US retail brand Gap will open its own dedicated shop within the Zalando website next summer.
The partnership, announced today, will see Gap sell clothes and accessories for adults and children on Europe’s largest fashion site in a move that it says will put it before a wider European audience, from summer 2015.
Gap says that Zalando represents a new ecommerce channel for it, that will help it to reach new audiences and support its strategy of global growth.
“This partnership represents Gap’s first foray into multi-brand retailing in Europe,” said Stefan Laban, SVP international for Gap . “Also for the first time, Gap’s collections will be styled alongside other brands available on Zalando, providing customers with new looks to combine American and European casual style. Zalando is the most trafficked ecommerce fashion site in Europe with more than 100m visits to the site per month. This partnership is a strategic step that will see us continue to grow our brand presence in these markets.”
Gap has operated in the UK since 1987 and today has 190 directly operated stores and 33 franchised shops in Europe. It also sells online, shipping to 24 countries.
“We are constantly working to ensure that we are offering our around 14m active customers new and relevant brands from around the world,” said David Schneider, member of Zalando’s management board. “Gap is one of the most loved brands in the US and extends our assortment.”
Our view: While marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon have normalised the idea of selling on third-party websites, this is an interesting move because Gap and Zalando might be more naturally expected to compete. However, it seems the two have more to gain by working together, with Gap gaining a wider audience across Europe for items that complement those sold by Zalando. It will be interesting to see if Zalando starts to sell through Gap’s US website in the future.
