Zalando extends offer to underrepresented communities

Zalando intends to become in the near future the first fashion platform "that welcomes everyone". Its goal: to give a voice to "underrepresented" groups. The platform presented the first phase of this project in its recent report on diversity and inclusion. Meanwhile, Zalando recently expanded its own range of 63 "black-owned" fashion, beauty and jewelry brands.

These include Los Angeles based brand Karl Kani, as well as emerging brands such as Aaron Wallace from London and Thebe Magugu from Johannesburg. The platform says it wants to build long-term relationships with brands that cater to customers that identify as "underrepresented" or that originate from these countries. This also applies to the non-gendered or "Modest Fashion" sectors.

In addition, Zalando has expanded its offering to include tailored fashion for its own brands Zign, Pier One, Anna Field, Yourturn and Even&Odd. The company addresses people with disabilities, suffering from different types of impairments, such as reduced mobility, limited dexterity or sensory sensitivity.

Zalando has also added a Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive collection to its range as well as Nike shoes from its "Adaptive Fashion" assortment. To advance disability inclusion and adaptive fashion, Zalando will partner with the Special Olympics World Games, which will be held in Berlin in 2023.

"We want to create a fashion experience that is as inclusive as possible, for everyone. Our diversity and inclusion strategy is a building block in all areas of our business," said co-founder David Schneider.

In 2021, the German giant surpassed the €10 billion mark in sales. However, did not specify what share it expects to achieve with these specific offerings.

In addition, the group points out that the share of women in its tech departments is currently 24.8%; a figure higher than the previous year, which was 21.2% in 2021. The Berlin-based company has set up the "Women In Tech" qualification program together with its partner StartSteps. This pilot project is intended to enable female employees who identify as women to train and access tech positions at Zalando. In collaboration with Girls Talk London, the first "Black Girls in Tech" conference was held in Berlin. This event was specifically aimed at BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People Of Color) talent in tech.

Zalando wants to balance gender representation across its management teams. With an average of 37.5% women in the five highest management levels, Zalando is getting closer to the 40-60% target compared to 35.2% in 2021. In addition to the improvements in its recruitment process mentioned above, initiatives such as Grow@zalando, which aim to support internal career development, have also contributed to this goal.

Zalando extends offer to underrepresented communities

See also