Europe’s largest online-only fashion retailer, Zalando has launched a pilot to deliver goods for brands through its extensive delivery network.
And it begins with the delivery of orders for Adidas!
Customers in Paris that order goods from the sports giant’s website will be able to receive delivery within a day or two.
This is an expansion strategy for Zalando where it charges brands a commission to list on its website rather than selling the products itself.
Stating that it’s a win-win situation, Jan Bartels, Zalando senior vice president for customer fulfillment, said “It increases the density of deliveries if you combine and bundle volumes from different channels.”
Zalando has invested heavily in logistics to speed delivery, as Amazon and other players have expanded rapidly in online fashion; therefore, this extension of its platform is a way to maximise profitability.
It forecasts that its margins should improve as its ‘partner programme’ expands because the sales commission business, and providing logistics and advertising services, is more profitable than its core online retailing operations.
Jan said that offering same-day delivery should increase how often Adidas customers order and push down return rates, a major issue for Zalando given that half of orders are returned.
The pilot has been taken up by Adidas as a part of its scheme for rapid expansion of its ecommerce sales, seeking to double online sales in 2 years to US $ 4.44 billion by 2020.
Adidas has started storing sneakers at a Zalando warehouse near Paris.
