In a business update released on Wednesday, the company said total revenue for the period was up by 9.7% against the first half of the previous financial year.

Excluding Apple, the revenue from global brands like Samsung, Google, Xiaomi and Garmin grew by 8.5%.

Additionally, the sales of brands that are exclusive to the retailer grew by 23.6% after it received new ranges in the lead-up to the Christmas trading period.

The company said it achieved a 32.2% year-on-year growth of active customers for the period, reaching 1.5 million active customers on 31 December 2018, compared to 1.1 million on 31 December 2017. Gross margins remained about the same as in the first half of full-year 2018.

Kogan founder and chief executive Ruslan Kogan said: "“Our team is proud to have delivered the best Christmas trading period the business has ever had. Our customer-centric approach saw us deliver more items than ever, faster than ever.

"The investments we have made in a nationwide logistics footprint enabled us to delight customers all over Australia with rapid delivery, along with the great value they have come to expect from Kogan.com.

"We have invested in the Kogan brand, our logistics capability, and our inventory in the lead up to the back-to-school trading period. We have also improved our marketing performance and the efficiency of some our variable costs.

"We have laid the foundation for expansion of Kogan Money into additional financial services verticals by establishing strong partnerships with Mercer and Citibank, and we have launched Kogan Money Home Loans, in partnership with Adelaide Bank and Pepper.

"The Kogan.com business is innovative, agile and resilient, and we are extremely proud of our ability to help Aussies get the most in-demand products and services for less. We are obsessed about delivering our customers better value, and we look forward into the new year with confidence in our team, and our business strategy.”

Graphic: courtesy Kogan