How Camper is inspiring a younger generation of value-driven shoppers
How Camper is inspiring a younger generation of value-driven shoppers
Key figures
- Sustainability Share* of 91% across all categories (Kids, Women, Men)
- Leveraging a strategic hybrid model of Partner Program and Wholesale
- Assortment is available across all 23 Zalando countries
*Sustainability Share is defined as the number of Camper products that fulfill one or more of Zalando’s sustainability criteria and are highlighted onsite with the Sustainability flag.
Introduction
The story of Camper begins in 1877 when Antonio Fluxa, a skilled cobbler, traveled from Mallorca to England. He returned with the island’s first mechanical shoemaking machines and a newfound spirit of innovation. In 1975, nearly a century later, this same spark ignited Lorenzo Fluxa to start Camper, a new brand founded on quality, innovation, and design. His goal was to inspire a new wave of inclusive footwear that connected comfort and creativity - something that other shoemakers were not doing at that time.
The Story
The family legacy of respect for art and craftsmanship has continued to anchor Camper’s promise to design timeless, high-quality products with minimal social and environmental impact.
Yet a lot has happened on Camper’s journey to become the internationally loved brand that it is today, including a decade of partnering with Zalando. To best understand how and why Camper works with Zalando to reach new customers across Europe interested in fashion designed with sustainability and circularity in mind, we caught up with their team based in the brand’s home of Mallorca.
Sito Luis Salas, Camper’s Deputy CEO and Advisory Board Member who leads many of Camper's initiatives and strategic direction, and Cecilia Llorens, Camper’s Product Design Director, who has 15 years of crafting standout and unique shoes for Camper’s assortment, share which values underpin Camper’s legacy, where they are now, and where they’re planning to go. Let’s get into it!
The Importance of Shared Values
No partnership is complete without values that align. When Camper was looking to reach and influence a new generation of conscious customers, Zalando was the ideal partner.
Innovation in Design
The making of a brand is in its branding and design. To understand how Camper prides itself on innovation in tackling design, we had some questions for Design Director Cecelia.
How does Camper approach the design and development process?
Has Zalando’s values-based browsing revealed much about your customer?
Sito: “Zalando’s values-based browsing enables us to keep customers engaged and we see that shoes fulfilling the sustainability criteria yield a higher share of sales than others. Our customers relate to our sentiment for consciously designed and produced footwear.”
What is values-based browsing?
Values-based browsing enables customers to discover and select more sustainable fashion based on the causes and values they care about the most: animal welfare, reusing materials, worker well-being, water conservation, reducing emissions, and extending the life of fashion. By mapping our existing sustainability criteria and assortment to impact areas, Zalando aims to break down the complex topic of sustainability into a language that everyone can understand.
How important is flexibility in a partnership?
Cecilia: ‘Flexibility is critical when launching new initiatives - some examples of this are the Partner Program and Connected Retail. Zalando responds to what is happening in the industry, innovatively releasing services that allow you to take what you need and when it matters most. Scalability is also important and Zalando has enabled us to grow our business - we’re active in all 23 markets that Zalando offers!”
Future Outlook
The team has set very significant future objectives, such as having 15% of their collections designed for circularity in the coming years and aiming for carbon neutrality by 2030. Most importantly on their agenda is durability and continuing to expand the life cycle of their shoes. “We have great potential ahead and I’m excited for the future!” concluded Sito. Looking ahead it's clear that despite launching many initiatives on their sustainability journey over the last few years, it’s only the beginning for Camper!
About Camper
Founded in |
1975 |
---|---|
Based in |
Mallorca, Spain |
Joined Zalando |
2008 |
Employees |
1038 (April 2022) |
Stores |
50 |
Sector |
Footwear |
Let's partner up!