Zalando
Zalando is an online retailer for shoes and fashion based in Berlin or large berries. The website zalando.de belonged in 2012 to the 100 most actively traded German online stores. The company is also active in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, England, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland and Norway. To the company is also founded in 2010, Zalando Lounge and performed under the subsidiary MyBrands Zalando Zalando Verwaltungs GmbH MyBrands eLogistics, MyBrands Zalando eServices, MyBrands Zalando Zalando estudios and MyBrands eproductions. In addition, the zLabels GmbH was founded, under whose name their own brands are sold. The specially opened Premium Shop EMEZA and the own-brand shop Kiomi were set back by now.
History
Zalando was founded in Berlin in 2008 by David Schneider and Robert Gentz with investors' capital of the three Samwer brothers. Was modeled on the U.S. mail order company Zappos. The end of 2008 was Zalando with a balance sheet total of EUR 326,618.02, according to the annual financial statements published in the electronic Federal Gazette as a " small corporation " pursuant to § 267 paragraph 1 HGB.
In 2009 Advanced Zalando be shipping country to Austria. At the same time the offer was extended to the areas of fashion and clothing. Meanwhile Zalando has begun to offer their own collections and labels in the market. About two years after its establishment, the company was the end of 2010 the market leader in the shoe sent over the Internet, but wrote no black numbers, but made 20 million euro loss.
Since October 2011, Zalando also supplies to Switzerland. In 2011, the company already had a turnover of over 500 million euros. Here, a loss of 59.7 million euros was achieved. Attention received Zalando by flashy television advertising, which cost several million euros. Of 2011 were the monthly advertising spending in the tens of millions and were attributed to 5 million euro due to high losses in January 2012.
Since March 2012, the Zalando Outlet Store Berlin belongs to the company.
In July 2012, it was announced that Zalando bundles a part of software development at the site in Dortmund. In addition to the storage facilities in Great Berries, where 2012 1.000 workers were employed in July, and Brieselang, where in June 2012 900 working employees, is in Erfurt another warehouse in which 350 employees were active in August 2012. In the autumn of 2012 began with the construction of a logistics center in Mönchengladbach, which should commence in autumn 2013 in the test mode. The loss was in 2012 at 92 million euros. The return rate should be at about 50%.
In December 2013 Zalando from a limited liability company ( GmbH) was converted into a public limited company ( AG). In fiscal 2013 Zalando achieved a turnover of 1.8 billion euros.
International offshoot
Zalando has several offshoot internationally constructed by Rocket Internet. These include Dafiti in Brazil, Lamoda in Russia, Zando in South Africa, Namshi on the Arabian Peninsula, Zalora in Southeast Asia as well as The Iconic in Australia. 2013 invested Access Industries, Summit Partners and the German group Tengelmann 130 million U.S. dollars in the Russian offshoot Lamoda.
Economic data
Litigation
The brand name rights of Zalando were asked in October 2010 by the competitors " Calando " in question, which since around 2002 offering by its own account under his name advantage actions for fashion and lifestyle products and thus partly related business such as Zalando served. Calando sought an out of court settlement with compensation. Calando was then taken over in 2011 by Zalando.
After Zalando had spread a parody of the famous Old 68er Rainer Langhans and the Kommune I in his TV advertising, Langhans felt personally vilified and ridiculed. About a lawyer he raised claims for damages for an alleged violation of his rights to their own image and falsifying his personal life story. In January 2011, Langhans agreed amicably with Zalando and played it in a commercial with.
Criticism
From 2007 to 2012 Zalando has received about 3.3 million euros to promote economic development of less favored regions, citing the Bild newspaper to the Federal Ministry of Economics. For 2013 Zalando had requested additional funding required. According to a report of the German Mittelstand news the Samwer brothers in their business ventures are especially eager, with foreign money and cheap labor structures that they build in a short time, in even less time to sell again.
Triggered by a ZDF documentary on the show ZDFzoom, Zalando came in July 2012 in the criticism, because in the logistics service Docdata ruled inadequate working conditions. ZDF reported in a logistics center in the United berries would have warehouse workers are throughout the work day; Sitting was not lawful for them. Employees would categorically controlled, forced to reach a workload, and those which exist for several hundred employees only a dirty toilet containers in the hall itself Moreover, in the ZDF contribution of hourly wage of 7.01 € for a production assistant was criticized that the minimum wage for equivalent for temporary work in East Germany. After investigation of the ZDF has also been known that Zalando has received 22.5 million euro subsidy from the state of Thuringia for the construction of a new headquarters with job creation.
According to a ZDF undercover employees about 40 people between seven and nine days per month would work at the expense of the state for Docdata, unpaid interns as ( measures to activate and occupational integration ); about one-third of employees are employed as temporary workers. The Thuringian Minister of Economics Matthias Machning had believed the statements of Zalando and negotiated no minimum wage, only the creation of a minimum number of new jobs. So Zalando has paid only the current minimum wage of 7.01 euros for temporary workers in East Germany:
"It will not be paid under minimum wage. Zalando Erfurt must also face the competition at the site, so that pay is well above the 8.50 euro per hour. "
Zalando announced after the allegations, to examine the partner stronger and even more regularly controlled in order to prevent future abuses.
" Zalando is aware of its responsibility for each employee, whether employed directly or indirectly, consciously. The impressions of the documentation reflect our view, not the working atmosphere in the Zalando locations again. Unfortunately, however, we have realized that we need to take much more impact on our service. In the case of our bearings in large berries Zalando working with a partner who is largely responsible for the staff and for the processes in the warehouse. "
As a result of the reporting of the ZDF presented two state legislators a small request; the state government said. The State Office for Occupational Safety and Health of the Federal State of Brandenburg took the local working conditions in inspection.
Zalando Outlet Store Berlin
End of March 2012 opened an Outlet Store in Berlin-Kreuzberg, which Zalando enters a new business and expanding its distribution channels. Access to Outlet Store is only permitted with a corresponding debit card. The Outlet Store is also known as Zalando Lounge, offering among other own brands such as Kiomi on. Discounts of 30 to 70 percent are possible. The Outlet Store 500 brands currently offered.
Shareholder
2012 held Rocket Internet 38%, Kinnevik 26%, Digital Sky Technologies and 9% at Zalando and JP Morgan Asset Management and Quadrant Capital Advisors 1.3 percent and 0.9 percent of the shares Zalando. Rocket Internet, Holtzbrinck and Tengelmann together accounted for 56 % of the shares of the company. Moreover kept the Emesco AB and management shares in the company.
The enterprise value of Zalando is estimated in February 2014, to 5 billion euros.
In August 2013, the Rocket Internet Kinnevik shareholders and European Founders Fund converted their indirect interests in a direct participation at Zalando. At the same time, the fashion entrepreneur Anders Holch Povlsen involved in Zalando. The participation of individual investors in the company is now as follows:
- Investment AB Kinnevik: 37%
- European Founders Fund ( Rocket Internet ): 18 %
- Anders Holch Povlsen (Best Sellers ): 10%
- Digital Sky Technologies Global: 9%
- Holtzbrinck Ventures: 8%
- Tengelmann Ventures: 6%
- Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (Canadian pension fund ): 2 %
- Other: 10%