The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
German online fashion retailer Zalando said it aims to capture more than 10 percent of the €450 billion ($537 billion) European fashion market in the longer term after coronavirus lockdowns supercharged its growth in 2020.
It set a new target for gross merchandise volume (GMV) — sales on its site by itself or by partners — to exceed €30 billion by 2025, after announcing on Monday that its revenue forecast for 2021 was well above market projections.
Founded in Berlin in 2008, Zalando has grown into Europe’s biggest online-only fashion retailer, selling clothes, accessories and beauty products in 15 markets.
Its shares, which are down 5 percent this year on expectations of coronavirus restrictions lifting and a decision by Swedish investment firm Kinnevik to distribute its stake, were up 4.4 percent in early Frankfurt trade.
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Zalando expects GMV to increase 27 percent to 32 percent to between €13.6 billion and €14.1 billion in 2021, above average analyst expectations of 25 percent growth.
GMV rose by around 50 percent in the first quarter, marking an “an extraordinarily strong start to the year,” Zalando said.
After co-chief executive Rubin Ritter in December announced plans to leave the company, Zalando said founders Robert Gentz and David Schneider would continue to lead it.
Following criticism that top management team were all male, Zalando said it had appointed Astrid Arndt to a new position of chief people officer on Monday.
It has also created a new chief business and product officer role to be occupied by current chief technology officer Jim Freeman.
By Emma Thomasson; editors: Riham Alkousaa and Jason Neely.
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