Zalando

History[edit]

Zalando was founded in 2008 by Robert Gentz and David Schneider in Berlin with investment capital from the three Samwer brothers. Gentz, Schneider and Oliver Samwer met each other through their studies at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management.


Inspired by US online retailer Zappos.com,^[8] Zalando initially specialized in the sale of footwear. The name of the company was derived from the Spanish word for shoes (zapatos).^[9]


In 2010, the company launched in the Netherlands and France and added apparel to its portfolio. In 2011, it opened online retail sites in the UK, Italy, and Switzerland. In the following year, Zalando expanded to Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Spain, and Poland. In 2012, Zalando began operating outside of Germany offering deliveries to Austria.


Since 2013, following examples of tech companies from the East, especially China, Zalando transitioned into a European digital platform. Emulating Chinese companies, Zalando set off into remaking itself into a digital shopping mall, allowing fashion houses and retailers to make sales via the Partner Program as well, often with limited input from Zalando.^[10]


In 2014, Zalando was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.^[11] Since 22 June 2015, Zalando has been included in the MDAX. In 2015, Zalando started collaborating with Topshop and began selling merchandise online. Advertisements featuring model Cara Delevingne were broadcast in Germany, Switzerland, and France.^[12]


In June 2015, the fashion trade fair "Bread & Butter" was acquired by Zalando, with the intention to open the globally important event to a broader audience as a "fashion festival".^[13] The first edition of "Bread & Butter by Zalando" took place in 2016, hosting 20,000 visitors at Arena Berlin. Zalando announced the discontinuation of "Bread & Butter" due to a shift in strategy two years later.^[14]


In March 2017, Zalando acquired Kickz, a German company, for an unknown sum. At the time, Kickz owned 15 shops across Germany, all specializing in basketball footwear.^[15]


In 2018, Zalando launched Beauty in Germany, Poland, and Austria and opened a beauty concept store in Berlin offering a regularly changing range of beauty products.^[16]


In February 2018, Zalando expanded its collaboration with physical retailers in Germany.^[17]


In June 2018, Zalando expanded its operations to Ireland and Czechia. The markets are served over the existing logistic sites of Zalando.^[18]


In October 2020, a works council with 31 members was elected for the first time in history, with its first meeting on 11 November 2020.^[19][20]


In December 2020, co-CEO Rubin Ritter announced that he would be stepping down next year, two years before the end of his contract, to allow his wife to pursue her professional ambitions.^[21]


In June 2021, the company announced that it would give all of its 14,500 workers an extra 5 days off work in August, in recognition of their work throughout the coronavirus pandemic.^[22]


In September 2021, the DAX was expanded to 40 companies, with Zalando becoming part of the DAX.


In November 2022, Zalando discontinued its standalone resale app, Zircle. The pre-owned category on its platform will continue to allow customers to sell and buy second-hand fashion from each other.^[23]


On the ESG and sustainable fashion front for 2023, the company is one year ahead of its schedule to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 80% by 2025, reaching 78%. The target to reduce emissions from private-label products by 40% by the same deadline is also already exceeded, with reductions of 43% already achieved in 2023. Work with partners is also progressing well: by 2025, 90% must set science-based targets (SBTs) related to emissions reductions. At the moment, 64% meet this request (72% of the target has been achieved). 9,925 people have already participated in Zalando's educational programmes out of the planned 10,000. However, with the planned complete phase-out of single-use plastic packaging by 2023, the average amount of single-use plastic packaging per product is 7.4 grams. Also, the life of only 6.3 million products (12% of the planned) has been extended so far, and the share of sustainable (made from recycled, organic and natural fabrics) products in the assortment has so far reached only 10.5% of the 25% planned.^[24]


In March 2024, the company announced a share buyback of up to 100 million euros ($109 million) and the opening of its logistics platform (logistics network, software and related services) to work with other companies. Meanwhile, the platform may also work with other categories besides fashion.^[25]