Anders Holch Povlsen, the well-known fashion entrepreneur and owner of BESTSELLER, joins the Zalando shareholder group, acquiring 10 percent of the shares in Zalando. BESTSELLER is one of Europe's leading fashion companies, with fashion brands such as JACK & JONES, VERO MODA, ONLY and SELECTED.
The parties agreed that Holch Povlsen will acquire shares from several early-stage shareholders, such as European Founders Found (EFF), Holtzbrinck and Tengelmann. All of the selling shareholders remain invested in Zalando.
"BESTSELLER and Zalando have been working together very successfully for several years. Anders Holch Povlsen has been following Zalando's development very closely and he knows our strengths," explains David Schneider, co-founder and managing director of Zalando. "To partner up with such an experienced fashion entrepreneur is amazing for us."
"This is an important step in the strategic development of our shareholder structure. Anders Holch Povlsen will be a strong and long-term-oriented shareholder and together we want to design the future of fashion e-commerce," expresses Rubin Ritter, managing director of Zalando.
Zalando was founded in 2008 and has shown strong growth ever since. In 2012, Zalando reached more than 1.15 billion EUR in revenue and break-even in its core region DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). For Q1 2013, net revenues were 372 million EUR, a 74% increase compared to last year, while becoming one of the world's most visited fashion websites with already 15 million customers.
After this step, the shares of Zalando will be held as follows:
-Investment AB Kinnevik: 37% -European Founders Fund: 18% -Anders Holch Povlsen: 10% -DST Global: 9% -Holtzbrinck Ventures: 8% -Tengelmann Ventures: 6% -Others: 12%
About Zalando
Zalando is Europe's leading online retailer for shoes and fashion. Its extensive selection for women, men and children ranges from popular high street brands to much sought-after designer labels from over 1,500 different international brands. Exclusive accessories, beauty essentials and sportswear make up Zalando's wide range of products.
Zalando provides customers with current fashion trends, product updates and news about the company. The company was founded in 2008 by Robert Gentz and David Schneider, and its headquarters are located in Berlin.
Following on from its success in the German market, Zalando entered Austria in 2009 as first international market. The Netherlands and France followed in 2010. Italy, Great Britain and Switzerland opened its shops in 2011. In 2012 alone, Zalando has gone live in Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Poland and Norway.