Good morning. It's freezing cold, so what better than to wear our newly developed down vest? Absolutely fantastic. But it's not coming until fall, so you have to bear with me for a while. But here today, we're to present our Q3 result for 2023. And of course, I can't start the day better by saying that we continue our momentum from Q1 and Q2. So ongoing, very strong sales development, you know, predominantly driven by our e-com business, but also very strong gross margin improvements, and of course, a very, very high profit in the quarter. So, overall, I'm very, very pleased. Of course, there's much more work to be done, but our journey continues, and clearly, we're taking step by step to become the global sports fashion brand that we are dreaming about.
But let's look into some of the details then. So overall, our net sales in Q3 grew by 5% to SEK 262 million. So again, that's the strongest quarter that we're ever done, ever. Also, of course, our year-to-date numbers are highest ever. Looking at the channels, own retail stores are declining. However, looking at the comp stores, those are increasing 16%. That's a super strong strength into our brand. Also, e-com, as I said, is growing very, very good, and wholesale is doing well as well. However, of course, we have a very, very challenging time with a few of our distributors. That is declining quite heavily into the quarter. Looking at the categories, sports apparel continues to grow double digit.
Also, we've seen fantastic momentum in the trading for fall for our underwear category, which is our most important and biggest category. Gross margins has improved to 52.6%, so a strong increase versus last year. Operating profit is increasing 34% to SEK 41 million, and also, we have a very, you know, strong financial balance sheet as well. And digging a bit into the details, but first, of course, just a brief reminder. All right, so what are we what are we here to do? You know, what is this all about? And as we keep repeating, our mission is to inspire people that you can be more, that training is simply too important to just spent on competing and trying to win Olympic gold medals.
Training you should do to live longer, be happier, and be better at whatever you want to be better at. And that's our mission, and we continue to talk with consumers across the world with that mission, and it's resonating really, really, really well. So that's working good for us. We continue with our long-term financial goals, and of course, our business strategy is to predominantly grow our sports apparel business and use that as a beacon to transform the entire brand into a sports fashion brand. And so far, most things are going into that direction, sometimes a bit slower, sometimes a bit quicker, but we're always taking small steps into the right direction, which is, very, very good and encouraging for the future. So looking at Q3, then isolated.
So here we see our brand track data, so we can continue, and we can conclude that the brand is also getting stronger and stronger. A few of the KPIs that we want to showcase this morning. So one is brand awareness for guys, that's up 38%. Brand awareness for her is up 114, and also brand consideration is up in Holland. Overall, the brand is slowly, month by month, quarter by quarter, getting stronger and stronger. And, as of course, you know, one of the two things that makes us truly unique is that we have the brand Björn Borg, and of course, all the employees working for Björn Borg currently. So doing something great with those two assets, of course, is key to continue to drive value.
If we then move on into our biggest category, underwear, it's very, very important, of course, that we maintain our market leadership in the Nordic markets, but also, of course, that we continue to be a very, very strong and relevant brand here. And that we can conclude that despite, of course, focusing a lot of our efforts into sports apparel, the underwear category, sales is growing, but also the view as us as an underwear brand. So that's also very, very good news. Apparel obviously continues to grow, which is part of the plan to move ourself into becoming a sports fashion brand. Here we see the quarterly numbers, and again, SEK 262 in the quarter, so highest sales ever.
So we see a nice, fairly moderate, I have to say, growth, you know, from 2019, a bit of a dip in 2020, but then we've been working with a very sort of solid growth ever since. And it's sports apparel that is the main growth driver and also, of course, our e-com channel. Looking into the countries, you know, Sweden has done an incredible quarter, also Netherlands. That's our two biggest markets. Germany is also doing fairly good. We see that the market conditions in Germany are very, very tough, where a lot of our competitors declining, and also the e-com trade is declining versus last year. So it's a tough climate. Finland, Belgium, and Denmark is losing a bit in the quarter, and our distributors, however, are continuing to decline.
Then if we look at the different channels, and so wholesale is growing 15%. Of course, that's our biggest challenge, biggest channels. That's very, very good. On e-com, it's plus 25%. You know, year on year, it's more than 30%, so very good momentum. On retail, it's declining 4% due to us closing stores as part of our retail closure strategy, as you know and heard about before. The comp stores, however, are continuing to increase. Distributors are declining, and of course, here we need to increase our focus to make sure they're getting back on track for the rest of the year and also, of course, next year. Then looking at the transformation into online business, that's been on our agenda, you know, already since 2018, 2019.
Now, you know, 36% of our overall business is done either through own e-com or through pure e-tailers. If we add on that also, of course, some of our wholesale partners own e-com, well, then we're talking, you know, above 50% turnover generating from online channels. Still very important. However, of course, we still believe that there's massive relevance in being present in physical stores, you know, across the countries to meet consumers also at the shop floor. If you look at the categories, so as I said already, underwear, you know, good momentum, +50%. Sports apparel continues to grow. In the quarter, we had some challenges with bags and footwear, more of a timing impact, so we don't see any major issues with, with bags.
We do have some challenges with the footwear category, but we're working on addressing that accordingly. So both those categories are a high focus, and we believe it's crucial that we, as a brand, have the ability to offer more than just one category towards our end consumer. So that's a super important focus to get all of those categories back on growth mode. But, victories clearly in Q3 is strong sports apparel growth. So that's now the eighth quarter in a row with double-digit growth, so fantastic, and also, of course, that the underwear is doing so well. Looking at the bottom line, so again, as I said, the gross profit margin, operating income, net income shows improvements versus last year. So it's, it's fantastic.
I think the highlight, obviously, is the profit increasing with more than 30% in the quarter. Also, you know, very good development on net income. Then further on, looking at the balance sheet, here, again, I think, you know, the equity ratio remains on a solid level. Working capital is increasing, but again, of course, as you know, we're focusing more to D2C business, you know, higher e-com share, also working with marketplace and consignment customers, where we take bigger ownership over the stock, but also, of course, where we can replenish much quicker and actually grow the business. And also here, we see that the gross margins are much, much better than in traditional wholesale. But however, of course, the downside is that it's driving up working capital. And then, just a couple of key takeaways.
If you're still awake this early morning, of course, you know, on one hand, the brand is continuing to grow. The work from the marketing team is simply exceptional, and we've continued to build the brand in all of our markets. We also see that a lot of the performance marketing activities that we're doing are working really, really well with very high ROAS, you know, across almost all channels. If we look at sales, I think the main takeaway, of course, is that e-com continues to grow, so that's also very reassuring, and also that we have a strong momentum in wholesale, driven both by wholesale e-tailers, but actually also by wholesale brick-and-mortar doors. Across the line, of course, we see improved gross margins. Last, of course, you know, sports apparel continues to grow.
You know, again, as we've said now for many, many quarters, for many, many years, this is the category that will take us to new growth levels, and we simply need to continue to take more market shares, bigger shelf space, win more consumers, and have them loving the brand, so we can continue to grow sports apparel. And together with that, of course, make sure that all other categories are following in that growth mode. So I think with that said, you know, this is a long journey. I think Q3 behind us just again showcased that we are in a strong position. The market around us, for others, seems to be a bit tough.
However, we see signs of that as well, of course, but when we look at our performance, you know, we're clearly taking market shares, and we're performing, you know, very, very well across, you know, most markets and predominantly in wholesale and e-com. Also, the channels are doing really, really well. So I'm pleased with the team and, of course, you know, super happy to be a part of a very, very engaged team that share this long-term dream of creating a global sports fashion brand, and that's what we're heading towards. And with Q3 behind us, we're one step closer. But again, of course, the most important part of being a Friday is that it's Sports Hour. So make sure you take a break today and go out and do a bit of exercise. That's gonna make your weekend even better.
So with that said, I'm sure that Elmer has tons of questions. So, Hjalmar, don't be shy. I want you to step up here, and then just fire away to see if I can answer any questions today. In the absence of Jens, who unfortunately is home with COVID, so I'm here all alone, but I'm trying to hold on. I hope you're happy so far.
Thank you so much, Henrik, and thanks for coming here today. I was thinking first on the organic growth, could you elaborate a bit on maybe what, what's driving? Is it pricing? Is it volume? How do you see the price pressure currently? A lot of your competitors are speaking on the topic of reductions right now. How do you feel How would you elaborate a bit on this on these factors?
Well, we see that, of course, with our wholesale partners, that there's still, you know, price pressure in the market. We also see that there's a few of them having fairly high, you know, inventory levels that, of course, will, you know, force them to clean out. A lot of the trading for this fall will also depend on the weather. You know, let's see how cold it can be and how quick it can be cold, 'cause that certainly is gonna help, you know, the sports retailers. But for us, we don't really see those signs. So if we look at e-com, for example, so we're growing year to date more than 30%. At the same time, we're reducing our discounts, so we're increasing our, you know, full price sell out with more than three percentage points versus last year.
So we're managing to grow and at the same time reducing discounts. And of course, that's the result of what predominantly, you know, three, four things. One, of course, the brand is getting stronger, the products are getting better, and we have a fantastic team that is managing to, you know, operate the channel in a very, very efficient way. So we see very, very strong ROAS numbers, for example, when we look at our performance marketing KPIs. So that's the combination of those. So we see that happening, but currently, we manage to continue to drive growth without actually increasing any discounts.
Okay, thank you. If you you mentioned the inventory levels that, among the customers in your distribution segment, how do you feel that these inventory levels are currently, and how do you feel that these actors will act looking forward? Are they on a trend of reducing inventory levels, and how should we look at this going into Q4?
Well, I think, you know, it depends on which, you know, which one you look at. We don't see any big signs that the retailers are reducing their inventory levels in terms of what they're purchasing for next year. However, of course, you know, when I look around, I see, of course, there is, you know, a fair bit of, you know, price discounting going on in the market. And of course, reading the reports, we can conclude that, of course, a few are doing really, really well. You know, Boozt, for example, is, you know, is back on fire. I think Stadium is, you know, holding on fairly good as well.
So it's a bit of a mixed bag, but of course, we also saw, you know, three, four local sports store, you know, went into bankruptcy just last month in Sweden. So I think it's a bit up and down, but overall, my conclusion is that there's still a bit of a high inventory levels, which means, of course, that the trading probably throughout the fall will also be, you know, fairly discount-driven. And then we'll see, of course, also what happens with Black Friday. You know, some people say it's gonna be a record Black Friday, so of course, then you can get rid of a lot of excess inventory. Others say is that, you know, the consumer don't have any money anymore, so there will be a very low or slow Black Friday.
I'm probably leaning more towards the first one. I think it'll be a record Black Friday again. We will be very sort of moderate in our discount levels, but I think it's gonna, you know, help a lot of our retailers to really clean out a lot of stock, so they can come in then at Christmas trading with a, you know, healthy, healthy inventory levels, hopefully, and then, of course, coming into 2024 with a, with a very good start. But in terms of Sweden and Nordic, you know, it depends a lot actually on, on the weather, you know? So if it's cold, if it's snow, then that's gonna be very, very good for the trade.
Yeah. And I guess if we set aside the retailer segment and look at the direct-to-consumer, how do you perceive the current underlying market? How is the consumer acting in these times, and how do you navigate this sort of uncertain environment that we see?
I think it's, you know, the same that was relevant, you know, in the past is still relevant. So of course, you need to have an attractive offer. You need to be able to talk to the consumers directly. You need to inspire them. You need to work with, you know, various different ambassadors that then will, you know, help your brand to be visible on various social platforms, and I think all of that is working. So, we can't really see that even though, of course, we're not blind, so we can conclude that the world around us is, you know, much, much more challenging now than perhaps, you know, two, three years ago, in terms of how much money you can spend. But looking at our KPIs, we don't really see that trend.
You know, we have increased traffic. We increased our average order value. We increase our, you know, our loyal members. So almost all KPIs are pointing in the right direction. So clear sign, of course, that the brand is getting stronger and stronger, and of course, that the product is really, really good. And as well, of course, we're fairly small, you know, so of course, we're competing with Nike and Adidas, but of course, they're so much bigger than us. So even in a declining market, we can still take market shares because we're still very small. You know, we have a lot of potential to further growth just in our Nordic markets and also, of course, Benelux and Germany.
Mm. Thank you. And then if we look at marketing, I guess we saw a sequential improvement or an improvement in the levels of marketing spend anyways. But is this indicative of the yield that you're seeing right now, or is it more you're taking a more cautious approach to marketing investments? How should we perceive this?
No, we want to continue to invest more into our brand, because again, of course, that's one thing that makes us completely unique. That's one thing that we own ourselves. And we also see, of course, you know, thanks to a very strong team, that we're, you know, getting, you know, a very, very high return on those investments. And given that we spend so much money on performance marketing, well, of course, then we can really measure the investments, you know, case by case to see, okay, is this gonna be worth it, or should we do something else? So we see a massive change in how our team is working today versus perhaps, you know, how I was working, you know, when I was a marketing director, you know, 15, 20 years ago. You were more guessing.
You knew that, you know, some of the stuff was probably working and some was not, but today, you know, almost all of our investments, you can clearly, you know, tie into a very clear KPI, and of course, it makes it very easy to invest more in marketing because you know you're gonna get it back. We're, we're confident that, you know, the time for us to really make a move and strengthening the brand is right now, when a lot of others are having, you know, challenging times. We will continue to invest into our brand because we believe this is a timing to take it to a new level, knowing, of course, that our biggest opportunity, our biggest challenge, is still, you know, awareness as a sports brand.
There's simply still too few people thinking about us as a sports brand out there. But when they see us, when we ask them about Björn Borg, we are, in Sweden, number three in terms of brand that they would want to select, so only Nike and Adidas is ahead of us, and that's a fantastic opportunity. So not knowing of us, but when talking about us, they say, "Hey, I wanna buy your stuff." So that is what we need to focus on. We need to build awareness, and that's gonna cost a bit of money, but of course but currently, of course, we're doing that in a very efficient way.
Thank you. And then one final question, I guess, on the product mix, because obviously, you've had great success within the sports segments. Looking into the future, do you see any segment that you don't have currently a very strong positioning, where you see some untapped potential that you can break into?
Well, I think we see, we see massive potential in, in women's underwear. We see massive potential in footwear. And, I think also, you know, from a wholesale perspective, we see massive potential in sports apparel for, for women. So looking at our own e-com site, our women's sports apparel is growing more than 150% year-over-year. But with our wholesalers, we're struggling a bit to get them to buy into our women's offer, and here, of course, we see that there's consumers out there wanting to buy our stuff, but they simply can't find it if they visit a lot of the retail stores. So then, of course, they're forced to go to our e-com site, which is fine with us, but we think that we're missing a lot of volume here.
So of course, our job is then to convince a lot of the retailers out there, wholesale partners, that, "Hey, you should carry part of our women's range because consumers really wanna buy that as well." So that's really where I think there's a lot of focus and potential. So women's apparel and wholesale, women's underwear, and also, of course, footwear, I think is a, you know, massive opportunity for us to make bigger and do a lot better.
Perfect. Thank you so much, Henrik, and thanks for coming here today.
Thank you, Elmer. It's good to be here. Have a great Friday, and, I'll see you in, three months.