Retailer Zalando Shakes Up Management After Strategy Shift

Zalando SE is shuffling its management roles as the online retailer tries to win a bigger share of Europe’s €450 billion ($485 billion) fashion market.

Co-founder David Schneider will hand over his co-chief executive officer role to David Schröder in September and focus more on building partnerships and advancing the Zalando brand, the Berlin-based company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Schneider will remain on the management board, while fellow founder Robert Gentz will continue in his role as co-CEO, the company said. Schröder is currently Zalando’s chief operating officer.

The shares reversed an initial gain to trade down as much as 1.3 percent.

Zalando, whose stock soared to a record during the pandemic, has languished as faster inflation and shoppers returning to stores pummelled sales in 2022 and 2023. The stock has gained about 15 percent this year as the company embarked on a new strategy to capture a larger share of the e-commerce market.

Zalando got more than 90 percent of its revenue from consumer sales last year, with around 8 percent stemming from sales to other businesses. In his new role, Schröder will focus on scaling up the business-to-business segment.

“B2B is a growth area for Zalando, so this could require operational expertise at the top as the business expands,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tatiana Lisitsina. Schröder also held the role of chief financial officer until 2022. “He was almost like a CEO, so I think the move is solid,” she said.

Schröder has been part of Zalando’s senior management team since 2010, serving as finance chief until 2022 and as senior vice president for Convenience until 2019

By Angela Cullen

Learn more:

Zalando Returns to Growth Thanks to Premium Brands

The online fashion marketplace average order value increased to €60.4 ($65) in the first quarter, from €57.3 a year earlier.