Revenues surge at Lyst as it launches in new markets

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Dec 16, 2019

An aggressive expansion programme, involving seven new international sites, new marketing channels and a new app, helped fashion start-up Lyst deliver a 20% increase in annual revenues to £18.2 million in the year ended 31 March.

But the continued investment pushed the London-based company deeper into the red, with losses more than doubling to £6.2 million during the same period.

Lyst, which was founded in a small shed in Shoreditch in 2010, said millions of global shoppers use its platform to search for fashion from thousands of designers and stores, including Burberry, Farfetch, Harrods, Net-A-Porter and Prada.

Last year it raised £44 million in a round of financing led by French luxury conglomerate LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. The equity fundraise was used to invest in long-term priorities such as launching non-English websites, experimenting with a new app and expanding the core team.

The new international platforms in France, Germany, Spain and Italy delivered £985,000 in revenues in their first months of trading. Lyst launched the new sites during the year, after seeing good results in its core markets in the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.

Since year end, the company has added top Google product executive Bradley Horowitz to its board of directors.