A year of sport: Zalando's plans for 2024

The Berlin-based online retailer Zalando SE is preparing to focus on sportswear. The decisions comes had of the array of major sporting events set to take place in Europe over 2024, including the UEFA European Championship. As such, and in light of the busy sports calendar for this year, Zalando is also focusing on the sports category and last week announced a new partnership with the Swiss brand On and the launch of an 'Adaptive Sports Collection'.

The sports brand On will be included in Zalando's partner programme with around 100 products and will be available in 22 Zalando stores from now on. The brand's collection, which focuses on running, includes shoes and clothing for men and women.

"At its core, On is a sports brand that is deeply rooted in running and an active lifestyle. On's goal is to interact with our customers where they move - on the running trails, in the gyms and online. The partnership with Zalando opens us up to a new, young and active audience in one fell swoop," said Bianca Pestalozzi, managing director for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region at On.

Zalando Fulfilment Solutions will be responsible for order fulfilment. The partnership is also set to be expanded over the course of the year, with On products to be made available in other markets such as Switzerland.

Adaptive sportswear

After the online retailer added adaptive fashion to its range in October 2022, an additional collection of adaptive sportswear is now following. The expansion of the range will initially include own brands Pier One and Even&Odd. The different products have been designed for people with different types of disabilities who still lead an active lifestyle, such as runners and skiers with prostheses.

"Our vision is to be a fashion platform that welcomes all people and provides access to fashion without limitations that covers all areas of life - including sports. We see a gap in the sportswear market - finding fashionable and affordable adaptive sportswear is still a big challenge for people with disabilities. With this launch, we want to make fashionable sportswear accessible for people with disabilities," said Jemma Garner, principal business developer for Product Diversity and Inclusion at Zalando.

In addition to the new launches, the online platform has revamped the product pages in the sports category to emphasise the product information more strongly. This should make it easier for customers to assess aspects such as functionality and durability. For better visualisation, the sportswear is shown in motion in a video.