Wolf & Badger online sales up 92% in 2020 amid pandemic

Despite its Kings Cross flagship store in London and its New York location both being closed for prolonged periods during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wolf & Badger expects overall revenue growth of 79.1% in 2020 – driven by strong online sales growth of 92%.

With 253,902 items sold and 14.7m visitors to the online retail platform last year, Wolf & Badger generated £19.1m in online sales in 2020.

Categories that performed well include lingerie and nightwear, up 625% compared to 2019.

The retailer also diversified its ranges to include face coverings, the majority of which were created using material offcuts in line with its sustainable credentials and, as a result, almost 9,800 face masks were sold during 2020.

Active brands utilising Wolf & Badger to reach a global customer base reached a record high in the year, increasing by 93.6% from 564 in December, 2019, to 1,092 in December, 2020.

New brands joining the platform came from 56 different countries including Mexico, Norway, Ecuador, Ghana and Lebanon, many of which were experiencing disruption from other distribution channels.

The e-commerce site now facilitates multi-currency support along with “homogenised size variant management” to seamlessly serve customers worldwide. Through its partnership with DHL, and despite Brexit, the business now also provides duties and taxes inclusive of shipping for all customers in the UK, EU, Australia, US and Canada - regardless of where in the world each supplier is based. That has eased the purchase journey for consumers and it has further enabled smaller brands to seamlessly sell cross-border and hassle-free.

As a result, Wolf & Badger has grown significantly in new markets, resulting in US sales up 144%, sales in Australia up 1,048% and sales in Canada up 414%, versus 2019. Overall, international customers accounted for 46% of sales in 2020.