Coolblue opened a credit line with Rabobank to pay 2015’s dividends to its shareholders, but according to CEO Pieter Zwart, that does not pose any problem and he also points to Coolblue’s strong growth.
Rising costs
Coolblue’s financial results were recently filed with the Chamber of Commerce and it shows that the retailer’s turnover in 2015 also grew a lot. Coolblue’s turnover reached 555 million euro, up 54 % compared to last year, although its profit dropped to 3.1 million euro.
The company’s growth and its coinciding rising costs are to blame for the profit drop. At the moment, Coolblue employs more than 1,000 people and is still looking for additional employees. It also invested a lot in new software, in marketing and several new warehouses.
Long-term vision
Zwart told Quote that profit maximization is not a short-term goal for Coolblue. He said the company once again grew a lot in the first quarter of 2016, more than 60 % even. “We feel that profit in the long term and putting a smile on our customers’ faces very important indeed.”
That is why the company decided to open a new 48.5 million euro credit line with Rabobank to pay its 10.7 million euro dividend (slightly higher than the 10.5 million euro from 2014). “We used it to pay several shareholder-related things, like the dividend”, Zwart said.
