Zalando says an HQ worker has coronavirus

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 13, 2020

European e-tail giant Zalando has confirmed that one of its workers has contracted coronavirus and is self isolating at home. The company, which is headquartered in Germany, said the first positive case of coronavirus at Zalando involves a worker from its Berlin HQ.

“The affected colleague is currently at home since noticing the first symptoms. We are in continuous exchange with this person and wish them a smooth and quick recovery,” it said. “Our main goal is to protect the health of our employees, their families and other people in close contact, and to restore a safe working environment as quickly as possible”.

The e-tailer is currently identifying the people who were in direct contact with the infected person in the last 14 days and they will also be asked to isolate themselves at home. 

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It’s also deep-cleaning affected areas in its HQ.

The company had already put a coronavirus-focused strategy in place in recent weeks that included reducing travel, events and visits “to a business-critical minimum”, as we’ll as cleaning and sanitisation across all its facilities more often. Its employees can also voluntarily opt-in to “home office”.

It’s likely that more and more fashion companies will be taking similar actions in the weeks to come and this could even create a tipping point that encourages more home working, even when the worst of the virus threat recedes. 

However, while e-tail companies are likely to be a big part of this, those firms with large store estates remain in the front line of yet another threat to the global economy, After enduring plunging footfall due to the shift online and weather-related issues, they’re now facing consumers who are reluctant to venture out and into stores.