Europe's biggest online fashion retailer Zalando sees continued pressure on demand for the rest of the year and now expects 2023 sales to decline, the company said as it reported weaker than expected third-quarter revenue.
Zalando, a multi-brand platform that sells clothes, shoes, accessories, and beauty products, has been hurt by a pullback in online shopping after a Covid-19 pandemic-era boom, a trend that has also bruised smaller online-only retailers like ASOS and Boohoo.
An unusually warm September weighed on sales of autumn and winter clothes, Zalando said, exacerbating the impact of weak consumer sentiment. Apparel was one of the weakest segments for online retailers in Germany in the third quarter, according to ecommerce industry association BEVH. The company lowered its 2023 forecast for gross merchandise volume to between -2% and 1%, down from an outlook for the lower half of the 1% to 7% range.