Sezzle releases first annual report, creates a new look to reach young adults

Sezzle Inc. unveiled a new logo Thursday as it published its first annual report, telling its Australia-based shareholders that their investment fueled its growth.

The Minneapolis-based company, which provides retailers an alternative payment technology for e-commerce customers, saw its revenue grow tenfold in 2019 to $16.1 million as its merchant base and the number of end customers also soared. Sezzle's net loss grew at a slower pace but, at $16.6 million for the year, still eclipsed revenue.

The company raised $30 million in July by listing on the Australia Stock Exchange, tapping investors in the country where its biggest rivals are based. Shares in Sezzle have declined in recent days amid the global market sell-off and closed Thursday at A$1.85. It listed at A$1.17 and the shares climbed to a peak of A$2.71 in October.

In the opening pages of the annual report, the company said the stock listing "gave us the cash injection to fuel our growth."

Sezzle, started in 2016 by Charlie Youakim, began growing quickly after scrapping its original business plan and deciding to create a "buy-now-pay-later" payments technology. Using its system, shoppers can split the cost of an e-commerce purchase into four interest-free installments. The firm's revenue comes from retailer fees for facilitating the transaction.

Last year, the number of retailers using Sezzle's technology, which users see as a button during the checkout process, climbed to just above 10,000 from about 2,200 at the end of 2018. The number of active customers surged above 900,000 by the end of the year from 155,000 in 2018. Earlier this month, Sezzle announced that it passed the 1-million mark in active customers.

"We forge into 2020 with the momentum of 2019's tremendous success and plans to make a significant impact in the years ahead," Youakim said in a statement announcing the report.

The annual report also marked the debut of a new logo and visual look for the company. Its logo, a green "S" that evoked a dollar sign, is now rendered in most of the colors of a rainbow. The company added the slogan "The way forward" to its marketing.

Youakim said the new marketing efforts were designed to appeal to young adults, a core element of its customer base of people who tend not to have started using credit cards. On the wall of its office in downtown Minneapolis, Sezzle chiseled its mission as "financially empowering the next generation."

In the statement Thursday, Youakim said, "We wanted our branding to exemplify a platform that supports inclusivity, transparency and access."

Evan Ramstad • 612-673-4241