Online furniture retailer Wayfair has announced a decline in first quarter sales as losses surpassed $300m.
According to its latest trading update ended 31 March 2022, total sales fell 13.9% to $3bn, a reduction of $485m year-on-year.
US sales fell 9.9% to $2.5bn, while International sales, including the UK, fell 31.4% to $0.5bn.
Gross profit was $803 million or 26.8% of total net revenue, while net losses stood at $319m.
“While multiple macro cross-currents are filtering through the global economy, consumer health remains relatively strong. Shoppers are still very interested in the home category — as evidenced by our most successful Way Day event ever last week, which included two of the four largest days in Wayfair’s entire history,” said Niraj Shah, CEO, co-founder and co-chairman, Wayfair.
“The companies that will be most successful in navigating this dynamic environment are those that can act with agility, balancing near-term demands with outsized longer-term opportunities — which is an apt description for Wayfair. We are well positioned to outperform and gain share from here, particularly as supply chain constraints ease, and we are not losing sight of the massive market opportunity still ahead. At the same time, we are focused on returning to adjusted EBITDA profitability. We have complete confidence in the structural economics of our business based on the investments we have made and the key drivers that should propel profitability higher over time.”