Zalando to go head-to-head with Amazon by boosting brand partnerships

German fashion etailer Zalando aims to strengthen its current brand partnership scheme in order to go head-to-head with online giant Amazon.

Following Amazon's recent push into the fashion foray in Europe, Zalando is keen to increase its brand partnership programme, which counts 700 brands, to gain the upper hand on the US online retailer. Zalando's partner programme offers brands the opportunity to sell their stock through its e-commerce platform for a commissioning fee while giving them control over their own stock, prices, and image on the website.

At the moment the partnership accounts for close to 10 percent of the total amount of products sold on Zalando, but the German etailer has set a long-term target of growing this to 20 to 30 percent. “The brands are put in the driving seat. They keep control over the assortment, prices and brand representation. It is a very different environment to other market places like eBay or Amazon,” said Carsten Keller, Zalando's managing director of partner solutions to Reuters.

In addition, Zalando also offers its brand partners data concerning which type of customers are buying its products, as well as helping them manage their online marketing strategies and inventory management. Zalando is offering its partners data about who is buying what and where, as well as helping brands with their marketing strategies, online content, logistics and inventory management, buying two software firms that help brands with digital inventory management.

“In an Amazon or eBay environment, brands lose contact with their consumers because they do not get their hands on consumer data,” added Keller.