German perfume and cosmetics retailer Douglas has set the scene for a possible return to the stock market by growing strongly online, although a decision rests with private equity owners CVC Capital, its chief executive said.

"We have brought this company to excellent growth and want to get even more profitable. The foundation is laid," Tina Mueller, the former Opel marketing boss who took over as CEO in 2017, told Reuters in an interview.

Douglas is majority owned by private equity group CVC Capital Partners, which bought its stake in the retailer from US buyout firm Advent in 2015 in a deal worth almost 3 billion euros ($3.31 billion). Advent took Douglas private in 2013.

Douglas, which runs around 2,400 stores in 26 countries in Europe, saw sales rise 5.4% to 3.5 billion euros in the 2018/19 fiscal year and returned to a profit of 17 million euros, after a loss of 290 million the previous year.