MYT Netherlands Parent BV
NYSE:MYTE
Earnings Call Analysis
Summary
Q1-2024
Amidst a challenging macro environment and a general slowdown in demand, Mytheresa thrived by outpacing market expectations and competitors, with net sales growing by 6.8%. The company witnessed robust double-digit revenue growth in the United States at 25.1% and saw its top customer base expand by 19%. Their average order value also rose by 5.4% to a new high of EUR 660. Despite the tumultuous climate, Mytheresa's resilient business model and strategic focus on big-spending customers led to a net sales boost of 12% on a constant currency basis. Although the adjusted EBITDA margin dipped slightly to -0.4% for Q1, betterment is on the horizon. The company projects a positive margin by the end of Q2 and anticipates a decline in promotional intensity, setting the stage for further top and bottom-line enhancements in the first half of 2024.
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Greetings, and welcome to the Mytheresa First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2024 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] Today's call is being recorded [Operator Instructions] It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Martin Beer, Mytheresa's Chief Financial Officer. Thank you, sir. Please begin.
Thank you, operator, and welcome, everyone, to Mytheresa's investor conference call for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024. With me today is our CEO, Michael Kliger. Before we begin, we'd like to remind you that our discussions today will include forward-looking statements. Any comments we make about expectations are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties described in our annual report. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially. We are under no duty to update forward-looking statements. In addition, we will refer to certain financial measures not reported in accordance with IFRS on this call. You can find reconciliations of these non-IFRS financial measures in our earnings press release, which is available on our Investor Relations website at investors.mytheresa.com. I will now turn the call over to Michael.
Thank you, Martin. Also from my side, a very warm welcome to all of you, and thank you for joining our call. We will comment today on the results and performance of our first quarter of fiscal year 2024. We are pleased with our results in a challenging macro environment. With our positive revenue growth and a small financial loss, we not only surpassed market expectations, but also outperformed almost all competitors. As expected, we saw a slowdown in demand with aspirational customers across all geographies and the high promotional intensity in the market due to excess stock for winter merchandise. Even though the macro environment remains very challenging, we continue to prove the fundamental strength of our business model. We saw a strong double-digit revenue growth in the United States, grew our business with top customers over proportionally, and managed to mitigate significant margin pressures with cost adjustments. With our resilient business model and our focus on the high spending auto-building customers, we will be best positioned to benefit and accelerate when market conditions improve. I want to highlight today, again, three aspects of our business that sets us apart in the sector and will give us a head start in improving market conditions. First, our unique focus on big spending water building customers enabled us to generate growth with top customers and particularly in the United States in the first quarter. Second, the strong relationships and support from our brand partners allowed us to offer our customers once more, many exclusive capsule collections and activations or experiences in the first quarter that drive top customer engagement and loyalty. Third, we continue to evolve and innovate our business model as evidenced by the successful launch of our new state-of-the-art distribution center at Leipzig Airport in the first quarter and our expansion into fine jewelry. Sector leading growth, resilient financials, and ongoing innovation for future growth sets us apart from peers. Let me now comment in more detail on these three highlighted areas for today. First, in the first quarter, we grew our net sales by plus 6.8% compared to Q1 of fiscal year 2023. This strong growth is above market expectations and above Perform. It is highly noteworthy that the United States generated again an outstanding growth with plus 25.1% in terms of gross merchandise value compared to Q1 of fiscal year 2023. The United States continues to be a significant growth driver for Mytheresa, and the market accounted for 18.7% of our total business in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024. A key driver for our growth is our continued focus on the big spending water building top customers and not the aspiration occasional luxury shopper. Our top customer base grew by plus 19% compared to Q1 of fiscal year 2023. In the U.S., our top customer numbers increased even greater by plus 56.1% in the first quarter. Further evidence of our focus on top customers is that our average order value, LTM increased once more by plus 5.4% to a record high of EUR 660 in Q1 fiscal year 2024, compared to fiscal year 2023. Second, the first quarter saw again many high-impact campaigns, exclusive product launches and events as well as money can buy experiences, demonstrating our strong relationships and the support from brand partners. All of them further increased our brand awareness, brand equity and positioned us globally as the leading digital luxury platform. We have the exclusive launch of styles from Blue, the launch of an exclusive 27-piece capsule collection from Brunello Cucinelli, only available at Mytheresa. The prelaunch of the Alexander McQueen Cruise collection ahead of anyone else, the launch of Manolo Blahnik shoes as a key brand addition to our assortment, and the launch of a Loro Piana capsule collection only available at Mytheresa. Please see our investor presentation for more details on brand collaborations. We also hosted again exclusive events for our top customers, providing them with money can buy experiences. Examples of events in the first quarter include a dinner and party in Warsaw, Poland to celebrate the launch of the exclusive Magda Butrym capsule. As the creative director of a self-attending, a 2-day experience for top customers in Caracas and Figueres, Spain in partnership with Raban as well as events in Chicago, Milan, Paris and Beijing. Furthermore, I'm proud to announce today that we opened the Holiday House, our second truly immersive physical luxury shopping experience in partnership with Flamingo Estate in Los Angeles for the first 3 weeks in December. We expect with this pop-up again, a strong boost to our business with U.S. top customers. Third, in the first quarter of 2024, we continued to drive innovation in our business for future growth. The first week of September, our new warehouse at Leipzig Airport successfully started to operate. As anyone who has gone through a similar large-scale DC project can tell you, this was a major milestone for the company. The new facility with its 55,000 square meter of building space will not only provide ample capacity for the future growth of our business, but it will also dramatically improve customer service, thanks to its unique location and direct adjacency to the international airfreight hub of DHL. We are now ramping up the staff and throughput of this fare house. And already in the second half of fiscal year 2024, we expect to see the positive impact of the new facility on our business. Our customers will benefit from significantly later cup of times for international deliveries, additional flight options through the United States, and faster return processing from customs destinations. Another initiative that we have kicked off in the last quarter was the expansion of our fine jewelry offerings with item values exceeding EUR 25,000. We already carry fine jewelry brands such as Repossi, Pomellato, Eprimo or Marina B and will add several more in the coming months. To deliver the high value pieces, we have set up a dedicated white glove courier service with DHL Express globally. This new category will further strengthen our offerings and business with high spending top customers. I would also like to mention that Mytheresa published its second positive change report. Some of the highlighted achievements in this report for fiscal year 2023 include an 11% decrease of CO2 emissions per order shipped, 92% usage of renewable electricity in the company, 58% women in leadership positions and more than EUR 4 million worth of preowned products resold by our customers via our partnership with Vestiaire Collective. Please see our investor presentation for more details on the Mytheresa Positive Change Report.With all the above, it should come as no surprise that we are pleased with our solid performance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 despite significant macro headwinds. We believe that our results demonstrate the strength and consistency of our business model delivering profitable growth. We see ourselves as one of the few winners in the expected consolidating luxury eCommerce space. This also drives our strong confidence in our medium-term growth trajectory and profitability levels despite the short-term uncertainties in the current environment. And now I hand over to Martin to discuss the financial results in detail.
Thank you, Michael. We are pleased with our top line performance in a challenging macro environment and with persistent heavy promotions from peers. Despite these headwinds, we achieved net sales growth of plus 12% constant currency in the quarter. The slightly negative adjusted EBITDA margin of minus 0.4% in Q1, which is in line with our expectations as a result of this heavy promotional environment and, in our view, is transitory. Looking ahead, and despite these ongoing pressures, we expect to finish Q2 of fiscal year '24, ending in December '23 with a positive adjusted EBITDA margin. In addition, for the first half of calendar year 2024 due to adjusted spring/summer inventory in the market, we expect a slowing of this heavy promotional environment leading to improvements in the top and bottom line. Our performance in Q1 of fiscal year '24, despite the headwinds is a testament to our superior and unique market positioning, resilient business model and our ability to adapt even in difficult times. I will now review our financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year '24 ended September 30, '23 and will provide supplementary details on certain key developments that affected our performance throughout the quarter. Unless otherwise stated, all numbers refer to Euro. In the first quarter of fiscal year '24, GMV increased by plus 8% on a constant currency basis to EUR 204.1 million as compared to the prior year period of EUR 197.9 million. Growth on an IFRS basis was at plus 3.1%. Our growth in this quarter is again a result of our focus on the highly valuable top customer segment. Our top customer base grew significantly, increasing plus 19% throughout the quarter. Overall, customer engagement and retention is strong with the number of active customers who made a purchase during the last 12 months increasing by plus 8.2%, reaching a total of 865,000 active customers. During the first quarter, net sales increased by EUR 11.9 million, a plus 12% on a constant currency basis increased year-over-year to EUR 187.8 million. Growth on an IFRS basis was at 6.8%.As of Q1 of fiscal year '24, we continue to have seven major brands operating seamlessly under the CPM. In our collaboration efforts with brand partners, we are able to provide them with full flexibility offering both models, and we expect to have one to two brands transition from the wholesale model to the CPM each fiscal year. We once again saw growth in various regions of the world during the first quarter of fiscal year '24. In the U.S., in particular, we continue to build our leadership position with continuous double-digit growth. We grew GMV in the U.S. by plus 25.1%. The number of top customers in the U.S. grew by an impressive plus 56.1% during the quarter. The number of first-time buyers in the U.S. increased by plus 18.9%. As of the end of the first quarter, the U.S. makes up 18.7% of our total GMV. Our average order value, LTM increased by 5.4% to an industry-leading EUR 660. In absolute figures, the increase in AOV represents plus EUR 34 per shipped order. The continuous increase in AOV in the past quarters and years improves order economics and reflects our successful focus on full price selling and operating in the sweet spot of high-end luxury. In Q1 of fiscal year '24, our gross profit margin continues to be affected by the intense promotional environment that we mentioned earlier. We still witnessed unusual level of promotions as competitors are trying to balance their inventory levels. Subsequently, our full price share in relation to our sale activities continues to be lower than anticipated, leading to a decrease in gross profit margin of around 400 basis points due to this mix effect, similar to what we saw in the prior quarters. A few other factors contributed to another 340-basis point decline in gross profit margin. Among those factors were, one, an exceptional provision for expected inventory depreciation; and two, certain financial effects, driven mostly by a stronger performance of several wholesale brands in relation to individual CPM brands. Remember that only the commission with CPM brands is accounted for in net sales with a 100% gross profit margin. If certain wholesale brands perform better than individual CPM brands, then the gross profit margin decreases mathematically. On the other hand, if CPM brands would increase their share in the upcoming quarters, then the gross profit margin would increase mathematically due to this effect. All factors considered, we achieved a gross profit of EUR 79.8 million, representing a gross profit margin of 42.5% during Q1. Shipping and payment costs increased by EUR 4.3 million or 17.8% from EUR 24 million for three months ended September 30, '22 to EUR 28.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 23. The increase in the shipping and payment cost ratio from 12.1% to 13.9% in Q1 was mainly due to a onetime positive effect in GDP costs in the previous year quarter. 13.9% cost ratio was also the ratio we achieved in the preceding quarter, Q4 of fiscal year '23. For the full fiscal year '24, we expect a similar ratio. Marketing expenses decreased from EUR 25.4 million in last fiscal year's first quarter to EUR 23.7 million in the first quarter fiscal year '24. The marketing cost ratio in relation to GMV decreased from 12.8% to 11.6% as we continue to focus our marketing efforts on the most promising new customer acquisition and top customer attention strategies, and aligned our marketing efforts with an overall softer market sentiment. Adjusted selling, general administrative expenses increased by EUR 2.8 million to EUR 29.5 million during Q1 of fiscal year '24. Adjusted SG&A as a percentage of GMV increased modestly by 100 basis points from 13.5% in the prior year period to now 14.5%. The increase in SG&A expenses is mainly due to higher personnel expenses, especially for staff in operations and logistics. We anticipate a continued reduction in the adjusted SG&A cost ratio throughout fiscal year '24, targeting to reach a lower level than in the preceding fiscal year. As already anticipated during the last earnings call, adjusted EBITDA during the first quarter of fiscal year '24 was at minus EUR 0.8 million, slightly negative and already reflected in our full year guidance for fiscal year '24. As seen in prior years, the quarterly performance varies due to seasonality with Q1 being one of the weaker quarters for Q2 fiscal year '24. And despite an ongoing heavy promotional environment, we expect to end the quarter with a positive adjusted EBITDA margin. In addition, for the first half of calendar year '24, we expect a slowing of this heavy promotional environment, leading to improvements in the top and bottom line. In addition, we will be able to leverage our new technology platform and the new Leipzig warehouse for growth and margin improvements. Depreciation and amortization expenses in Q1 of fiscal year '24 increased slightly to EUR 3.4 million or 1.7% of GMV as compared to EUR 2.5 million or 1.3% in the prior year quarter, mostly due to higher depreciation and the right-of-use assets related to the new warehouse in Leipzig, Germany. The low level of depreciation and amortization expenses is also a key strength in our business model. Adjusted operating income or adjusted EBIT during the first quarter of fiscal year '24 was at minus EUR 4.2 million with an adjusted EBIT margin of minus 2.3%. We ended the quarter with an adjusted net income of minus EUR 2.9 million and an adjusted net income margin of minus 1.6%. During the 3 months ended September 30, '23, operating activities used EUR 33.3 million of cash for the typical seasonal inventory buildup of current fall/winter merchandise. We finished the quarter with no long-term bank debts, EUR 7.5 million cash and EUR 16.4 million of borrowings under our EUR 60 million revolving credit facilities. Due to the seasonal deliveries and the slower top line, our inventory levels increased plus 44% year-over-year, which is below the inventory buildup during the preceding quarter of plus 57%. End of October, inventory was plus 36% to previous year. We continue to tactically manage our inventory levels while our overarching focus is to attract and retain the right customer cohorts with focus on full price, being mindful of brand relationships, and preventing undue inventory aging. We are carefully managing our inventory levels from a position of confidence, leveraging our cash and balance sheet strength. Given all this, we are confident in our business model and remain as short to continue our profitable growth story even in a very challenging environment. While we expect the macroeconomic uncertainties to continue, we expect a slowing of this heavy promotional environment in H2 of our fiscal year, leading to improvements in the top and bottom line. We, therefore, confirm our guidance for the full fiscal year '24, but at the lower end of the guided ranges of GMV and net sales growth between plus 8% to 13%. Gross profit growth between plus 8% to 13% and an adjusted EBITDA margin between plus 3% and 5%. Based on the current trends of this Q2 running from October to December, we expect a similar top line growth, what we saw in the preceding Q1 and a positive but low single-digit adjusted EBITDA margin. At the gross profit margin level, we expect similar pressures compared to Q1. We remain very confident in the medium- and long-term outlook for our business. We are currently gaining market share and have completed two major infrastructure milestones. We will less benefit more quickly and over proportionately when the luxury market recovers from the current economic challenges. Our market positioning is getting stronger every month. During this fiscal year and beyond, you will see a fortification of our leadership position in multi-brand luxury, building the most successful powerhouse for the top luxury customers and the top luxury brands. I will now turn the call back over to Michael for his concluding remarks.
Thank you, Martin. We are pleased with our first quarter of fiscal year 2024 earnings results. We see ourselves well positioned to achieve our fiscal year 2024 guided targets despite the continuously challenging macro environment. We will continue to benefit from the ongoing shift to online and luxury spend. The increasing importance of the big spending customer segment and the desire by brand partners to work with only the best digital platforms in the market. We are confident that Mytheresa offers high-value consumers, the best multi-brand digital shopping experience there is. And with that, I ask the operator to open the line for your questions.
[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of Matthew Boss from JPMorgan.
Great. So maybe, Michael, just to start off, could you speak to changes in consumer behavior that you saw as the first quarter progressed? And then maybe just elaborate on what you've seen more recently as we've moved past the summer travel and leisure demand, particularly if you've seen any material differences in behavior from your top customers relative to the aspirational customer?
Sure. The story of after summer of Q1 was, of course, different elements. I mean, one very traditional retail comments, but September was very warm and so weaker merchandise had a late, late start. In terms of differences by customer segment, the top customers continue to spend well. They did spend a substantial time of amount on holidays in August. But as they were coming back, they continue to spend, they continue to spend on ready-to-wear. They continue to spend on high price. So we grew the top customer base by 19%. We grew it by 56% in the U.S. The AUV is going up. So that trend is absolutely holding up. While the other trend is also holding up, which is aspirational customers are much slower in demand. They are, of course, now enticed to buy with offers already hitting discounts, I mean, already hitting the market as of October. So they may be enticed to now spend what they haven't spent for quite a while. But that is, of course, very discount and sales-focused. And so we also, of course, with our top customers see already starting interest in spring/summer merchandise as they start to plan for vacations beyond the Christmas holidays. So the current months are, obviously, on the one hand, for winter merchandise sale season end sale and the start of spring/summer and particularly in the start of spring/summer is of interest for our top customers and is also of interest for us as it is a full price business.
And then maybe a follow-up for Martin. So as we think about the guidance relative to 3 months ago, what led to the revision to the lower end of the prior range? And then could you just elaborate on the time line from here to see inventory levels more aligned with GMV growth?
The guidance for the full fiscal year is still, I mean, a strong guidance of plus 8% to plus 30% for the full fiscal year, given a flat or a slightly positive Q1 for the full fiscal year, a positive adjusted EBITDA margin of plus 3% to 5%. We guide at the lower end as we -- in this unprecedented situation, we have to see how the situation evolves and Q2, as expected, we see a continuation of this heavy promotional environment. And we, therefore, have a prudent guidance on the overall outlook because as you well know, there are a lot of uncertainties in the market that we cannot fully account for a capture in the full year guidance. But overall, I think our expectations for the full fiscal year and beyond is very positive.
Your next question comes from the line of Oliver Chen from TD Cowen.
Gross margin came in lower [indiscernible] or this may be more transitory? And also, as we think about the gross margin components, what components were mix impacted relative to the merchandise margins? And as we [indiscernible] gross margin to the next few quarters, what trends and also the environment that you're seeing?
You were a bit cut off, but I think it is really about the gross margin involvement in this first quarter. So maybe Martin, you take it.
Yes. Happy to do so. I mean, we saw -- it's kind of in this quarter, an unprecedented 740 basis points decrease in the gross profit margin. The operative gross profit margin to exactly what you're referring to, a more heavy promotional environment and a lower share of our full price in the quarter was again 400 basis points, exactly what line, what we've seen in the preceding quarters and what we expected. And also, the gross profit margin in this quarter was driven by an exceptional provision for expected inventory depreciation that we took. Looking at the inventory levels to reflect that. And the second driver of this additional 340 basis points with this mathematical effect of CPM brands with a lower performance compared to wholesale brands and they have a 100% gross profit margin. So this is the key drivers of Q1. In Q2, we see a continuation of this heavy promotional environment, therefore, a continuation of this operative gross profit margin effect. The CPM effect, we have to see. But obviously, this onetime exceptional provision for expected inventory depreciation is just a onetime effect. And as stated in the second half of the fiscal year, so from January to June '24 due to a different expected situation in spring/summer '24 in the market, we expect a lower promotional intensity and therefore, a decrease in that operative gross margin slippage.
Okay. Just a follow-up. Why would you expect a lower promotional environment? We hope so, but we're seeing deteriorating trends in different ways. And second, Michael, as you zoom out, is there a way to future-proof your business against these dynamics or things that may be in your control as you think medium and longer term about promotional vulnerability that clearly exists?
I'd be happy to take that. So I mean, the logic of improvements in H2 on spring/summer is spring/summer '24 was the season -- was bought when the slowdown in demand was present. Up to now, fall/winter '23 was still bought back in October, November last year, when it was not crystal clear where the market was heading. Spring/Summer '24, it was crystal clear where the market was heading. And we know that many platforms, many retailers also because of cash constraints, took a much more conservative approach to spring/summer '24. So while it is not easy to predict the demand for spring/summer '24, given the uncertainties that Martin was talking to, it is crystal clear that there will be less merchandise in the market. There will be less spring/summer '24 merchandise in the market, which is the driver for more disciplined, and more focus on full price sale instead of promotions. And your second question, of course, our ongoing efforts to a focus on the top end, top customers, we focus on capsules, exclusive collections, focus on ready-to-wear. All of these efforts are exactly to allow us to compete not on price, not on discount, but to compete on newness, on exclusivity and combine that with superior service for our best customers. That is the approach that has allowed us to grow in a market where most people shrank has allowed us to still deliver solid results and not fall into big financial losses. But the current situation needs to be seen as the worst market conditions since 2008, 2009. So this is really a test, and we believe the numbers we are posting right now, the numbers we are guiding are full evidence of the resilience of the business model. And the tough conditions out there, unprecedented, at least for the last 10 years will, or are a test for business models, and we believe our creative multi-brand business model is performing much, much better than other business models which are much more focused on aspirational customers, much more focused on endless IL product choice. And that's very important at the moment to understand that difference in business model. That difference in customer base we are focusing on. That difference in how we approach merchandising and product choice because that is the key differentiator. That is the armor against the promotion intensity that is out there.
Your next question comes from the line of Ashley Helgans from Jefferies.
It's Blake on for Ashley. One of the first [indiscernible] up there very nicely, around 56%. I was wondering if you could unpack kind of the key drivers of this? And then how you view that rate throughout the rest of the year? Are those drivers sustainable?
We do believe these drivers are sustainable. So we do believe we can continue to grow double digit in the U.S. as we have done for almost five, six quarters now consistently. The drivers for that is coming back to we have a different go-to-market approach. We offer things others don't or at least don't focus on. We have a very curated offer. We are focusing very much on the high end. If you look for product on our website, you're not confused, distracted by products at very low-price points with brands that are not in your box set. We are very much focusing on inspiration, and we offer products which last just in this quarter. I mean, we had exclusive product with Brunello Cucinelli, one of the best-performing brands. We have an exclusive product with Loro Piana, one of the best-performing brands. We offer our customers uniqueness and that is what seems to resonate very well with the U.S. consumer, and we will continue to do that and we'll, of course, continue to build market presence in the 4-week presence with a pop-up in East Hanson for a multi-brand retailer gave us a unique access to high-end customers. We clearly see that this resulted in acquiring new customers and getting into new customer cohorts. And as of next week, we will start again with experiential pop-up holiday, the holiday house in L.A. Again, something very unique, something that underlines our focus on emotional inspiration curated offers. And we will continue exactly on that track with our great U.S. team, with our great personal shoppers' space in the U.S. We do see that this can be sustained against U.S. competitors.
And then a model question. I know you mentioned you expect positive EBITDA margin in the second quarter. Did you say where you think gross margins could shake out in Q2 as well?
We don't guide for gross margin in the immediate quarter. And then, we usually don't also give quarterly guidance, but in this exceptional situation, we wanted to at least lead you a bit to the next quarters, how they evolve, especially while the second half of fiscal year '24 is driven by a significant improvement in the gross profit margin due to what Michael referred to, given the different buy in the spring/summer '24 season.
Your next question comes from the line of Kunal Madhukar from UBS.
One, when we are talking about the top customers, can you talk about what percentage of GMV do the top customers represent? And how is that different from fiscal 1Q '23? And then in terms of AOV, how was AOV for top customers versus AOV for non-top customers? How did that kind of perform on a year-over-year basis?
On the top customer, the share of the business in terms of GMV for Q1 LTM was 39.4%. So another increase the last earnings report, we reported 38.4% or 38.5%, I don't recall exactly. So we added another percentage point as we went from the last quarter to this quarter. So it's expanding. The continued spend of the top customers versus the continued slowdown of aspirational customers make that share of business bigger. We don't break out in our reports, the specific AOVs for top customers for standard customers. But we have repeatedly stated that the top customer AOV is more around 1,000 compared to the average that we achieved in this LTM EUR 660.
And then one of the things that you kind of talked about was, when it comes to the spring/summer 2024, that the buying levels were determined after the slowdown started. So, what is the luxury market -- continues to remain weaker overall? And so even at the lower level of cases, is it possible that retail will end up with like more inventory than even what they feared?
I mean, obviously, the answer to that is an equation. And one part of the equation is for sure smaller. Inventory cross spring/summer will be smaller than the combined inventory of fall/winter in the market or the combined inventory of spring/summer '23. So that's it. The other part of the equation is, will we see demand levels comparable to the last 12 months? Or will they be up and down? The best guess is they will be similar because the rest will be speculation. And if they are similar, then it leads to improved sell-throughs, it leads to less promotions in the market as it leads to a better top line and to a better margin. Of course, if the market rebounds suddenly quickly, it gives you an extra boost. If the market goes south, it could very much be that the reduced inventory is sort of eaten up by even further reduced demand for that speculation.
And then one last one, and I'm sorry, I just keep going on. On the liquidity side, can you help us understand how we should think of like, free cash flow for the rest of the year in order to understand whether the EUR 60 million revolver that you have is sufficient to meet liquidity needs for the near term?
So in the quarter, EUR 33 million use of cash, very typical as we build up the seasonal fall/winter '23 merchandise and pay for that. We ended the quarter with no long-term bank debt which is quite unique in our balance sheet. EUR 7 million cash and EUR 16 million use of the revolver. So a net utilization of EUR 10 million of the EUR 60 million revolver. And we expect that our revolver is fully sufficient. Fully sufficient because we now have the fall/winter merchandise all in the warehouse. We expect that the revolver is fully sufficient to cover the seasonal peaks. And so we are very comfortable with what we have today.
Your next question comes from the line of Abhinav Sinha from Societe Generale.
So, two questions. One, on the top customers, you said that it grew to 39% of the GMV. So my question was like, is there a critical number beyond which it will start showing on the EBITDA margin as well? So that's one. And second is on the gross margin. I mean, if I remember correctly, or in a normalized scenario, you have a 46%, 47% gross margin for the 1P business. So, how was that? Was it also down like 6%, 7%? Or was it worse or better than the rest of the business?
Well, let me take the first question and then Martin answers the margin question. I mean, I understand just like the tipping point or number one, as you rightfully assume profitability with top customers is higher than with aspirational customers. And so if we would surely theoretical, of course, have 80% business with the top customers, it would, of course, also impact the EBITDA of the overall customer of the overall P&L. So in that sense, your logic is absolutely right. But as you see, we are continually expanding our share of top customers having gone from so 34% to 36% to 38% over the last 3 years, but that is the organic speed. So there is no expectation and there's actually also no organic way to boost the top customer share sort of within one quarter or within two quarters to something close to 50%, that's not possible. And therefore, the improvement in EBITDA is continued focus on top customers, but reduce promotional intensity in the market.
Yes, I'm happy to do the gross profit margin question. Exactly, as you pointed out, Abhinav, I mean the last years, we have consistently achieved a 47% gross profit margin due to our focus on top customers due to the core elements of the business model. And right now, we are in this unprecedented transitory situation, where we see the 300 to 400 basis points operative gross margin dilution due to the situation, due to this heavy promotional environment driven by access inventory. And so, this says it's transitory. And obviously, we then expect in the next quarters and especially then fiscal year '25, a normalization of this gross profit margin slippage to again, achieve the gross profit margin levels that we saw before.
Your next question comes from the line of Yawen Gao from CICC.
Okay. I have one for China and the Chinese market. So some luxury company side, they're still waiting for the demand recovery in China market. I'm just wondering what about your observations? And could you give more comments on China market and also the Chinese cost of performance?
Happy to address that question. Our observation is very much in line with the luxury brands. We have seen a rebound over the last 6 months, starting in March, April, but it's a very slow one. So, the recovery for us in China is slow and we contribute this to two factors. One is we saw initially, also by our on the ground teams, a high propensity, high inclination of Chinese consumers to spend on going out, spend on travel within China, travel within the region. And so that is actually a similar pattern that we have seen in other markets. And then the second one is also in China, in aspiration customer segment that is much slower in rebound than the top spending customers. So overall, the market is improving, but at a lower speed than many people expected.
This does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.