Zalando: Brand, Online Shop & Fashion for Women and Men
Zalando is Europe’s leading online fashion platform — a German startup that evolved within a few years from a shoe shop in the basement to a billion-dollar e-commerce platform. What began as an experiment in Berlin in 2008 is today a digital infrastructure for fashion that connects brands, models, designers, and millions of customers. In this article, you’ll find everything about Zalando: history, strategy, partnerships, and what the platform means for the modeling world.
The Founding Story: Shoes from the Basement
David Schneider and Robert Gentz founded Zalando in October 2008 from a simple idea: buy shoes online, order conveniently, and return them uncomplicatedly. The first order came from a repurposed office basement in Berlin — without a large warehouse, without its own logistics, without guarantees. What remained was a vision.
The decisive boost came from the Samwer brothers as investors. Through their platform Rocket Internet, capital, know-how, and networks flowed in. A third founder joined: Rubin Ritter, another classmate from the WHU — Otto Beisheim School of Management.
“We knew we wouldn’t become the nicest startup in Europe. We wanted to become the biggest.” — Robert Gentz, co-founder Zalando
The Ad That Divided Germany
Zalando’s first major TV commercial became a cultural moment: a loud, screaming shoe shock with the slogan “Scream for Joy!” In the Netherlands, the campaign won the title “most annoying ad of the year” twice in a row — and was still gold for brand awareness. No one forgets Zalando after this spot.
From Shoe Shop to Fashion Platform: Expansion in Stages
Product Range Expansion from 2010
At the beginning of 2010, Zalando expanded its product range far beyond shoes: clothing, accessories, sportswear, and finally beauty. Each expansion followed the same logic: what does the target audience buy in fashion, and how can we deliver it better than the brick-and-mortar retail?
International Rollout in 17 Markets
Zalando expanded in waves across Europe. Each country received a localized version: its own language in customer support, local payment methods, local logistics partners. This was not a simple copy-paste — it was real localization. Today, Zalando is active in 25 European markets.
IPO 2014
With the IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Zalando officially became one of the most important German tech companies. The stock price fluctuated initially, but then stabilized at a level that justified the ambitious valuation. The founders remained in the company — a good sign of long-term commitment.
Beauty Category 2019
In 2019, Zalando entered the next growth phase with its own beauty concept store in Berlin Mitte. The store concept “Beauty Station” was an experiment: offline experience as a complement to the digital platform. At the same time, the online beauty product range grew to over 6,000 items.
What makes Zalando successful: The 5 most important factors
- Free returns: This was Zalando’s strongest differentiator at the beginning. Customers could order, try on, and send back — without costs, without hassle. This eliminated the biggest barrier to purchase in online retail: the uncertainty of buying.
- Wide range of products: Zalando understood early on that breadth decides. Almost 2,000 brands on one platform — from basics to luxury, from streetwear to formal business look.
- Fast delivery times: The logistics infrastructure with its own warehouses (Erfurt, Stradella, Mönchengladbach, among others) enables deliveries within 1–2 days.
- Apple logic in marketing: Similar to Apple, Zalando invested early in elaborate campaigns — not primarily product-based, but emotion-based. Result: A brand that you won’t forget.
- Samwer network: The investors brought not only capital, but also operational excellence from the e-commerce ecosystem of Rocket Internet.
Zalando and sustainability: Pre-owned and Green Initiative
Zalando has begun to use sustainability as a strategic differentiator. The most important initiatives:
Pre-owned by Zalando
Secondhand fashion on the platform: customers can sell and buy worn clothing on Zalando. This is not a small add-on — it is a strategic commitment to a circular fashion economy.
Do.More Strategy
Zalando’s official sustainability strategy focuses on three areas: offering more sustainable products on the platform (currently over 6,000 products labeled), reducing its own carbon footprint, and encouraging brands to adopt more sustainable practices.
- Sustainable materials: organic cotton, TENCEL, recycled fibers
- Viktor & Rolf capsule collection made from Zalando surplus stock
- Packaging: increasingly recyclable and reduced packaging
Zalando as a platform for models and campaigns
Zalando is not just a retailer — it is a media company. The platform produces its own campaigns, content formats, and collaborations, in which models play a central role. Anyone who wants to become a model and work in the e-commerce sector cannot get around Zalando.
E-commerce shootings for platforms like Zalando are among the most common and stable booking types in the model business. They require professionalism, speed, and adaptability — no dramatic catwalk performance, but technical precision in front of the camera.
Typical figures for e-commerce bookings
- Daily rate e-commerce: 1,100–1,700 EUR (excluding agency fee)
- Number of outfits per shooting day: often 50–100 look changes
- Camera guidelines: front, side, and back shots per outfit
- Location: mostly studio production, rarely outdoor
For all those who want to specialize in this field: A clear, up-to-date
Campaign: Cara Delevingne x Topshop x Zalando
In the award-winning „Wherever You Are” campaign with Topshop, Zalando managed to connect a global supermodel (Cara Delevingne) with its own local promise. Delevingne tried to pronounce the names of cities where Zalando delivers — local, charming, authentic. Result: Viral reach without classic advertising pressure.
Campaign: Zalando x Under Armour — Let’s get Bam
REPEAT (Attempt 3). The previous attempt was faulty. The previous attempt returned the German text unchanged. That is the most serious error. Translate EVERY sentence completely into the English language. No German sentence may remain. Proper nouns, brands and established technical terms remain unchanged, everything else not.
The Zalando Outlet in Berlin
In 2013 opened Zalando its first physical outlet on Berlin’s Köpenicker Straße. On about 1,000 square meters, spread across three levels, registered members can choose from over 500 brands. The product range includes B-goods and regular items with discounts between 30 and 70 percent — a physical counterbalance to the digital platform.
History at a Glance
- 2008: Founded by David Schneider, Robert Gentz and (shortly afterwards) Rubin Ritter
- 2009: First television advertisement — the famous “Scream of Joy” ad
- 2010: Expansion into clothing and accessories; expansion strategy in Europe
- 2012: Launch of the first Zalando app in Germany, over 1 million downloads in 3 months
- 2013: Opening of the outlet in Berlin Köpenick
- 2014: IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
- 2019: Launch of the Beauty category and the concept store Beauty Station
- Today: 25 European markets, Topshop own brand acquired, pre-owned platform active
Q&A about Zalando
Who founded Zalando?
Zalando was founded in 2008 by David Schneider and Robert Gentz. Shortly afterwards, Rubin Ritter joined as the third founder. All three studied at WHU — Beisheim School of Management and met the Samwer brothers there, who acted as the first investors.
In which countries is Zalando active?
Zalando is currently active in 25 European markets — including Germany, Austria, Swiss, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Poland and others. A global expansion outside of Europe has not yet taken place.
How does Zalando make money?
Zalando earns money in two ways: First, through the direct sale of its own inventory (classic e-commerce model). Second, through the Partner Program, where external brands sell their products via the Zalando platform and Zalando receives a commission. The Partner Program now makes up an increasing part of the revenue.
Why is Zalando so successful?
Zalando has prioritized customer focus from the beginning: free returns, fast delivery, wide range of products. Early investments in technology and a smart marketing strategy added to this. The result is a platform that has established itself as the standard for online fashion in Europe.
Does Zalando acquire brands?
Yes — Zalando has deliberately acquired brands in recent years. The most prominent example is Topshop, whose online rights and inventory Zalando acquired together with Asos after the bankruptcy of its parent company Arcadia. Additionally, the Danish children’s fashion label Zircle was integrated.
Brands like Zalando: Similar platforms in comparison
Asos: The British counterpart
Asos is Zalando’s largest European competitor — also strongly focused on young target groups, also online-first. Where Zalando thinks European-local, Asos thinks British-global. Both now operate their own brand labels alongside their platform business. More about Asos: Asos
Topshop: Now part of Zalando
After Asos acquired the Topshop brand, Topshop is now also available on Zalando. The British cult brand has thus become part of the Zalando ecosystem. More about the brand: Topshop — British brand, jeans and British style
Fashion brands: The big overview
Zalando is one of the most important distribution platforms for fashion brands in Europe. Those who want to dive deeper into the world of fashion brands will find all important labels in the overview, sorted by style, origin, and price range.
