The Munich-based e-commerce company windeln.de has published its figures for the first quarter of 2018: The online shop for baby products generated revenues of EUR 32.8 million in Q1, a decline of almost EUR 301,000. The company attributes this decline to lower demand in China and the implementation of efficiency and profitability measures as part of the Corporate restructuring to.
No good news from windeln.deThe Munich-based company, listed on the stock exchange, reported a sales decline of -29.5% in the first quarter. The online retailer of baby and toddler products attributed the decline to "temporarily lower demand in China" and as "a result of the efficiency and profitability measures initiated in February as part of the CEO change." This led to organizational changes and the closure of the Italian online shop pannolini at the beginning of February.
Difficult market: China
In China, sales in the first quarter of 2018 amounted to EUR 17.5 million, a year-on-year decline of EUR 26.1 million (Q1 2017: EUR 23.6 million). The share of China business in total sales at windeln.de is approximately EUR 53.1 million (Q1 2017: EUR 51.1 million). The lower sales compared to the previous year were largely due to lower demand and a temporary oversupply of goods in the Chinese market after the Chinese New Year. Nevertheless, the Munich-based company is confident that the strong appeal of its China business will not change in the future. The focus in the Chinese market is on expanding the product range, additional sales channels, establishing a permanent bonded warehouse, and improving the customer experience. In this context, the online retailer has also been offering its products on the EURGO.com platform since April, an e-commerce marketplace for Chinese customers to purchase products from European companies.
windeln.de focuses on the second half of the year
However, windeln.de also suffered revenue losses in the DACH region: In the first quarter, revenue here amounted to EUR 7.3 million. This corresponds to a share of approximately EUR 22.1 million in consolidated revenue. Compared to the first quarter of 2017, this represents a revenue decline of EUR 45.4 million (Q1 2017: EUR 13.3 million).
However, the company sees a light at the end of the tunnel:
"The past quarter, like the entire 2018 fiscal year, was dominated by the restructuring we are implementing together with Matthias Peuckert as our new CEO. The decline in sales is related to our focus on improving earnings. Since our announcement in February, we have implemented many measures. However, we do not expect the full impact of these measures until the second half of the current fiscal year,"
is Dr. Nikolaus Weinberger, CFO windeln.de SE, sure.
