The RealReal 2021 sales end strong, profitability woes dampen

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Feb 23, 2022

The RealReal announced on Wednesday that both fourth quarter and full year 2021 gross merchandise value (GMV) and total revenues increased by more than 40%, despite profitability staying in the red at the luxury resale site.

The San Francisco-based company said fourth quarter and full year revenues grew 67% and 56%, year-over-year to $145 million and $468 million, respectively, compared to 2020, while ​fourth quarter and full year GMV increased 45% and 50% to $437 million and $1.5 billion, respectively, year-on-year.

The company reported continued strong top-line growth and significant operating expense leverage in the fourth quarter. However, quarterly net loss widened to $52 million, compared to $51 million in the same period in 2020, while adjusted EBITDA was $(26.9) million or (18.5)% of total revenue compared to (41.2)% of total revenue in the fourth quarter in the year prior.

GAAP basic and diluted net loss per share was $(0.56) compared to $(0.57) in the prior year period, it said.

For the full year, The RealReal ​recorded a net Loss of $236 million, compared to $176 million in 2020. Adjusted EBITDA was $(126.9) million or (27.1)% of total revenue compared to (42.7)% of total revenue for full year 2020.

​“We are pleased to announce solid financial results for fourth quarter 2021, including adjusted EBITDA loss that improved both sequentially and on a year-over-year basis. The improvements were driven primarily by strong top-line growth and operating expense leverage across all major functions of the business,” said Julie Wainwright, founder and CEO of The RealReal.

“We continued to expand our use of technology in our operations in 2021. Our proprietary technology innovations have assisted and will continue to assist us in improving unit economics, enabling scaling of our business, and driving higher average selling prices. Despite some processing delays due to short-term operations staffing challenges in late December 2021 and early January 2022 related to COVID-19 cases, supply coming in remains healthy and we anticipate a strong 2022. ”

Looking ahead, The RealReal said it expects GMV in 2022 to range between $2 billion and  $2.1 billion, with adjusted EBITDA to narrow to between ​$(100) and $(80) million.