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Zalando acquires majority stake in Highsnobiety, bringing together content and commerce

June 13, 2022
Company
Three young people at a busy sidewalk cafe table with a half eaten meal in front of them
  • Zalando acquires a majority stake in Highsnobiety, the influential global fashion and lifestyle media brand
  • Highsnobiety will act as a strategic and creative consultant to Zalando, bolstering its inspirational storytelling and assortment curation capabilities
  • Highsnobiety to retain its editorial independence, with creative agency work remaining fully autonomous and management structure unchanged; Founder and CEO, David Fischer retains a minority stake in the business

BERLIN, JUNE 13, 2022 // Zalando, a leading online platform for fashion and lifestyle in Europe, and Highsnobiety, the global pioneer of the new luxury culture, jointly announce today that Zalando has acquired a majority stake in Highsnobiety.

The two companies will join forces to lead the way in engaging and inspiring customers. They will leverage each other's complementary strengths by bringing together Highsnobiety’s cultural relevance and insight, fashion authority and storytelling expertise with Zalando’s fashion network, e-commerce know-how and operational capabilities.

While continuing independent operations, Highsnobiety will act as a strategic and creative consultant helping Zalando develop new inspiration-focused spaces and formats on its platform. Highsnobiety’s unique capabilities will play into Zalando’s ambitions to weave inspirational experiences into the customer journey and create an exciting and engaging online environment for both consumers and brands. In turn, joining the Zalando Group allows Highsnobiety to leverage Zalando’s expertise and resources to fuel its own e-commerce capabilities.

Highsnobiety was founded in Berlin in 2005 by David Fischer as a blog that heralded the convergence of streetwear and high-end luxury fashion. Today, Highsnobiety comprises a publishing arm, creative consultancy and a curated commerce platform, counting among the most influential global voices in the new luxury space and in culture at large. Teaming up with Highsnobiety will accelerate Zalando's ambition to be a top destination for streetwear, new luxury and fashion inspiration, especially for the younger, fashion-forward consumers.

Portrait of David Fischer sitting at a table wearing a black jumper and cap

David Fischer, Highsnobiety’s Founder and CEO, comments: “Highsnobiety has mastered the art of turning stories into products and products into stories. I am very excited to bring our capabilities to Zalando's commitment towards fashion inspiration and together reimagine the future of content and commerce. Equally, I am thrilled to tap into Zalando’s unrivaled expertise in scaling e-commerce platforms and bring my lifetime’s passion work to the next level”.

Portrait of David Schneider, Co-CEO Zalando SE

David Schneider, Zalando’s Founder and Co-CEO, says: “Both of our companies share a passion for building strong brand partnerships and enabling brands to inspire audiences with their products and stories. Partnering with Highsnobiety will allow us to execute much faster on our ambition to offer the most relevant and engaging - as well as convenient - shopping experience to our customers. I’m excited to see our joint vision materialize and to shape the future of fashion content in commerce together”.

As part of the deal, Highsnobiety will retain its editorial and curational autonomy, with the publishing and agency work remaining fully independent. Highsnobiety will continue to be led by its two managing directors, David Fischer and Jürgen Hopfgartner, and founder David Fischer will retain a minority stake in the business.

All parties have agreed not to disclose the financial details. Highsnobiety was advised in this transaction by Liontree, V14 - Vogel, Heerma & Waitz and Taxess. Zalando was advised by White&Case, PwC and McKinsey.

Zalando SE Boiler Plate EN

About Zalando

Founded in Berlin in 2008, Zalando is Europe’s leading online multi-brand fashion destination. We are building a pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-commerce, along two growth vectors: Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B). In B2C, we provide an inspiring, high-quality multi-brand shopping experience for fashion and lifestyle products to more than 50 million active customers across 25 markets. In B2B, we leverage our logistics infrastructure, software, and service capabilities to support brands and retailers in managing and scaling their entire e-commerce business, both on and off the Zalando platform. Through our ecosystem vision, Zalando aims to enable positive change in the fashion and lifestyle industry.

About Highsnobiety

Highsnobiety is a brand dedicated to a new generation of cultural pioneers. Our mission is to discover and champion the best our culture has to offer, connect people through our love of style, and amplify a community of emerging creators. Always ahead of the curve, Highsnobiety is dedicated to discovering what’s next. Founded in 2005 by CEO David Fischer, Highsnobiety is a global business headquartered in Berlin with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, Sydney and Milan. We are a digital media and cultural consultancy at the intersection of style, art, design and technology, providing a platform for the brands and people we are passionate about.

For press inquiries:
highsnobiety@prconsulting.net