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Zalando uses a made-in-China approach to take on Amazon
Its move to borrow from its Chinese counterparts represents a new strategy of looking East, not West, for inspiration
Add BT as a preferred sourcePublished Sun, Dec 18, 2016 · 09:50 PM
Berlin
ROBERT Gentz stepped off an Air Berlin plane in Beijing with the goal of conquering online fashion in China. By the time he boarded his return flight to Berlin, he had a new plan: to copy it.
Mr Gentz, a 34-year-old German who is a co-founder of Zalando - a European clone of Zappos, the online US shoes and fashion retailer owned by Amazon - held meetings in autumn 2013 with Chinese and international fashion labels, online stores and other parts of the local e-commerce industry. He wanted to expand his company into the world's largest digital market.
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