Australian online retailer group Kogan has recorded a 24.9 per cent lift in gross sales overall to $80.4 million in January 2025, driven by a 30.8 per cent surge in its Kogan.com retail platform to $70.8 million.
This was offset by a 6.6 per cent fall in gross sales in its New Zealand gaming marketplace Mighty Ape to $9.6 million.
Kogan.com sells a wide array of goods, including apparel and footwear.
The recent overall bump-up follows a 10.3 per cent gross sales surge in the first half of FY25 to $492.5 million for the group (including Mighty Ape), with Kogan.com gross sales up 15.4 per cent. The group’s revenue for the first half was up 9.9 per cent, with Kogan.com up 22.3 per cent in the same period.
Gross sales are the total amount of money a company receives from selling its products or services, while revenue is the total amount of money a company generates from all business operations.
Group gross profit hit $106 million in the first half, up 18.3 per cent year-on-year, with gross margin growing to 38.9 per cent, up 2.8 percentage points.
This was driven by Kogan.com, which increased gross profit and gross margin by 27.8 per cent and 1.9 percentage points, respectively.
Meanwhile, the group’s active customers grew to over 3 million, up 9.4 per cent year-on-year to 3,002,000. This was predominately driven by Kogan.com, with its active customer base growing 15.7 per cent to 2.34 million.
Kogan.com’s gross sales and revenue surge in the first half accelerated to 34.4 per cent and 32.2 per cent during the peak November and December trading period, with the group citing an optimised marketing strategy that delivered increased market share.
“Having returned the company to profitability in FY24, I’m pleased to report today that we have built on that momentum and returned the business to strong sales growth in 1HFY25,” founder and CEO Ruslan Kogan said.
“This was achieved through disciplined execution, operational efficiencies, and strategic initiatives that we expect will continue to drive sustainable growth into the future.
Kogan added that as its customers continue to navigate the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, “we are committed to easing the burden by offering market-leading prices on the most in-demand products and essential services.”
“By leveraging our scale and strong supplier relationships, we deliver remarkable value. From everyday essentials to the latest technology and exclusive member benefits, we remain focused on helping our millions of customers live their best lives.”
As for the group’s Mighty Ape subsidiary, it’s financial performance was affected by a website upgrade.
Kogan reported that prior to November, Mighty Ape’s profitability was broadly stable year-on-year while the company was facing sub-optimal trading conditions in New Zealand.
“In late October 2024, the Mighty Ape website underwent a major upgrade, introducing enhanced functionality,” the group reported. “The launch was however significantly impacted by technical issues which saw Adjusted EBITDA reduce by 96.2 per cent on PCP over the November and December 2024 peak sales period.
“The team has been diagnosing and remedying many of the major issues, with some work yet to go. We expect to resolve all major issues in the coming period.”