Yahoo Finance Luxury retailer Farfetch reveals huge pandemic boost to revenues as locked-down fashionistas shop online
The pandemic has seen Farfetch revenues soar (Unsplash)
(Unsplash)Luxury online retailer Farfetch saw revenues soar by 64% to $1.7 billion in 2020 as locked-down fashionistas splashed out from home.
The London-headquartered firm, which sells labels such as Prada, Stella McCartney and Chloe, saw the year-over-year sales jump as physical stores closed at intervals around the world due to Covid lockdowns.
Farfetch said on Thursday that its gross merchandise value exceeded $3 billion - up 49% year-over-year - and that in the fourth quarter it saw revenues rise by 41% year-over-year to $540 million.
The site noted that 2020 saw it become a "global destination" for kids’ luxury fashion, with the broadest assortment of designer childrenswear on offer.
Bernstein analyst Luca Solca noted that Farfetch, which was founded by entrepreneur José Neves in 2007 and floated in New York in 2018 valued at £4.9 billion, "has made the most of the digital luxury acceleration produced by the Covid-19 pandemic".
Neves said that in 2020 the firm "cemented our leadership as the largest global online destination for luxury fashion" and highlighted that Farfetch reached profitability in the fourth quarter - a "key milestone" for the company.
He said the company "demonstrated the scale and attractiveness of our business model as we achieved the key milestone of Adjusted EBITDA profitability in the fourth quarter".
Neves added that the firm plans to leverage “our incredible achievements to date and our unique platform capabilities to go after the significant growth opportunities we see” both online and offline.
