Debenhams back in the black as it hails marketplace strategy

Gross merchandise value soared 65% to £359m during the year while EBITDA doubled to £10.45m. 

Boohoo Group acquired Debenhams' brand and website from administration for £55m in January 2021 and turned it into a digital marketplace. The company said it will continue as "an online retail marketplace for the foreseeable future".

In September, Debenhams announced it will launch new websites for Ireland and Australia before Christmas with hundreds of local and international brands, followed by a Nasty Gal marketplace in the US.

Debenhams is also introducing a fulfilment service later this year, which its UK brand partners can opt into. Stock will be stored and dispatched from Boohoo Group’s automated distribution centre in Sheffield, with the option of next-day delivery for customers.

Meanwhile, Debenhams Brands Online Ltd, an entity set up in May 2023 to manage brands including Oasis, Dorothy Perking and Wallis, delivered sales of £138.6m during the year and pre-tax profits of £950,000m in the period to February.

Dan Finley, CEO of Boohoo Group and Debenhams, said: "The market place model is stock-light, capital-light and highly profitable, as these results show. There is lots of opportunity ahead and we are focused on realising that for the benefit of all shareholders."