Zalando acquires About You and becomes B2B powerhouse

If Zalando acquires About You, the company will not only strengthen its position in the consumer market but also become the new owner of Scayle, a provider of ecommerce software. This acquisition would create “the next B2B powerhouse for the ecommerce industry in Europe”.

This statement was made by Zalando in an investor presentation with a telling title: “Creating the leading ecosystem for fashion & lifestyle”. The revived company has made an offer of 1.2 billion euros for About You, which would see the company spun off from its parent, Otto Group. About You’s management board and supervisory board have advised shareholders to accept the offer.

Consumer market

By acquiring About You, Zalando would eliminate an opponent in the competitive online fashion market – not just in Germany but across many European countries. The plan is to keep the brands separate: the ‘style-led’ About You will remain operational alongside the ‘brand-led’ Zalando.

‘Style-led’ About You will coexist with ‘brand-led’ Zalando.

“I’m excited about how, together, we will be able to cover a larger share of the fashion and lifestyle market”, says Zalando co-founder Robert Gentz. “In B2C, we can offer customers and brands distinct and rich shopping experiences.”

Business market

Gentz also highlights the potential benefits in the B2B market, which Zalando has been reporting on separately since its ecosystem positioning earlier this year. With the acquisition, the group would expand its portfolio to include Scayle, described as “one of the fastest-growing Software-as-a-Service commerce platforms globally and already highly profitable”. Scayle provides tailored enterprise software solutions for brands and retailers in the fashion and lifestyle segments, serving more than 200 stores across Europe and North America.

Multi-channel business management

According to Zalando, Scayle will “perfectly complement” Zalando’s ecommerce operating system, ZEOS, which enables brands and retailers to manage their multi-channel business across Europe on a unified platform. This platform integrates logistics infrastructure, software, and service offerings, whether transactions occur on or off Zalando’s platform.

‘Scayle will perfectly complement ZEOS.’

The acquisition would allow Zalando to support retailers and brands in building their own websites, described as “the most important channel for merchants”. This would create a holistic ecommerce operating system, enabling brands and retailers to manage their entire online business on one platform.

Gentz emphasizes the synergy benefits in the B2B-market: “Combining our complementary software capabilities will create an even more advanced ecommerce operating system that enables brands and retailers to manage their multi-channel business across Europe and beyond.”