Zalando back in the red due to corona

German fashion webshop Zalando has had to admit a (preliminary) loss for this year’s first quarter. The company now wants to speed up its platform and support its partners more.

On the rebound

A new trading update gives more details on Zalando’s results, following a turnover warning late last month. Gross merchandise volume has been falling during the corona crisis, but has been going up again in the last few weeks.

Currently, Zalando is forecasting a 13.1 to 14.3 % growth to 1.98 to 2.0 billion euros. Turnover is expected to be somewhere between 1.52 and 1.54 billion euros, leading to an expected AEBITDA of 90 to 110 million euros.

Zalando wants to get more external partners onto its platform, leading to a special offer for Dutch and German partners last month. Companies that enrolled in the Connected Retail programme do not have to pay any fees for the time being. Dutch website Twinkle says a few dozen Dutch physical stores have already joined the programme.