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EQS-News: ABOUT YOU Holding SE / Key word(s): Annual Report
ABOUT YOU Holding SE: A Successful Financial Year: ABOUT YOU Grows, Delivers Positive Free Cash Flow, and Reaches
Adjusted EBITDA Break-Even
2024-05-07 / 07:30 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
PRESS RELEASE
A SUCCESSFUL FINANCIAL YEAR: ABOUT YOU GROWS, DELIVERS POSITIVE FREE CASH FLOW, AND REACHES ADJUSTED EBITDA BREAK-EVEN
. Guidance achieved: Group revenue growth of 1.6% year-on-year to EUR 1,935.2 million and significant
improvement in adjusted EBITDA^1 to EUR 3.2 million despite tougher-than-expected market conditions
. Efficiency in all cost lines: Increase in gross margin to 38.7% and reduction in fulfillment, marketing,
and administrative cost-to-revenue ratios
. Strengthened cash position: Positive free cash flow of EUR 9.0 million reflects improvements in EBITDA
and net working capital
. Back to growth: Group revenue with strong acceleration, growing by 5.2% year-on-year in the fourth
quarter
. Foundation for success: Significant progress in ABOUT YOU's strategic initiatives on customer loyalty,
product assortment, and operating model
. Celebrity brands as USP: More than 40 brands with 120+ exclusive collections, e.g. with supermodel Toni
Garrn and goalkeeper Kevin Trapp
. SCAYLE with global expansion: External transaction volume^2 of EUR 3.8 billion by powering 200+ online
shops, with sights set on the United Kingdom and North America as target markets
. Outlook for FY 2024/2025: Management Board expects Group revenue growth between +1% and +10% year-on-year
and an increase in adjusted EBITDA to EUR 10 million to 30 million
Hamburg | May 7, 2024 - The ABOUT YOU Group - consisting of ABOUT YOU, one of the leading online fashion stores in
Europe, and SCAYLE, one of the world's fastest-growing software-as-a-service commerce platforms - has reached a
financial milestone to celebrate its tenth birthday. The Group met its full-year guidance for revenue growth and
profitability in FY 2023/2024. Despite an uncertain market environment, the ABOUT YOU Group reached the adjusted EBITDA
break-even, outperformed the revenue growth of the European online fashion market, and laid a solid foundation for the
accelerated, profitable growth expected by the Management Board in the years ahead.
"In FY 2023/2024, we entered positive territory in terms of adjusted EBITDA, while at the same time generating growth,
being free cash flow positive and gaining significant market share. Following ten years of innovation and investment,
this illustrates how a founder-led business model can achieve a good balance between margin expansion and growth," says
Tarek Müller, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the ABOUT YOU Group. "Be fast, stay hungry, and execute with passion, our core
values have remained unchanged for a decade and yet, they have never been more relevant. We are not just waiting for a
faster shift from offline to online retail and brighter market conditions. Instead, our team is determined to position
ABOUT YOU and SCAYLE as profitable growth businesses - not only for the current financial year, but for the long term."

PRIORITIZING THE BOTTOM LINE TO REACH BREAK-EVEN
The ABOUT YOU Group significantly improved its margin across all cost lines and segments in FY 2023/2024. Optimized
inventory management compared to the previous year and a lower discount intensity in the online fashion store increased
the gross margin to 38.7% from 37.8% in FY 2022/2023. At the same time, the ABOUT YOU Group significantly lowered its
costs in relation to revenue. It reduced its fulfillment costs by 150 basis points to 23.0%, marketing costs by 500
basis points to 10.9%, and administrative expenses by 10 basis points to 4.6% relative to revenue.
As a result of the efficiency gains, adjusted EBITDA amounted to EUR 3.2 million corresponding to a triple-digit surge
of EUR 140.2 million compared to the prior year. The adjusted EBITDA margin equaled 0.2%.

BACK TO TOP-LINE GROWTH IN THE FOURTH QUARTER
In FY 2023/2024, the ABOUT YOU Group increased its revenue by 1.6% year-on-year to EUR 1,935.2 million. Despite excess
inventories, unfavorable weather conditions, and declining sector revenue, the ABOUT YOU Group was able to stand strong
in the fragmented online fashion market in Europe and to secure a higher market share. With revenue growth of 5.2%
year-on-year, the fourth quarter marked a return to solid growth with increases in all three reporting segments.

TARGETED INVESTMENTS IN THE ONLINE FASHION STORE
Revenue generated by the online fashion store in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (DACH segment) remained almost
unchanged from the previous year at EUR 916.7 million and grew by 2.8% to EUR 925.9 million in all other European
markets (Rest of Europe segment, RoE). Simultaneously, the segments recorded significant improvements in profitability
as the adjusted EBITDA margin climbed from 1.5% to 3.6% in DACH and from -18.7% to -6.8% in RoE.
To underpin its growth in the Commerce business, the ABOUT YOU Group has made targeted investments in customer loyalty,
product assortment expansion, and the operating model extension. These initiatives have proven successful, as
demonstrated by ABOUT YOU's order and customer metrics over the last twelve months to February 29, 2024. During this
period, ABOUT YOU processed a total of 37.8 million orders from 12.3 million active customers, equivalent to an average
order frequency of 3.1 orders per customer. The average order value rose to EUR 58.0, an uplift of 5.8% year-on-year.
In FY 2024/2025, the ABOUT YOU Group plans to continue its strategic initiatives, including the use of artificial
intelligence in the online fashion store to further personalize the digital shopping experience for its young and
fashion-conscious Gen Y&Z customers. An example is the new AI-based shopping assistant MAYA. Launched in April 2024,
MAYA assists many users of the ABOUT YOU app in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland by providing personalized shopping
guidance and inspiration.
Expanding from fast fashion to premium brands, a product assortment with more than 4,000 brands is now available in the
online fashion store. The ABOUT YOU Outlet adds further inspiration with an extensive portfolio of fashion items from
leading brands at reduced prices and has shown dynamic growth since its launch in FY 2022/2023. Moreover, over 40
celebrity brands launched more than 120 collections with influencers and other celebrities over the course of FY 2023/
2024, exclusively available at ABOUT YOU. In the fourth quarter alone, model Toni Garrn, goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, as
well as influencers Cita Maass, Marie von Behrens, and Kayla Shyx presented their Spring/Summer 2024 collections.
Complementing its fashion portfolio, the online fashion store is currently working on introducing further
manufacturer-to-consumer (M2C) models with a focus on the needs of European customers compliant with the ABOUT YOU
Group's high quality and sustainability standards.
Furthermore, ABOUT YOU's operating model continues to evolve: For example, the extension of third-party models, such as
"Fulfillment by ABOUT YOU", is planned through the implementation of further marketplace functions. Extending the
existing models will enable brand partners to distribute their product portfolio more directly to ABOUT YOU's end
customers, scheduled to launch in the course of FY 2024/2025.

DIVERSIFICATION OF BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS UNIT THROUGH SCAYLE
The business-to-business unit of the ABOUT YOU Group, included in the Tech, Media, and Enabling (TME) segment, reported
segment revenue of EUR 188.9 million in FY 2023/2024 with a significant year-on-year increase in the adjusted EBITDA
margin from 16.1% to 26.7%.
Following the spin-off into a separate legal entity in August 2023, SCAYLE GmbH ended FY 2023/2024 with an external
transaction volume of EUR 3.8 billion. With its flexible and modern enterprise shop system specializing in the
business-to-consumer activities of brands and retailers with a strong focus on fashion, lifestyle and sports, the
SCAYLE Commerce Engine already powers more than 200 online shops. These include the online stores of existing customers
such as s.Oliver, Fielmann, and DEICHMANN, launched successfully during the financial year.
Investments in SCAYLE's vertical and geographical expansion strengthened its presence throughout Europe in FY 2023/
2024, particularly in BeNeLux, the United Kingdom, and the Nordics. With retail expertise and state-of-the-art
technological infrastructure, SCAYLE has been able to win new globally active enterprise customers such as Mister Spex,
ATP Autoteile, Babymarkt, baby-walz, Perfectly Basics, as well as Manchester United, and has thereby diversified even
further beyond the fashion sector. The pipeline of potential new enterprise customers remains strong.
In FY 2024/2025, SCAYLE continues to pursue ambitious milestones, most notably the expansion into North America,
supported by a local legal entity with a dedicated and local team. Further expanding its extensive range of integrated
tools - such as newly developed subscription, promotion, and omnichannel features - SCAYLE remains committed to
offering the best enterprise commerce platform to new and existing customers.
"As we enter FY 2024/2025, we are at the beginning of a new decade for the ABOUT YOU Group, and stand financially
stronger than ever before," says Hannes Wiese, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the ABOUT YOU Group. "With a profitable
business model at adjusted EBITDA level, a positive free cash flow of EUR 9.0 million, and a rock-solid balance sheet
structure, we are in an excellent position to make the right decisions for the Group in the long term. Through
disciplined cost control and strategic investments, we intend to accelerate top-line growth and further strengthen the
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