German fashion e-tailer Zalando is to discontinue its own-brand zLabels business next month as part of a wider bid to refine its private label assortment.
The Berlin-based firm said it plans to pursue a complementary assortment strategy for its private labels and partner brands and, as a consequence, zLabels will no longer be available from 1 April.
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From spring/summer 2020 onwards, the group’s private apparel labels will offer “everyday essentials” and continue with a focused footwear and accessories assortment. The 11 private label brands will be kept “for the time being,” Zalando said, adding a review in line with the new assortment strategy will take place at a later point.
As a result of the changes, Zalando said a “significant number” of its 550 zLabels employees will move into the Zalando Fashion Store or will be offered comparable positions within the group.
“zLabels was founded in 2010 in order to fill the ‘blank spots’ in our assortment, offering our customers products that were not being provided by our partner brands,” Zalando co-CEO David Schneider explained. “In the last ten years, our business has become more attractive to both customers and brands. Since we are committed to our platform strategy, and as we continuously onboard new brands and verticals, we decided to refine our assortment including our own labels.
“This approach will allow us to work together under one roof, with a strategic direction for our own assortment which will be more complementary to our partner brands. This is very much in line with our ambition of becoming the starting point for fashion. We are convinced that our strong customer focus and platform strategy are the right path to success.”
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By GlobalDataFellow co-CEO Rubin Ritter recently hailed a “strong finish” to a challenging year for Zalando, adding that the firm’s long-term growth plans are on track.
