Zalando is the German online fashion retailer known as one of Europe’s largest e-commerce companies.
The company was founded in Berlin in 2008 by Robert Gentz and David Schneider, with investment from the Samwer brothers. Inspired partly by the United States retailer Zappos, Zalando initially concentrated on shoes before expanding into clothing, accessories, beauty products and broader fashion services.
Its name is linked to “zapatos,” the Spanish word for shoes, and to Alando, an earlier venture associated with the Samwer brothers. Zalando expanded beyond Germany into other European markets and developed from a conventional online shop into a platform that also supports partner brands, logistics and marketing services.
ASOS, About You and Otto are also major European online retailers, but they are separate companies. Zalando’s German headquarters, fashion specialization and large European footprint make it the canonical answer to this question.