This collaboration aims to enhance customer experiences by combining their B2C and B2B offerings and covering the European fashion market.
Zalando has announced plans to acquire ABOUT YOU, bringing together two leading European fashion and lifestyle e-commerce platforms.
This collaboration aims to enhance customer and partner experiences by combining their distinct B2C and B2B offerings and covering a larger share of the European fashion market.
The management board of ABOUT YOU supports the transaction, emphasising the strong cultural fit and complementary strengths between the two companies. Founders Sebastian Betz, Tarek Müller, and Hannes Wiese are committed to continuing in their current roles.
“Redefining fashion and lifestyle shopping by creating the best possible experience for customers and partners has always driven both our teams. I’m excited about how together we’ll be able to cover a larger share of the fashion and lifestyle market,” said Robert Gentz, co-CEO and co-founder of Zalando.
“In B2C, we can offer customers and brands distinct and rich shopping experiences. In B2B, combining our complementary software capabilities, Tradebyte and SCAYLE, will create an even more advanced e-commerce operating system that enables brands and retailers to manage their multi-channel business across Europe and beyond.”
In the B2C growth vector, adding ABOUT YOU will enable Zalando to implement a dual-brand strategy. Each brand will retain its distinct identity while leveraging synergies in logistics, payment infrastructure and commercial collaboration. This strategic move will allow the combined entity to provide tailored and separate shopping experiences, effectively meeting the unique needs and preferences of their customers.
In the B2B growth vector, ABOUT YOU’s SCAYLE software unit will perfectly complement Zalando’s ecommerce operating system ZEOS which enables brands and retailers to manage their multi-channel business across Europe within one unified platform, consisting of logistics infrastructure, software and service offerings, regardless of whether they take place on or off the Zalando platform.
“We are thrilled to team up with so many brilliant entrepreneurial colleagues and together move the success stories of Zalando and ABOUT YOU to the next level,” said Tarek Müller, the co-founder and co-CEO of ABOUT YOU.
“This transaction creates something truly unique, with two distinct and independent B2C businesses serving the specific needs of their customers. At the same time, the complementary strengths of the B2B businesses will seamlessly align to deliver a comprehensive and optimised offer for clients in logistics, software and services.”
The deal will also help the joint group enable positive change for a more sustainable and inclusive future of the fashion and lifestyle industry, helped by its larger scale and higher relevance for customers and brands.