Zalando completed the year 2024 with sales of 10.6 billion euros, which corresponds to an increase of 4.2 percent compared to 2023. The net profit amounted to 251.1 million euros. For the current year, sales growth of 4 percent is forecast. Italy is a key market for online retailers based in Berlin, which has been served practically since the company was founded in 2008.
Fashionunited has asked Eloisa Siclari, who has been a general and Spain at Zalando since January, how the e-commerce platform has managed to conquer this market and what steps are planned next.
How does the Italian market develop and what prospects are there for the coming months?
The Italian market is important for Zalando and develops very well as the company’s numbers from 2024 and the number of active users: occupy. The latter reached a historical high with a total of 51.8 million at the end of 2024, which corresponds to growth of 4.5 percent compared to the previous year. There are also large growth potential in Italy because e-commerce penetration is below the European average.
In 2024 we determined our strategy and formulated our goal of building the pan-European e-commerce ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle, with special focus on inspiration, innovation, quality and range. We have worked with Italian celebrities and talents that reflect our values of diversity, inclusion and Italian way of life, such as Elodie for our campaign “Every stage is a big stage. Enter them with your style”.
In addition, we just launched the spring/summer campaign 2025 with Sarah Jessica Parker and Mahmood, which continues to ask the question “What do I put on?” puts (see picture above). It is based on our brand positioning, which aims to strengthen the trust of consumers: in their personal style, in accordance with our strategy, to position us as the first address for fashion savings and high -quality shopping experiences.
How do you deal with the brand offer on the platform?
In 2024, the company made major progress in the recording of new and relevant brands and assortments such as Versace Menswear, Marine Serre, on Running and Fjällräven and thus improved its offer by designers: inside and sport.
We have a very carefully selected brand offer, also from Italy. To give just one example: Diane von Fürstenberg recently selected Zalando as an exclusive dealer for Europe. The large selection of DVF clothing, including the cult winding dress, is available exclusively from Zalando in all 25 markets in which the company works. This makes us the only provider that offers the DVF brand alongside the website and the brand of the brand in Brussels. Diane von Fürstenberg has been part of the Zalando portfolio of the platform since 2018, since the development of the designer: Interior strategy of the platform.
In the past few months we have launched a capsule collection that the Italian cinema is celebrating together with Aspesi, and one with K-Way, another cult brand.
Since the introduction of the first collection in 2022, Zalando has also doubled its range of adaptive fashion and offered consumers: over 600 adaptive styles in the course of 2024; 170 more than in the previous year, in different categories, including shoes, sportswear and children’s clothing.
You also made acquisitions in the technology market. What is the strategy?
Yes, they certainly refer to the takeover of the London startup Deepar and its 3D-based platform Shopar. The takeover will enable us to reduce the gap between physical and digital purchasing, especially for younger people: inside.
We are a technology company that works in the fashion and lifestyle segment. Innovation is of course a daily topic for us. Each application aims to improve and make the shopping experience of the end customer: in the sense of business-to-consumer (B2C) and to make it more immersive and ensure that the experience of the brands that choose us as a sales platform is becoming increasingly profitable.
In detail, our first strategic pillar in the B2C area is to differentiate us by quality in order to offer the best possible fashion and lifestyle experience.
The second strategic pillar in the B2C area is to make Zalando a lifestyle destination: the company highlights these categories through a comprehensive range, personalized inspiration and seamless users: interior friendliness.
The third pillar is to offer consumers: inside personalized inspiration and entertainment. For example, the company has further developed “Stories on Zalando”, the content hub, the consumer: integrates inside and informs them about fashion and cultural trends. Since the start at the end of 2023, more than 500 stories have been published that present over 700 brands and 7,000 products.
How are artificial intelligence and technology used to improve interaction with customers: inside?
Zalando-Kund: Inside can create a 3D avatar to try on clothing. The pilot project started in 14 European markets enables you to virtually try out a selection of Levi’s products for men and women. You can create a 3D avatar based on your body dimensions to ensure better visualization of the fit of the clothing. This new function, which is based on the body measurement technology introduced by Zalando in 2023, enables consumers: inside, in an increasingly realistic online shopping experience: With your phone you can see how the different sizes fit and a 360-degree view of the fit by enlarging and reducing the clothing.
In 2024, the focus was on innovation and inspiration, with the introduction of new functions such as personalized size recommendations based on body dimensions, the Zalando Assistant and trend spotters supported by Chatgpt in Italian. With a view to 2025, we will be able to intensify our commitment to Italian: inside and offer them a unique experience that combines inspiration, entertainment and a locally relevant multi-category offer.
In the business-to-business area, after the successful start of Tikok Shop in Great Britain, Ireland and Spain, we drove up the expansion in Germany, France and Italy through our business-to-business unit ZEO and enables brands and retailers: In this area as the preferred logistics partner of TIKTOK shop for fashion and lifestyle dealers: to be successful: inside. Together with Tradebyte, an important integration partner, ZEOS enables partners: inside, integrating yourself into Tikok Shop in these new markets.
To what extent does Italian customers differ from the rest of the European Zalando community?
He is certainly a customer that is very familiar with fabrics, the processing of clothing and fashion. Because of your knowledge, your preparation and your aesthetic sense, it is announced: inside that are also willing to spend more for clothing and accessories.
The average expenditure of Italian customers: inside, 849 euros per year amount to other European customers: an average of 806 euros on the inside.
This article previously appeared on fashionunited.it and was used with digital tools translated.
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