Keep pulling the thread on Robert Gentz.
Zalando currently serves more than 50 million customers across 25 European markets.
Zalando's revenue grew from approximately 6 million euros in 2009 to 150 million in 2010, over 500 million in 2011, and surpassed 1.2 billion euros in its fourth year of operation.
Zalando has more than 60 million active customers, which represents over 15% of the European population.
Zalando launched a B2B service in 2023 that allows the 7,000 brands on its platform to use its logistical and software infrastructure for their own e-commerce operations.
NEXT has outsourced its continental European fulfillment operations to Zalando's B2B logistics service.
Zalando's CEO states the company competes on quality, brand experience, and reliability, positioning itself differently from Chinese competitors like Temu and Shein who focus on price.
Robert Gentz believes the concept of the "American Dream" has suffered and become more exclusive, creating an opportunity for Europe to establish its own "European Dream" for entrepreneurs.
Zalando's data shows that items with a "more sustainable" label have a lower return rate.
Robert Gentz views the current global environment as a race for relevancy between China, the US, and Europe.
Robert Gentz argues that the existence of 35 separate stock markets in Europe is unhelpful for the region's economic competitiveness.
Robert Gentz asserts that European regulations sometimes make it easier for companies headquartered outside of Europe to operate within the region than for European companies themselves.
Zalando's workforce expanded from 50 employees in 2009 to over 2,500 by 2011.