Last year, Dutch e-tailer Coolblue raised its turnover by 18 % to a record-high 2.3 billion euros. The company now aims to reach the one billion euro mark in Germany alone by 2025. It also puts forward investments in the Belgian French-speaking market and the Dutch sustainable energy market.
Not all smiles
Coolblue reached the milestone of two billion euros in turnover for the first time – falling just short in 2020 at 1.99 billion – and managed to reach a few more: twentieth store, 2.5 million customer visits, one million deliveries by bike… Other indicators, however, were lagging behind: the adjusted EBITDA went down from 114 to 91.5 million euros due to some significant investments and a staff shortage in its Tilburg hub and the Net Promoter Score – Coolblue’s USP – just dipped a little from 68 to 67.
Another disappointing indicator was the very shallow growth in Belgium, with turnover only climbing from 571 to 580 million euros despite store openings in Kuurne and Antwerp. Not that that is stopping founder Pieter Zwart: 2022 too will see at least one more Belgian store open. Moreover, the company will open a depot in Nivelles to boost its growth in the Belgian francophone market. This seventh Belgian store and third depot will create at least a hundred new jobs in Belgium, Zwart promises.
One billion in Germany
The Dutch company has not yet released separate figures for its German activities, which only started in 2020 and were expanded with a first physical store late last year. However, it has stated that this third market has to grow to at least one billion in annual turnover by 2025. To do so, Coolblue will open a second German store in Essen in the next few months.
Large investments in the Netherlands saw three new stores (Almere, Nijmegen and Rotterdam), while its warehouse in Tilburg was made more efficient and more sustainable. To build on this, Coolblue will add at least two Dutch stores (Den Bosch and Groningen) in 2022, while it will also expand its delivery system for cargo bikes and reduce its carbon emissions through a new packaging installation.
Moreover, Coolblue also wants to invest more in the Dutch energy market, raising its number of customers from the current 64,000 to 100,000 before the end of the year. Coolblue Energy generates its own electricity through over 32,000 solar panels and through wind turbines.
