Catch.com.au racks up $41 million in losses for first half of FY24

A popular Aussie eCommerce retailer is bleeding money left, right and centre as the economic downturn brings more pain.

A popular Aussie eCommerce retailer is bleeding money left, right and centre as the economic downturn brings more pain.

Online marketplace Catch.com.au has just reported a whopping $41 million loss for the past six months.

Of that, around $4 million was spent on a restructuring effort on the flailing brand.

That follows on from other losses Catch has racked up in the past few years, also numbering in the multiple millions of dollars.

Wesfarmers leapt at the opportunity to snatch up Catch in 2019, spending $230 million on the acquisition.

But it’s since become a black sheep of the Wesfarmers family, incurring losses that Wesfarmers CEO has previously dubbed “unacceptable”.

Catch.com.au has incurred a $41 million loss for the first half of the current financial year.

The loss figure is an improvement from previous years.

In the first half of the last calendar year, Catch racked up $48 million in losses, and before that, the number was even higher, at $75 million.

Catch is working hard to turn things around, focusing on reducing its range of stock, which consists of 28,000 products.

It has also tried to improve its delivery time and streamline efficiency among customer service representatives.

Catch’s poor track record has previously been blamed on a slowdown in the e-commerce industry after the Covid-19 pandemic peaked.

Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott told stockholders last year that if Catch’s fortunes didn’t change fast, they might have to cut back on investing in the business.

“We clearly over-invested,” Mr Scott said.

“It’s not good enough, it’s unacceptable, we’re not satisfied with this at all. You can expect that we are taking very serious action to improve the financial performance.”

Catch is expected to return a loss for the full financial year, but with a smaller amount than previous years.

Rob Scott, chief executive, of Wesfarmers, has previously lambasted Catch.com.au. Picture: David Berrie

Retail has been struggling lately.

Last year, The Iconic laid off six per cent of staff amid a restructuring effort.

A number of large retailers went bust, including shoe brand Rockport, clothes seller EziBuy, and Aussie designer Alice McCall.

Iconic music and entertainment retailer Sanity shut down all 50 of its stores across Australia at the end of March, as the pandemic took a toll on the business, although it continues operate in a digital space.

Even major retailers like David Jones are struggling.

The department store chain recorded a double-digit downturn in sales at its city, suburban and regional stores in June, in the wake of the Reserve Bank’s decision to hike the official interest rate even higher in May.

Originally published as Catch.com.au racks up $41 million in losses for first half of FY24