Zalando wants to become the operating system of fashion
The vision of Zalando’s mastermind, Robert Gentz, is called “Connected Retail.” The co-CEO of Europe’s largest online clothing retailer wants to bring the entire fashion industry together on a single platform—Zalando’s, of course—and thereby become the operating system of the fashion industry.
"By the end of the year," Gentz says in an exclusive interview with the Handelszeitung, "600 physical stores will be connected to Zalando, including Esprit, Tommy Hilfiger, Seidensticker and Drykorn."
In concrete terms, this means that if a customer from Zurich orders a Hilfiger shirt from Zalando, the order is not processed in a Zalando warehouse in Germany, but in the Hilfiger store on Bahnhofstrasse. The advantage: the goods reach the customer much faster. "The customer doesn't care whether his shirt comes from a store or a warehouse," says Gentz.
The 35-year-old, on the other hand, is cautious about what is currently the biggest hype in e-commerce, the sharing of clothing. "We are taking a closer look at this for high-priced products," says Gentz. But, "clothing rental is legally and technically very complex. In addition, the margins are low," says the e-commerce expert.
