Zalando’s sales and profits have soared thanks to the summer of sport

Zalando reported a 3.4% increase in sales during the second quarter to reach €2.6bn (£2.23bn)

Adjusted EBITDA was also up at €171.6m (£147.3m) reflecting a margin of 6.5%.

The ecommerce giant hailed the growth of its sports, designer and beauty categories during the period as it continued to improve its brand assortment and relevance to shoppers.

The company also said its number of active customers grew by 300,000 during the period to a total of 49.8 million.

Zalando said June was a record sports category performance for the business as it gained momentum from the ongoing summer of sport and launched campaigns in major European cities featuring footballers including Barcelona and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski and Austria and Real Madrid player David Alaba.

During the quarter, Zalando launched its first adaptive sports collection, which incorporates 14 pieces from its private label brands Pier One Sports and Even&Odd.

Zalando is continuing to invest in its technological capabilites with plans to build on its existing tech site footprint by opening a new site in Shenzhen, China.

It said the new site in China will “leverage local expertise in social commerce” and combine it with the retailer’s existing knowledge of the European market.

Zalando said its full-year guidance as revenue is expected to grow between 0% and 5% compared to last year.

Adjusted EBIT is also anticipated to be between €300m  (£258m) and €450m (£387m) as it continues to prioritse “profitable growth”.

Zalando co-chief executive Robert Gentz said: “Our ecosystem strategy empowers us to cover a larger share of the fashion and lifestyle ecommerce market and the positive response from customers and partners in the second quarter validates our vision.

“Our business-to-consumer customers are excited by the quality brands we are adding, spending time with our new digital tools and content, and embracing our expanding lifestyle offerings in areas such as sports, designer and beauty. We also recorded double-digit growth in B2B, demonstrating that both our growth vectors are delivering.”