Zalando is planning to scale down its global brand assortment in order to increase the relevance of its assortment. “In the beginning, Zalando was all about unlimited choice. This was a bold vision. And for a long time, this assortment span was one of our strongest selling points and exactly what our customers were looking for. But customer behavior has changed. Customers these days don’t just want ‘more,’ they want ‘better,’” Zalando co-CEO David Schneider said in a statement.
The product selection of the Berlin-based online retailer rapidly increased over the past two years, from 700,000 items in the fourth quarter of 2020 to more than 1.8 million by 2022, and the retailer now wants to refocus its strategy to become faster and more innovative. The reduction in the brand portfolio will not necessarily only affect small brands. The three criteria will rather be inspiration, curation and personalization. “It’s not about expanding the offer anymore. It’s more about creating strong relevance; creating local relevance in our markets, relevance for specific audiences and an emotional bond,” said Schneider.
Zalando has not provided any details on how many brands will be affected. All categories and price segments are reportedly being considered in this process. Zalando currently serves around 51 million customers in 25 markets across Europe.
