Mytheresa’s sales grew 7.6 per cent to €201.7 million in the first quarter of 2025, the company said Tuesday, in line with expectations.
“Our business model and economic model deliver strong results despite ongoing macro headwinds,” CEO Michael Kliger said on a call with investors. “We have solidified our leading position in a clearly consolidating sector and displayed our unique characteristic of profitable growth in the sector.”
Profitability significantly improved this quarter thanks to a focus on full-price sales. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 1.4 per cent compared to -0.6 per cent in the prior year period, while gross margin increased to 43.9 per cent compared to a previous 42.4 per cent. Inventory management has improved, with inventory down 3.6 per cent year-on-year (so there will be less promotional activity during the holiday period).
“Our problem last year was that our full-price share was lower because what we [were selling] full price, customers could buy discounted elsewhere,” Kliger tells Vogue Business ahead of the call. “Now, full-price share is improving continuously and that as a mix drives the margin.”
Mytheresa confirmed its outlook for the full year: the company expects sales to grow 7 per cent to 13 per cent with adjusted EBITDA margin in the range of 3 to 5 per cent. “The world out there is quite challenging. All the current reports of other listed companies are musted and therefore we feel with [8 per cent sales growth] we are fully back on track for the guidance that we gave for the full year,” Kliger says.
Mytheresa has emerged as one of the last luxury e-commerce players standing. Its competitors have struggled over the past few years: Farfetch was rescued from bankruptcy by Coupang, while Matches entered administration after being acquired by Frasers Group. In October, Mytheresa announced its plans to acquire loss-making Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) from Richemont, subject to closing adjustments (Farfetch had initially intended to acquire it, but the deal was called off after Farfetch was sold to Coupang).
Richemont will sell YNAP with a cash position of €555 million and no financial debt (Richemont will also provide a €100 million credit facility) while Mytheresa will issue 33 per cent of its diluted share capital to Richemont. Kliger is hoping that the deal will close in the first half of 2025 subject to regulatory approval.
Investors have been responding well since the deal was announced, Kliger says. “The fact that we get €555 million cash from Richemont is of course reflective of the task that needs to be done in terms of fixing the underlying problems on the backend,” he says. “I think the investors clearly understand the beauty of having some of the most iconic brands in digital retail in one group and the relevance it creates and the opportunity for synergies, even though the deal is focused more on creating relevance than cost saving.”
Brands have also been responding positively. “We have come through a time where the sector was quite volatile and there’s been lots of change that’s not been managed well,” Kliger continues. “I think everyone is looking for more stability, and Mytheresa is a stable operator. We are consistent and believe in long-standing partnerships with brands that go beyond the sell-through of the week.”
By category, Mytheresa continues to see success with dresses and eveningwear — particularly on the run up to the festive season — and is dropping cruise collections at the beginning of December. Mytheresa has also improved its offering in fine jewellery, a category that has proven particularly resilient in the luxury slowdown. Average order value across the site increased 9 per cent to €720 million year-on-year.
The US market was the standout, up 14 per cent year-on-year. The region now represents 20 per cent of Mytheresa’s sales. “We see good business in the US and the focus in the US is on the top customers who have very idiosyncratic preferences if you talk about the East Coast, the West Coast, the South — so it’s about really catering to those customers and being present,” he says.
Kliger says there were a few weeks of uncertainty on the run up to the election; but now, customer behaviour in the US has normalised. “If we have tariffs, of course, it’s not good but we don’t understand now where it’s heading. It is what it is and we have to deal with it. Hopefully it is at a normal level because global trade is our business, we are selling products from Europe globally,” he says.
Europe, which represents 50 per cent of sales, was up 9 per cent. Southern markets such as Greece, Italy and Spain are performing better than the northern markets such as Germany.
“North America and Europe combined make up 70 per cent of our business and they tend to perform quite nicely, which is why we can report these strong numbers compared to other luxury brands. We are not as exposed to Asia and China compared to some of the big luxury groups,” says Kliger.
While the Chinese market is still yet to recover, Kliger says there’s no better time to invest in the region. “We continue to invest because the tiger will be back. It’s actually easier and cheaper to invest now, you have to accept the returns will take some time because of the macro, but I strongly believe in the China luxury market,” he says. This quarter, Mytheresa introduced a Chinese brand name (Mei Lin Shi) and launched a WeChat mini-programme to offer customers a more convenient shopping experience.
While Kliger is waiting for the deal to close to reveal more details on his plans for YNAP, in the meantime he is doubling down on Mytheresa’s core proposition. “We are preparing for hopefully an approval in the first half of next year, so in a way we are trying to be even more mindful of who we are, which customer we speak to and be in a very sharp tone of voice so that when the deal is approved we can really focus on the tone of voice and target customer of Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter,” he says.
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