Douglas has increased its year-over-year sales revenue in the second quarter of the current financial year by about 31 per cent, to 719 million euros. On a like-for-like basis, annual growth reportedly was at around 39 per cent. According to the company, this put the like-for-like group sales at 12 per cent above the level achieved before the COVID-19 pandemic.

E-Commerce Remains Strong

According to the trading group, some sales revenue shifted as expected from online shops back to retail stores as soon as they reopened. Despite this, e-commerce figures remained high. Although the 250 million euros achieved in the online sector represent a 14.3 per cent reduction from the previous year, this still amounts to more than double the online revenues from the "pre-COVID" quarter in 2019.

The company has announced like-for-like revenue of 471 million euros. This corresponds to an increase of 117.3 per cent compared to 2021. The group states that it was able to win back consumers who had bought certain product categories via other distribution channels, such as drug stores, while stores were closed due to COVID-19. Furthermore, consumers who had bought products in the Douglas online shop during lockdown came back to the retail stores. The company sees this as proof of the strength of its omnichannel business strategy.

Entry into the Healthcare Market

In February, the beauty company announced it will be entering the healthcare market by taking over the Dutch online chemist Disapo. According to the company, the acquisition is now complete. Since the end of April, consumers have been able to buy dermaceuticals and prescription-free products via the partner programme. Douglas plans to extend this service to various other European countries over the course of the year.

Source: Douglas