Social media follower stands high at 34 million worldwide
HBX New York opened as a strong accelerator for growth in North America
Hypebeast Limited (HKG: 150) is the global leading platform for contemporary culture and lifestyle, and a premier destination for editorially-driven news and commerce. The Group announced its annual results for the year ended 31 March 2023 (“FY2023”). The Group recorded revenue growth in FY2023 with revenue amounted to HK$960 million, up from HK$895.6 million in FY2022, representing an increase of HK$64.3 million or 7.2%. Eliminating an one-off professional fee related to the planned merger (the “Merger”), and non-cash operating expenses such as impairment of assets and change in fair value of financial assets at fair value through profit and loss (“FVTPL”), the Group would record adjusted EBITDA of HK$93.1 million and adjusted net profit of HK$27.9 million.
— The Group recorded revenue growth in FY2023, with revenue amounted to HK$960 million, up from HK$895.6 million in FY2022, representing an increase of HK$64.3 million or 7.2%.
— 12-month average website monthly unique visitors (number of users who request webpages across Hypebeast, Hypebae and Popbee platforms in a month) amounted to 18.8 million, representing a 14.6% increase over FY2022.
— Aggregated social media following (defined as the total number of followers on all third-party social media platforms, including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok) increased by 4.9%, from 32.4 million as at 31 March 2022 to 34.0 million as at 31 March 2023.
Positive forecast on the Media Segment over the long term
Under the Media Segment, the Group noted consistent demand for event production and offline partnerships, particularly in Europe and North America. Although the Media Segment in the Asia Pacific region was impacted by COVID-19 related policies in FY2023, with the pandemic and related restrictions drawing to a close, management believes demand in the region will resume growth amongst broader increases in consumer spending and increased demand for media and agency services.
After COVID-19, the Group has identified new ways to connect with niche audiences. The digitalization of advertising has accelerated, resulting in global brands shifting marketing dollars from traditional channels to digital channels. As a result, the Group forecasts a positive effect on the Media Segment with an increase in the number and size of media contracts over the long term, and the future of brand activations to incorporate both live experiences and digital interactions.
The Group has proactively adjusted to the new macroeconomic environment and industry dynamics in the post-COVID era. Our value proposition, centered around immersive media campaigns that blend real-life experiences, omnichannel engagement and digital amplification, remains attractive to global brand partners. The Group continues to see sales growth and new opportunities with clients in expanding categories like alcohol, automobiles, travel, and financial services.
A broadened reach: Expanding user-customer base and footprint
In aim to attract and reach a wider user-customer base, the Group continued to develop new editorial properties, particularly into adjacencies such as golf, arts and entertainment, and other content that appeals to our audience. The Group further expanded its regional footprint globally by presenting the cultural festival, BRED Abu Dhabi, which offered fully immersive experiences ranging from fashion and music to art across the site as well as an exclusive retail space. In terms of digital presence, the Group launched Hypebeast Latin America and Hypebeast Africa, where the platforms offered quality contents tailored to the unique interests and preferences of the new regions. To drive the Group’s brand awareness and increase engagement with wider and new users and customers, the Group will continue to explore similar opportunities by curating region specific content, and establishing various offline channels and touchpoints.
The New York Flagship Building: An intersection of Commerce and Media
In June 2022, the Group opened its flagship building at 41 Division Street in Manhattan, New York. The flagship location hosts the Group’s HBX retail store, a Hypebeans cafe and multifunctional spaces for cultural activations, events and Media Segment sales campaigns. The space will be a strong accelerator for the Group’s growth in North America and core point of marketing for the E-commerce and Retail Segment, and an attractive venue for Media brand partnership executions. Several high profile sales campaigns and cultural events were hosted at the space during FY2023, and the Group continues to realize its strategy of omnichannel and immersive experiences with retail execution at the New York flagship location.
By integrating its E-commerce and Retail Segment services directly with the compelling and engaging content produced from the Group’s media platforms and its loyal and engaged follower community, the Group continues its cadence in monetizing its wide-reaching and ever-growing follower base by encouraging user conversion. With the ultimate aim to allow the Group’s loyal community of readers to enjoy a seamless shopping experience on an integrated site and mobile app, the Group continued to upgrade and invest on the HBX platform and various back-end platforms to enhance its user journey. The Group remains focused on value-added, return-on-investment driven upgrades to its E-commerce capabilities on broadening its reach and base of customers and enhancing revenue and margin over time.
Hypebeast Ltd. is geographically and strategically well-positioned to capture significant growth opportunities in both its Media, and E-commerce and Retail Segments in its key operating regions, through leveraging the Group’s brand popularity and high-profile networks, particularly, in the U.S., United Kingdom, Mainland China, South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia.
For further details on the Annual Results performance, visit the Group’s corporate website to view the full results announcement.
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About Hypebeast Ltd.
Hypebeast is a leading global platform for contemporary culture and lifestyle, and a premier destination for editorially-driven news and commerce. Founded in 2005, it became a publicly listed media company in 2016, and today boasts a global readership across North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and more. The Group has expanded its publishing brands to a wider scope, encompassing Hypebeast and its multiple content distribution platforms, creative agency Hypemaker, and e-commerce and retail platform HBX. For more information, visit https://hypebeast.ltd/investors.