Zooplus revealed it has had a “successful” first quarter of trading, maintaining “uninterrupted operations” despite the worldwide pandemic.
In the first quarter of the year, total sales rose by 21% to €439.9m (£389m) against €363.2m (£321m) the year prior.
The group said that this was “primarily driven” by “loyal existing customers, which reflects the high level of trust customers place in the zooplus product promise, even in times of crisis”.
The sales retention rate also stood at 94% in the quarter, a “significantly rise” against the end of 2019, where it stood at 91%.
Meanwhile, sales increased by 34% in the group’s food and litter segment, continuing to make an “above-average contribution to the positive overall development” of the business.
In addition, Zooplus registered an “unchanged high number” of new customers, though the number of new customers with two or more transactions increased by 11%, with a corresponding rise in sales of 16%.
In its latest trading update, the group said that EBITDA increased to €8.1m (£7.2m), up from €2.2m (£1.9m) in the first quarter of 2019. It also reported a “robust operating result” and a “sharply higher sales growth” in March.
The group confirmed it remains on target for its full-year financial results.
Dr. Cornelius Patt, CEO of zooplus AG, said: “As an internet-based company in the pet supplies segment, we are ideally positioned to meet our customer proposition without interruption throughout the period of the corona pandemic.
“In the second quarter, we continue to see robust demand for pet supplies in Europe from both new and existing customers. As a result, we are looking forward to the remainder of the financial year with confidence.”
He added: “ We will however continuously monitor the developments in our sector along the supply chain and maintain close contact with all our partners to ensure the continuity of the flow of goods and the maintenance of the logistics infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.
“Our top priority is to ensure our loyal customer base continues to have uninterrupted access to their favorite brands and products.”
