Zalando, a company based in Berlin, is Europe’s largest web-only retailer. Its main focus are shoes and clothing. Right now they’re selling more than 1500 brands and have opened country-specific online stores in 15 markets.
The clothing and footwear retailer has outgrown its European rivals and posted 50% growth in 2013, reaching sales of €1.8 billion ($2.36 billion). Now for the first half of 2014, sales reached €1.05 billion ($1.38 billion), up 29.5% from the same quarter last year.
To get a sense of size, the main competitor, London-based ASOS.com, sold “just” €959 million ($1.26 billion) in 2013.
Not bad for a company that launched in 2008, in the “cellar of the office building”, as legend has it. The company was founded by Robert Gentz and David Schneider. Initially, it was named Ifansho, but the name didn’t stick. Zalando started as a shoe-sales business and later diversified into fashion and sports.
Among the company’s shareholders you’ll find Swedish investment bank AB Kinnevik, that specializes, among others, with ecommerce investments. The investment banker, as well as other shareholders may be in for a treat as Zalando is said to reach for an IPO later this year.
A sign towards such plans is the fact that for the first time in its history, Zalando has posted a quarterly profit. A somewhat stronger sign, some might argue, is the fact that CEO Rubin Ritter mentioned “an IPO could be an interesting option in the future”.
So there you have it – although Europe lags behind China and the US in terms of ecommerce growth, it does have some champions. Zalando is probably THE name to keep an eye on when it comes to Europe.
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