Zalando

Zalando SE
Societas Europaea
Traded as FWB: ZAL
Industry Online retailing
Founded 2008
Founder Robert Gentz, David Schneider
Headquarters Berlin, Germany
Area served
 Europe
Key people
 Robert Gentz
(Chairman, President & CEO), David Schneider, Rubin Ritter
Revenue Increase € 2.214 billion (2014)
Number of employees
 7,600 (January 2015)
Subsidiaries Zalando Lounge, MyBrands Zalando Verwaltungs GmbH, MyBrands Zalando eLogistics, MyBrands Zalando eServices, MyBrands Zalando eStudios, MyBrands Zalando eProductions, zLabels GmbH, EMEZA, KIOMI

Zalando SE is a multinational e-commerce company that specialises in selling shoes, clothing and other fashion and lifestyle products online. The company was founded in Germany in 2008 (by Rocket Internet)[1] and since then has expanded to offer its retail services in a total of fourteen European countries. Currently Zalando is operationally active in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and the UK. The company’s headquarters are in Berlin.

History

Zalando was created in 2008 by Robert Gentz and David Schneider, initially under the name Ifansho.[1] Inspired by US online retailer Zappos.com,[2] Zalando initially specialised in the sale of footwear but has since grown to encompass other areas of fashion, lifestyle and sports.

In 2009 Zalando began operations abroad when it started offering deliveries to Austria. In 2010 the company launched in the Netherlands and France, and in 2011 it opened online retail sites in the UK, Italy and Switzerland. In 2012 it launched in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Belgium, Spain and Poland.

In 2014 Zalando was listed in Frankfurt Stock Exchange.[3]

UK presence

In 2011 Zalando launched Zalando.co.uk, thereby offering its retail services to UK customers. Deliveries were operated by YODEL. In the same year Zalando launched a TV ad in English, replicating the humorous format used in its German-language commercials. In it, a long-suffering husband bemoans his wife’s addiction to buying shoes and warns other men about the dangers of introducing women to Zalando.

Business figures

The company’s turnover for 2010 varies between 101.2 million € to 159 million € according to different sources.[4][5] A turnover of over 200 million € was announced for the first six months of 2011.[4] For, 2012 the company had a turnover of 1.15 billion Euro and for 2013 of 1.8 billion Euro.[6]

Timeline of expansion

2008: Zalando is founded in Germany

2009: the company starts delivering to Austria

2010: launch of French and Dutch retail websites in France and the Netherlands

2011: launch in the UK, Italy and Switzerland; Austria gains its own independent site, Zalando.at

2012: launch in Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Finland and Norway

Controversy

In July 2012, German TV channel ZDF broadcast a report on the packing and distribution centre operated for Zalando by a provider near Berlin.[7] The report stated that certain staff, who often commute more than 200 km per day from nearby Poland, are not allowed to sit down during their working day.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jaffé, Diana; Riedel, Saskia (8 December 2010). Werbung f8r Adam und Eva: Zielgruppengerechte Ansprache durch Gender Marketing Communication. Wiley-VCH. p. 215. ISBN 978-3-527-50549-4. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  2. ↑ Bloomberg Businessweek; 3/5/2012, Issue 4269, p74-80, 6p, 5 Color Photographs
  3. ↑ Zalando to Raise Up to $815 Million in German E-Commerce IPO Retrieved on 31 January 2015
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Zalando vise une croissance des ventes à +300%".
  5. ↑ Estimations Bundesverband des Versandhandels Online-Versendern Internetworld, 18 août 2011
  6. ↑ "Zalando mit überraschend neuen Erfolgszahlen" (in German). WELT Online. July 19, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  7. ↑ Nach heftiger Kritik: Zalando-Partner reagiert, FashionUnited 02 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "ZDF-Zoom: Im Zalando-Lager ist den Arbeitern Sitzen verboten - Golem.de".

External links