.

The stock, listed at London alternative stock market AIM, has since recovered but remain below the intended 226 pence listing price, slipping 1.6 percent to 220 pence in the last trading.

Founder Jamie Jackson said: “I’m not sure how the fat finger hit the fat button but we are focused to build.”

Angela González Rodríguez