German online fashion platform Zalando SE is preparing to soon announce its first deal with an American customer, which will see it enter the American market with its B2B services.
“We’ve put our first team on the ground to develop markets for us and talk to brands and retailers about their needs,” Zalando co-chief executive David Schroeder said in an interview this week. “We are now finally close to closing our first transaction here in the U.S. and we are very excited about it. We hope to make an announcement in the coming months.”
Zalando’s B2B operations have so far focused exclusively on Europe. But the company hailed it as “one of the biggest opportunities” for Skyle Software, which acquired the US in 2025 by acquiring rival About You Holding SE. The software helps businesses manage inventory and branding across sales channels. Schröder said Zalando’s business-to-business business is a “multi-billion euro” opportunity. Most of that will come from logistics, but he expects software revenue to account for “hundreds of millions.”
Zalando shares soared as much as 4% on Friday before paring their gains on the news.
The financial targets the company announced last year failed to impress investors. The Berlin-based company has lost more than $20 billion in market capitalization since its peak as a pandemic darling in 2021. The company’s stock price fell after the pandemic as consumers returned to brick-and-mortar stores for their shopping needs. Although Zalando’s earnings have seen some momentum, investors remain wary of the company’s ability to grow profits.
Regarding investor reaction to the company’s financial outlook, Schroeder said: “There still seems to be some doubt as to whether we will be able to achieve our goals, especially on the margin side.” “This year, we will prove once again that margins will increase and we will continue to grow.” Schroeder said that when Zalando reports its full-year results in March, management will reiterate its financial goals but “tell a simpler story to make it clear what our priorities are.”
Schrader said he expects traffic to Zalando’s shopping platform from artificial intelligence chatbots and agents to increase in the coming years. Currently, more than 80% of Zalando’s traffic comes from organic traffic, not paid ads, and the rest primarily comes through paid channels such as Google and Meta Platforms Inc., Schroeder said. However, he said a “low single-digit percentage” is currently guided through AI.
Although some have warned that AI tools could undermine e-commerce companies’ business models, Schroeder said he was optimistic the technology would help Zalando find new customers. The company recently began working with Google’s agent commerce open standard. Agent Commerce is designed to help retailers use AI to connect and shop with consumers.
“Obviously we want to be where our customers are,” Schrader said.
While agent commerce has the potential to disrupt the industry, Bankhaus Metzler analyst Felix Denle recently said in a note that he believes AI is an opportunity for Zalando to create content and optimize revenue.
Written by Alicia Tan and Sonya Wind
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