Disappointing end-of-year for Douglas

Last year ended with a disappointment for German perfumery chain Douglas: although sales grew in line with expectations in the crucial first quarter of the chain’s 2024/2025 fiscal year, profitability lagged behind.

Slow december

The company’s revenue increased by 5.8 % to 1.65 billion euros, with nearly equal growth in physical stores (+ 5.7 %) and ecommerce (+ 6.2 %). Comparable store sales rose by 5.3 %, which would have been a 6.5 % rise excluding the divested online pharmacy Disapo. Between October and December, Douglas expanded its store network with twenty new locations and renovated thirty-four stores.

Despite this growth, the chain’s AEBITDA stayed 5 % below consensus at 354 million euros and the margin decreased from 22.4 % to 21.5 %. Just like with quite a few other retailers, last year’s late date for Black Friday resulted in significant revenue – but also substantial price pressure.

The new year started slowly as well for the Germans: sales momentum declined in December, and this slowdown continued into the first weeks of the new year as store sales in Germany and France were lower than expected. For the entire fiscal year, Douglas now expects its AEBITDA to stay at the lower end of the previously indicated range of 855 to 885 million euros, while its revenue forecast remains at 4.7 to 4.8 billion euros.