Online fashion retailer Zalando reported a jump in third-quarter growth on Thursday, mainly driven by the inclusion of its newly acquired About You business, lifting its shares.
Zalando also announced a five-year partnership with Germanyâs DFB national soccer federation as part of efforts to build on its growing sportswear category.
Shares in Zalando rose 6 percent to â¬24 this morning.
Zalando said its gross merchandise volume (GMV), a key metric measuring the value of all goods sold, rose 21.6 percent to â¬4.2 billion ($4.9 billion) in the quarter.
âResults evidence an impressive re-acceleration of GMV and revenue growth,â analysts at Jefferies wrote in a client note.
If About You had been part of the group in the same period a year ago, the quarterly GMV increase would have been 6.7 percent.
Zalando has focused on higher-priced brands and the growing sportswear category, along with scaling up its partner business, as it faces competition from fast-fashion retailers with cheaper offerings such as Shein.
Quarterly revenue, which includes Zalandoâs logistics network and marketing services, rose by 26.5 percent to â¬3 billion, above analystsâ forecasts of â¬2.9 billion, according to LSEG data.
âThe exciting new partnership with the German Football Federation DFB will allow us to boost our sports business further,â Zalando co-CEO David Schroeder said in a statement.
Zalando, which has expanded into sports including soccer, running and cycling, said its logo would feature on all training and pre-match kits for the DFB menâs, womenâs and youth teams.
The partnership, which comes ahead of the soccer World Cup next year, included a wide range of marketing rights but not exclusivity rights for distribution of the national team kits, a spokesperson for Zalando said.
By Linda Pasquini
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