German fashion
e-tailer Zalando has its fingers in many pies – ranging from its
international fashion platform, to its personal, curated shopping service
Zalon, to its premium webshop. As the fashion giant continues to grow
across Europe and Zalando widens its net to
appeal to even more consumers by strengthening
its current focus as a online sportswear-fashion destination. This
shift is said to be driven by a larger overall lifestyle trend witnessed
across the globe and industries, namely fitness and health. “We want to
establish Zalando as the sports-fashion destination in Europe,” explained
to FashionUnited over the phone.
The German e-tailer has been paying close attention to overall shift
occurring within the fashion industry, which sees more
consumers prioritising their health and fitness. This has led to the rise
of ‘athleisure’ wear, fashionable yet functional clothing items which can
be worn to work and to the gym, as consumers continue to search for
comfortable clothes to suit their increasingly busy schedules. In order to
establish themselves as the main, online destination for fashion and
sportswear in Europe, Zalando has dedicated its spring/summer 2016 to
sportswear and athleisure. Featuring model Anna Ewers and dancers Lil
Phoenix and iDance Mikey, the campaign highlights the different facets
within the activewear and fashion sceptrum Zalando has to offer.
“This was a win-win situation for the company. For us it’s always important
that we have a season start that involves many categories and makes a real
fashion statement,” said Kruemel. “On the other hand we wanted to focus on
sports and make it the center focus of the campaign. Seeing as athleisure
is currently a big trend, we were able to do so. We think that sportswear
is one of the biggest fashion topics now and we are lucky that we were able
to combine sports and fashion in the campaign so well.” Zalando picked
Ewers as the face of the first part of its campaign, as Kruemel believes
she can act as both an ambassador for the fashion industry as well as the
sporting world.
In addition, to having an established face star in the campaign, Zalando
also wanted to include movement in the campaign’s first advert, so they
hired Phoenix and Mikey to star in the campaign alongside Ewers. “We wanted
to have two different storylines, the fashion side and the sports side and
tie them together through movement.” However as Zalando progresses with its
campaign, Fashion x Sport, its adverts are set to become more sports and
active focused. The second part of the campaign is set outside and ties in
with the upcoming UEFA Champion league as well as the summer Olympics,
kicking off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this August. “This part focuses more
on true sports and is shoot outside, away from a typical fashion
environment to include more movement. So although the campaign begins with
more of a fashion statement starting into the season, it steers to more a
sports centric vision by the end of the season.”
Zalando’s SS16 campaign is the company’s second endeavor to highlight its
growing sportswear offering to its target group, millennials, and Kruemel
is positive it is also a strong area that will continue to grow in the
current fashion environment. “We really believe in sportswear and due to
our young target group, (women between their 20s to 30s) we also believe
that they want to consume sportswear in a different way compared to ten
years ago, when it was normal to go to a brick-and-mortar store and still
not have the perfect assortment.” The German e-tailer is confident that
they already have their fashion customers and now aims to convince this
customer to shop for their sportswear of athleisure online at Zalando as
well, as it become a larger part of the millennial lifestyle. The company
has invested a substantial amount into expanding its sports and athleisure
section and aims to highlight this both online in its store and with its
online retail partners.
“We work very closely with our partners to offer dedicated collections and
products, which are really curated for our customers and their needs,”
added the VP. “We brief our suppliers and constantly share information with
them, so together we can continue to serve our customers in the best way. I
think this way of working will help us achieve our goal, as we already hold
a big chunk of the sportswear business.” According to Kruemel Zalando
already holds a double digit share of European online sportswear market, which is
something they wish to maintain the long run. “We do not wish the change
the overall image of Zalando, but we think sportswear and fashion runs so
closely hand in hand that we want to keep this share.”
Zalando is currently focusing its sportswear share on training gear,
running, yoga as well as skiing and snowboarding. Although they stock 90
percent of the main sportswear brands, they are always on the lookout for
new brands to add to their growing assortment. “For example, we recently
started working with Carbon, a more upscale brand which lies within our
premium section.” In addition, they aim to ensure their selection remains
one of a kind and attractive to their main audience, millennials, no matter
where they live.
“Something like Sports Direct in the UK is based on low prices, or JD
Sports, remains a real destination for sports,” noted Kreumel. “But there
is still the biggest opportunity in the market to offer something to
consumers which is close to their fashion preference, and that is where we
come in. Our edge is having the full brand assortment around the needs of
our customer, whilst focusing on the core sports, which makes us unique in
the market and relevant.”
Photos: Zalando SS16 Campaign and Benjamin Kreumel