MySale breaks into the black as half-year sales jump

The Australia-based international etailer, backed by both Mike Ashley and Sir Philip Green, made a pre-tax profit of AUS$0.6m.

In the same period the year before it made a loss of AUS$0.2m.

Sales in the UK, where MySale trades predominately under its Cocosa brand, more than doubled, reaching AUS$7.0m.

The etailer said this was underpinned by increased customer numbers.

Given the undeveloped nature of the flash sale market in the UK, MySale, which also operates in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia, has its sights set on becoming a leading operator in the country.

My Sale’s total active customer base jumped 19% to 870,000 during the period, as it continued its focus on drawing customers with a “higher lifetime-value”.

It said its returns rate remains at “industry leading levels” of 5%.

Group chief executive Carl Jackson said: “Financially we have performed well and strategically have made good progress towards our goals.

”The number of active customers, online revenue and gross profit each increased substantially as our compelling consumer proposition resonated with our customers around the world.”

What’s next?

Looking ahead, the business plans to increase investment in its technology platform and has launched a strategic partnership with American retailer Gilt.com.

Jackson said: ‘’We carry good momentum into the, historically stronger, second half of the year and have a number of exciting initiatives which will support our future growth.

“The growth of our underlying EBITDA for four consecutive half-year periods endorses our strategic plan and we remain confident in the full year’s prospects.”

Last year, MySale lauched a partnership with Sports Direct in Australia to sell 150,000 Sports Direct SKUs to Australian consumers.

At the time Jackson said that MySale was “well insulated” from any uncertainty surrounding Brexit, as it would benefit from a weaker sterling and its discounted branded product would be attractive to belt-tightening consumers.

UK outlook

Mysale’s UK luxury goods platform, Cocosa, generated 100% revenue growth during the period. Jackson told Retail Week: “We are pleased with that number and we are confident in the long term in building a really strong UK business.”

He declined to qualify how long such meteoric growth would continue but maintained, “there is plenty of opportunity in the UK for us”. He added that growth would be maintained by increasing marketing spend and a “very aggressive” price point proposition.

MySale has launched a payment plan for its Cocosa platform, allowing customers to pay off their bill in instalments.