Redbubble (ASX: RBL) has been helping artists transpose their art from the canvas and onto travel mugs, t-shirts and socks since 2006. 

Today, Redbubble is a thriving online marketplace, complete with the modern day addition of face masks… how 2020.

Accelerated growth in online spending throughout the pandemic, including faux-lockdowns caused by the latest Omicron strain outbreak, Redbubble has refreshed its guidance forecast figures for the rest of the financial year. Investors will be pleased to learn that the 1H FY22 marketplace revenue has grown 60% since 1H FY20 to $288 million. 

With continued investment into their platform, Redbubble now expects marketplace revenue for the year to be slightly below that of FY21, pulling their EBITDA up to the “negative low single digits”. Additionally, the Company reported a healthy cash balance of $143 million as at 31st December 2021. 

Mask sales are partially responsible for the uptick in sales experienced in FY21 when we all flocked to the internet to purchase the cutest masks, seeing them as more of an outfit accessory. Perhaps it was novelty, perhaps it was an effort to see the silver lining of all this *gesticulates broadly*.

Now, in FY22, cute face masks have lost their sparkle as we wear our existing ones on repeat, or fish that blue disposable one from the footwell of our car before heading into the shops. 

Redbubble has however, experienced growth in their largest category- North American apparel, which was up 10% in Q2 and 7% in H1 FY22 (year on year). The Company confirms that despite the drop off in cute mask sales they are now substantially larger than they were prior to the pandemic (much like many a waistline). 

The remainder of the financial year will see Redbubble stick to their strategic direction, building on artist activation and engagement, user acquisition and transaction optimisation, customer understanding, loyalty and brand building, and physical product range/ third party fulfilment network. 

CEO of Redbubble, Michal Ilcynski said: “I am confident of the tremendous potential for the Redbubble Group. To capture this, we will continue to invest in our technology platforms, artist and customer experiences, and our brands. We have multiple growth levers at our disposal, and given our strong cash balance, we will continue to invest in order to realise the potential upside that can be unlocked by aggressively pursuing this opportunity.”