Dutch online department store Wehkamp plans IPO

It is reported that since 2015, Wehkamp has been operated by its major shareholder ( private equity company ) Apax from the UK. This year, Apax tried to sell Wehkamp but failed.

Earlier, Coolblue and Bol.com, the two largest online platforms in the Netherlands, had plans for IPOs . Coolblue was preparing for an IPO some time ago , but the plan was postponed due to uncertainties. Bol.com also announced that it will conduct an IPO at the end of 2022. Following the two, Wehkamp also followed suit.

The plan also benefits from Wehkamp's current boom, with annual revenue growing 22% last year to 730 million euros and gross profit increasing nearly 250% to 57 million euros . The company also recently acquired an online children's clothing store and opened a new distribution center.

As online shopping boomed during the pandemic lockdown , Wehkamp ’s growth was normal . But when the e-commerce boom fades, there are questions about whether Wehkamp will continue to thrive, as pre-pandemic data shows Wehkamp had a turbulent few years.

In June , the company severed ties with its financial unit Tinka (formerly Lacent), which accounted for about 8% of its revenue. In 2018, the company lost about 28 million euros. In 2019, their losses exceeded 17 million euros.

One possible reason for these losses is the company’s high return rate. Wehkamp’s best-selling category is clothing, but it is notorious for being returned. In 2016, the company revealed that 30% of its orders were returned . For a website that also sells furniture and home goods, high return rates are costly.

Bol.com and Coolblue have been the top two online retailers in the Netherlands for many years. Specifically, in 2020 revenue, Bol.com was almost three times the size of Wehkamp. Combined with the fluctuations in the company's performance, it remains to be seen whether major shareholder Apax can attract investors.

Regardless of whether the IPO is successful or not , the fact that the three e-commerce platforms have successively announced this plan also reveals the good momentum of local e-commerce development, and the subsequent development is also worth looking forward to.

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Netherlands

Wehkamp