Zalando moves offshore after integrating offline stock

By

Elena Passeri

Published
Apr 1, 2016

As announced upon the publication of its financial results, Zalando is planning a huge new logistics centre for its fashion business. In addition to the existing facilities in Erfurt, Mönchengladbach, Brieselang (Germany) and the latest ones set up in Stradella (Italy) and Lahr (Germany), the new warehouse will be located in the North Sea. It will sit on a platform previously used for oil drilling and it will be entirely managed by Zalando, integrating its logistics network. The platform was chosen since it offers facilities suited to different transportation options, such as a heliport and a berthing pier for ships.
 

"Innovation has become one of our peculiarities. The start of the operations for our Offshore Centre is a natural step towards the implementation of our platform strategy (literally!): to connect fashion with people, wherever they live," stated Rubin Ritter, Zalando's CEO.
 
Given its proximity to northern Europe, the offshore warehouse will chiefly serve customers living in that region and, in the future, it may allow for expansion into markets such as Iceland and Greenland.

"We are witnessing an increase in northern European customers, and we wish to facilitate delivery time reduction, in order to offer a service in line with their requirements; this is why we focused on this solution," said Delphine Mousseau, Zalando's Vice President Markets.
 
The platform's restructuring will begin by the end of the third quarter 2016, while business operations will start in spring 2017. Shell is selling several North Sea oil platforms and Zalando decided to take advantage of this opportunity and buy the largest one, with an area of approximately 120,000 m², equivalent to over 10 football pitches.