Bloom & Wild: Loyal customers help slash loss amid cost-cutting drive
Bloom & Wild slashed its post-tax loss by more than 95 per cent as its focus on retaining existing customers and cutting costs started to pay off.
The London-headquartered business, which which sends bouquets of flowers in boxes that can fit through a letter box, increased its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) by £8.8m to achieve a total of £4.1m in the year to 31 March, 2024.
The improved financial position of Bloom & Wild comes after the business pivoted from focusing on top line growth to profitability in the aftermath of the cost-of-living crisis.
As a result, marketing investment was pared back while it looked at retaining existing customers rather than attracting new ones.
Bloom & Wild has also worked to keep its costs under tighter control while it added that the operational benefits from the integration of Bloomon in the Netherlands and Bergamotte in France “have continued to deliver group-wide efficiencies”.
The company said that its revenue falling from £117.9m to £110.1m reflected its focus on profit and the “challenging macroeconomic backdrop” across Europe.
Bloom & Wild said that its drop in revenue was “heavily weighted” to the first half and by March 2024 year-on-year revenue had rebounded to flat.
On trading so far in its current financial period, Bloom & Wild said it is up in the year to date.
It added: “The latest monthly trading data shows promising momentum across geographies and product categories, including in the core UK market, where there is healthy growth in sales of both flowers and non-flower gifting.”
Bloom & Wild was founded by Aron Gelbard and Ben Stanway in 2013.
Bloom & Wild ‘confident in the future’
Gelbard, who serves as Bloom & Wild’s CEO, said: “Having achieved our goal of returning the business to profitability, we have a renewed focus on growth.
“The benefits from our two international acquisitions are coming through strongly and with the backing of profit and cash generation, improved unit economics and a strong balance sheet, we are investing behind disciplined growth initiatives in the huge gifting market across our eight European markets.
“Most notably, in Germany our refined local offering and improved operational capability is powering growth of c.50 per cent.
“Together with continuing momentum in our home UK market, Bloom & Wild is delivering and confident in the future.”