Cazoo Announces Transition to Pure-Play Automotive Marketplace Business Model - Seite 2

To achieve this transition, beginning March 6, 2024, we will be unwinding our inventory through retail and wholesale channels. We will also make changes to our operations in line with a pure-play marketplace model, such as exiting fulfilment operations and reducing headcount to focus on our ecommerce technology platform, proprietary data, brand, and our digital marketing and commercial functions.

Paul Whitehead, Chief Executive Officer of Cazoo, said, “Transitioning Cazoo to a pure-play automotive marketplace business model leverages our key advantages: the nationally recognised and trusted Cazoo brand and the Cazoo ecommerce technology platform. We have built a data-driven business for buying and selling cars and having sold close to 160,000 cars we have demonstrated that there is robust demand for online transactions in the automotive market. Our transition means we can now offer the UK’s 13,000 car dealers the chance to put their forecourt stock in front of the one million potential customers on average who visit the Cazoo website every month. The UK used car market represents a significant opportunity for Cazoo, with approximately seven million transactions annually, worth an estimated £100 billion.

“We look forward to completing this transition and starting an exciting new chapter for Cazoo, building upon our investment in both the Cazoo brand and in our ecommerce technology platform.”

Management Change

Following the conclusion of the Board’s review of the business and with a new strategic direction agreed and in place, Paul Whitehead has made the decision that now is the right time to step back as CEO.

Paul has been with Cazoo for more than five years, having joined at its inception as Chief Operating Officer. Since his appointment as CEO, Paul has successfully focused Cazoo on the business’s core UK retail opportunity, delivered improved gross profit per unit quarter on quarter, significantly reduced costs and extended the company's cash runway. He oversaw completion of a restructure of the company's debt before leading the Board’s recent strategic review of Cazoo’s business model. Paul will step back as CEO at the end of March but will remain with Cazoo until at least mid-May as a strategic adviser to support its transition to the new business model.