Redbubble’s first-quarter profit slips, sales slow

Martin Hosking has been appointed Redbubble CEO.
Martin Hosking has been appointed Redbubble CEO. (Source: Bigstock)

Online marketplace Redbubble says lower sales across all geographies have impacted profits in its first quarter trading update.

Founded in Melbourne in 2006, the website creates print-on-demand products featuring artwork submitted by users. It has offices in San Francisco, Berlin and Melbourne.

The company’s underlying marketplace revenue fell by 2 per cent to $102 million while its gross profit declined by 7 per cent to $39.4 million.

This is largely the result of cycling $4 million in mask sales within the accessories category though continued growth in the T-shirt category boosted sales by $7 million or 12 per cent.

“As disclosed in our FY22 results, the business implemented some proactive measures to support Redbubble’s unit economics, both in the short and long term. This included an average base price rise of 6 per cent and free shipping over a threshold order value in the UK and in the US.

“Our experience in both these trials has been encouraging, across both members and non-members, with free shipping thresholds driving incremental MPR and gross profit versus the preceding period.”

The business has also “deliberately” slowed the rate of hiring in September in order to manage the group’s cost base.

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