In the rapidly evolving fashion e-commerce landscape, companies must embrace new ways of thinking to maintain relevance and drive growth. Zalando and About You—two of the biggest players in European fashion retail—have been following distinct yet converging approaches, shifting from traditional linear models to ecosystem-driven strategies. However, a significant development is Zalando’s move to acquire About You, which marks a pivotal moment in the European fashion e-commerce market. This potential acquisition not only signals strategic consolidation but also raises questions about the future dynamics of their ecosystem approaches. By analyzing Zalando’s transformation towards an ecosystem model and About You’s B2B platform-centric approach through the Ecosystem Strategy Map (ESM), we reveal how these companies are positioning themselves to create sustained value.
Zalando: Expanding Beyond Transactions Into an Ecosystem Model
Initially, Zalando focused on being a dominant online retailer, offering a wide range of fashion products directly to consumers. However, recognizing the limitations of a purely transactional model, the company has pivoted towards an ecosystem approach, emphasizing partnerships and third-party brand integration.
Key Elements of Zalando’s Ecosystem Transformation
Zalando’s transformation from a traditional fashion retailer to a dynamic ecosystem Orchestrator is reshaping its role in the industry. No longer just a seller of fashion goods, the company is evolving into a platform that seamlessly connects brands, consumers, and service providers. A key driver of this shift is its Partner Program and Connected Retail initiative, which enables an increasing number of brands and retailers to sell directly through Zalando’s platform, effectively blurring the lines between e-commerce and marketplace dynamics.
To deepen customer engagement, Zalando has introduced Zalando Plus, a loyalty and membership program designed to strengthen retention through exclusive perks and a more seamless shopping experience. At the same time, the company is leveraging AI-driven personalization to enhance customer recommendations and optimize pricing strategies, reinforcing its position as a digital-first Orchestrator.
In addition to these innovations, Zalando is embedding sustainability and circular fashion initiatives into its business model. By expanding offerings like pre-owned fashion, the company is integrating sustainability into its ecosystem vision, aligning with the growing consumer demand for responsible consumption.
Zalando’s Evolution: From Traditional Retailer to Ecosystem-Orchestrator
Zalando’s journey from a traditional online retailer to an ecosystem Orchestrator marks a significant shift in the way fashion e-commerce operates today. For years, the company followed a transactional business model, selling products directly to consumers and acting primarily as a Realizer, managing its own inventory and controlling pricing. While it maintained some enabling functions through logistics and fulfillment, its interaction with third-party brands was minimal, and the overall business structure remained largely linear. This approach limited the potential for scalability and deeper customer engagement in an increasingly interconnected digital economy.
Recognizing the need for a more expansive and dynamic approach, Zalando has transformed itself into a fashion ecosystem Orchestrator. No longer just a Realizer, the company now plays a central role in connecting brands, logistics partners, and consumers, fostering a platform where value is created collectively rather than through isolated transactions. This shift has allowed Zalando to extend its influence across multiple Life Areas, redefining its role beyond simply selling fashion products.
Zalando has evolved into a key Orchestrator in the Life Area Consumption, opening its platform to third-party brands and retailers, enabling them to sell directly to customers. This transformation from a closed retail model to an open marketplace has made Zalando not just a seller of products but a facilitator of commerce.
Beyond commerce, Zalando has strengthened its role in the Life Areas Entertainment and Socialize, leveraging AI-driven personalization, digital fashion experiences, and influencer collaborations—such as their 2024 "Your best is yet to come" campaign featuring fashion influencer Caro Daur, which encouraged individuals to embrace new sports endeavors - to create a more immersive and engaging shopping experience.By embracing social commerce, Zalando has turned passive consumers into active participants, fostering a more interactive and community-driven retail experience.
This transformation highlights Zalando’s shift from a transaction-based business to an interconnected ecosystem, where success is no longer defined by owning the entire value chain but by orchestrating a network of partners that collectively deliver a seamless and enriched experience. The evolution of Zalando serves as a blueprint for retailers navigating the ecosystem era, demonstrating that the future of e-commerce lies not in isolated sales but in building collaborative and scalable platforms that drive continuous value creation.
About You: A Platform-Centric B2B Strategy
Unlike Zalando, About You built its strategy around modular and scalable B2B solutions, developing a technology-first approach to drive fashion e-commerce.
Key Elements of About You’s B2B Ecosystem Strategy
Instead of positioning itself as a direct retailer, About You acts as an Enabler, providing brands and retailers with the tools and infrastructure they need to succeed in the digital marketplace.
At the core of its B2B ecosystem strategy is SCAYLE, a white-label commerce platform, which allows businesses to leverage About You’s technology to build and operate their own online stores. This solution provides a seamless way for brands to establish their digital presence while benefiting from About You’s extensive e-commerce expertise.
To enhance the shopping experience, About You merges fast fashion with tech-driven commerce, using a highly mobile-optimized and AI-powered approach to improve personalization and digital storytelling. This enables brands to deliver a more engaging and customized experience to their customers.
Unlike traditional marketplaces that control the end-to-end customer journey, About You positions itself as an Enabler for brands and retailers, offering the necessary digital infrastructure while allowing businesses to maintain ownership of their brand experience.
Additionally, content and social commerce integration play a key role in About You’s strategy. By seamlessly blending e-commerce with influencer marketing and personalized content, the company leverages social engagement to drive customer interaction and brand affinity.
By focusing on B2B solutions and technology, About You has firmly established itself as a leading Enabler in the fashion ecosystem, empowering businesses to build and scale their online presence with ease.
About You: The Digital Enabler in Fashion E-Commerce
In contrast to Zalando's shift towards an orchestrated ecosystem, About You has built its strategy around being a digital Enabler, focusing primarily on providing B2B infrastructure rather than directly engaging in traditional retail. From the beginning, the company has taken a technology-first approach, positioning itself as a facilitator for brands rather than a competitor. Through its SCAYLE platform, About You enables companies to create their own e-commerce presence, making it one of the most influential B2B Enablers in the fashion industry.
The Ecosystem Strategy Map (ESM) highlights About You's core positioning as an Enabler in Consumption, where it provides the back-end infrastructure for brands to operate independently. In addition, About You is leveraging Orchestrator-like services in Socialize and Entertainment to enhance its core Enabling function, shaping customer engagement through digital experiences. By integrating influencer-driven commerce and personalised content, About You helps brands create interactive shopping journeys without directly owning the consumer relationship. Similarly, in the entertainment space, the company uses content-driven commerce, storytelling and immersive digital experiences to add value to its B2B offerings, ensuring that brands can engage consumers more effectively.
This strategic positioning sets About You apart from traditional retailers. While many fashion platforms focus on owning customer relationships, About You facilitates them by providing brands with the necessary digital infrastructure to build and manage their own e-commerce presence. Rather than competing for direct consumer attention, it provides the technological foundation that enables brands to thrive in an increasingly experience-driven market.
The success of About You's model lies in its ability to combine its B2B infrastructure with supporting ecosystem services such as social commerce, entertainment and influencer engagement. These Orchestrator-like services aren't the core business model, but serve as enablers to reinforce About You's primary B2B positioning. In doing so, the company is not only reshaping the way brands sell fashion online, but also establishing itself as a key ecosystem player in the digital transformation of retail. This approach underlines a critical shift in fashion e-commerce - where success is not about controlling the value chain, but enabling others to innovate and grow within it.
The Future: Convergence of Ecosystem Strategies?
- Zalando is evolving towards a more comprehensive ecosystem model, orchestrating various partners and customer experiences.
- About You is doubling down on its B2B focus, empowering brands through SCAYLE and digital commerce tools.
- Both companies increasingly rely on platform-based models, signaling a convergence in strategy despite their distinct starting points.
In the competitive world of fashion e-commerce, success is no longer about owning the entire value chain but rather about orchestrating the right ecosystem. Zalando’s potential acquisition of About You marks a strategic shift, consolidating their strengths into a unified ecosystem approach. While Zalando has evolved into a marketplace and ecosystem orchestrator, About You has positioned itself as a B2B enabler. Together, they could create a hybrid model that combines Zalando’s scale and consumer reach with About You’s technological backbone, offering a more integrated, end-to-end commerce infrastructure for brands.
This merger could redefine European fashion e-commerce, blending marketplace, enablement, and digital engagement models under one strategic vision. A Strategy Map illustrating this combined portfolio would highlight how their ecosystem roles complement each other, enabling a more powerful and scalable fashion ecosystem.
Want to learn more about ecosystem strategies? Explore the Ecosystemizer Framework to unlock the full potential of your business in the ecosystem era.
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