• Otrium to focus on European market amidst 40% revenue growth in 2023 to date • Targets Q4 2024 break-even with full-year profitability in 2025 • Company to transition US business to Rue Gilt Groupe • Additional €16.6 million equity investment from existing investors • European Otrium business with first break-even month in November 2023Otrium announces its plan to sharpen its focus on the European market and targets profitability for the fourth quarter 2024, with full-year profitability in 2025. Otrium will accelerate its path to profitability by transitioning its US business through a strategic arrangement to Rue Gilt Groupe, the leading premium and luxury off-price e-commerce company in the US.To further its mission of helping to ensure that all clothing produced is worn - thereby supporting fashion brands to recover value and minimize waste - Otrium has secured an additional €16.6 million in equity investment from existing investors. The recent funding was co-led by Index Ventures, BOND Capital, and Eight Roads, who also led the company’s Series C funding round.Milan Daniëls, co-founder of Otrium, states: “This year has been very promising: we have seen significant growth in Europe and achieved our first break-even month in November. This progress strengthens our path to profitability. The renewed commitment from our investors demonstrates their confidence and positions us strongly for the upcoming years.”Otrium’s growth in European markets in 2023 follows a financial year 2022 marked by macroeconomic uncertainty and inflation, alongside a consumer shift back to brick-and-mortar retail post-pandemic. In 2023, Otrium achieved a significant 40% year-on-year revenue growth in the EU.A key contributor to Otrium’s ongoing performance improvement has been significant investments in technology and logistics. Notably, the company introduced an advanced made-to-measure packaging machine, impacting cost efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions by over 50% per item shipped, and made significant improvements to its consumer-facing product, offering a scalable and more personalized mobile-first experience. These investments have been made predominantly over the course of 2022.To execute on its new strategy, the company appoints its current CFO, Frank van Valderen, as its new CEO, effective January 1, 2024. He will succeed Zuhairah Washington, who closes her tenure with full support after successfully overseeing the growth and transition of the US business to Rue Gilt Groupe. Van Valderen brings extensive experience from his previous leadership roles at Zalando and Philips, and his recent position as CFO at Dutch e-commerce retailer Wehkamp.The company remains focused on its goal to expand its market share in Europe, redefining how consumers perceive and shop for end-of-season and archived fashion. Otrium’s ambition for profitable growth is connected with its commitment to promoting practices and opportunities to help minimize fashion waste.For more information, please visit press.otrium.com or contact [email protected]

Otrium, the digital fashion outlet tackling the industry’s growing challenge of excess inventory, has appointed Zuhairah Washington as its new global CEO. Max Klijnstra, co-founder, will serve as Chief Sustainability & Growth Officer, aligning business growth with the outlet's mission to connect its millions of customers with the world’s leading premium brands to ensure that all clothing that is produced is worn. After joining the company as President and Chief Operating Officer in 2021, Washington will drive international growth and oversee all aspects of Otrium’s global operations – product, engineering, sales, marketing, logistics, expansion, legal, finance, and people  functions. Under her  leadership, Otrium will focus on charting a path to profitability in Europe  and further scaling growth in the US. In 2022, Otrium’s US members grew at a speed of 500%.Washington says, “I feel extremely fortunate to lead a company that provides  consumers of all socioeconomic backgrounds with access to the world’s top premium fashion brands at affordable price points  in pursuit of a larger mission -  ensuring that  all clothing that is produced is worn. As one of the few African-American female CEOs  in tech leading a global fashion marketplace, I’m especially proud that we are building the next phase of Otrium  with an executive  leadership team that is 40% women, of which 100% are women of color.”Otrium partners with fashion brands to fix the costly environmental and economic challenges of excess inventory by offering a seamless  way  to open their own digital outlet channel. Otrium handles the complete e-commerce experience, from photography to fulfilment and shipping and after care. The company uses machine learning and proprietary technology  to determine merchandising and surface product discovery. Otrium currently offers over  300 fashion brands on its platform. Co-founder, Max Klijnstra, will drive Otrium’s marketing strategy and sustainability goals, further embedding its mission  across the business. “Globally, an estimated 92 million tonnes of textile waste is created each year and ends up in landfills. Otrium was founded to help reverse this trend. We envision a future where every piece of clothing produced is worn. As Otrium’s business grows, we will continue to help decrease the number of garments ending up in landfills. I want to keep personally driving this type of change forward for Otrium and for the industry,” added Klijnstra.  Co-founder Milan Daniels will continue to scale and foster the platform’s global brand partnerships, including Tommy Hilfger, Donna Karan New York, Scotch & Soda. Daniels says, "Max taking on the role of  Chief Sustainability & Growth Officer will enable us to bring these topics more into focus across the entire business. Combined with Zuhairah – who is an exceptional leader, one that shares mine and Max’s ambitions for Otrium – taking the role of CEO, and each of us assuming our dedicated roles, the executive team has never been better placed to make Otrium one of the world’s leading end-to-end outlet fashion  platforms.”Otrium serves over 20 markets across Europe and the US from three  logistics hubs in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States. At the heart of the company’s success is a diverse and global team, representing over 30 nationalities. In June 2023, Otrium published a first-of-its-kind comprehensive analysis of the avoided carbon emissions and waste of modern off-price business models with the support of climate tech start-up, Vaayu. To explore the findings, experience Otrium’s interactive 2022 Impact Report undefined.For more information, please visit press.otrium.com or contact [email protected]

Otrium announces the launch of a dedicated garment refurbishment and repair programme for damaged returns following a successful pilot scheme. The initiative is being run in partnership with Bleckmann, experts in supply chain management for fashion and lifestyle brands. Working with Bleckmann’s team of circular fashion experts from The Renewal Workshop, Otrium is taking the next step in its strategic journey to help reduce the number of garments that might ultimately end up in landfills or destroyed.Most of the returns that Otrium currently receives can be easily restored and put back on sale. However, in rare cases, returned items are damaged. “Preventing waste is an important part of Otrium’s DNA, and thanks to our partnership with Bleckmann and their Renewal Workshop team, we can now repair the majority of damaged returns and put them back into circulation,” said Kevin Carolan, Director of Logistics at Otrium. “We are happy that we can use our position in the fashion supply chain to create lasting change and accelerate towards our mission of reducing the volume of garments that go to landfill.” Making a measurable impactSince 2020, Otrium is exploring refurbishment and repairs with their third-party logistics provider Bleckmann. In April 2023, both partners started a three-month pilot at Bleckmann’s facility in Almelo, the Netherlands, to expand the programme with a broader range of repairs and optimised processes through data use. During the pilot, the Renewal Workshop team at Bleckmann refurbished more than 1,000 returned garments, shoes and accessories for Otrium each month. “With hundreds of high-end labels on the platform, we needed an efficient solution tailored to the needs of a wide range of products – from shoes and coats to bags,” explained Marlot Kiveron, Head of Sustainability at Otrium. “The Renewal Workshop team worked closely with us to develop a streamlined and scalable process that could grow in line with our ambitions, delivering like-new repairs at the speed of e-commerce. Their combination of purpose, professionalism, agility and expertise makes them the ideal partner for this kind of project.”Bleckmann’s integrated data capabilities were also crucial to the success of the partnership. “Data collection and analysis can be vital in demonstrating the commercial viability of sustainability initiatives,” said Tamara Zwart, Director of Renewal at Bleckmann. “Using our advanced stock tracking systems, we determined that 70% of the renewed Otrium stock had been sold within seven weeks. We’re all delighted with the results!” Furthermore, carbon-tracking software Vaayu calculated that on average, a refurbished return sold on Otrium avoids 2.760kg of carbon emissions and 69g of waste proofing that this programme can have a positive impact on both: the planet and the business.Targeting responsible growth, togetherHaving established the business case, the team decided to expand the initiative beyond the pilot phase. “This project is a milestone in our sustainability journey,” concluded Marlot. “It’s a key part of our ongoing commitment to finding more ways to reduce our environmental impact while helping to ensure that more clothes get worn. By the end of 2023, we aim to repair at least 25,000 damaged garments. Together with Bleckmann and their renewal experts, we’re well on our way to proving that this circular business model can be a valuable part of our future growth.”For more information, please visit undefined