Zalando Wins Kinnevik as Long Term Strategic Shareholder

• Zalando shareholder Investment AB Kinnevik acquires another 10% of equity
• Kinnevik now is the largest shareholder of Zalando, holding 26% directly plus another 9% indirectly through Rocket Internet
• Net-sales of 471 million euros in first six months of 2012 

Berlin, October 18, 2012. Zalando shareholder Investment AB Kinnevik has acquired another 10% of equity of the European online retailer Zalando. With this step, Kinnevik is the largest shareholder of Zalando, holding 26% directly plus another 9% indirectly through Rocket Internet. The basis for this step was the continued positive development of Zalando: in the first six months of 2012, the company reported net-sales of 471 million euros and is on track to double its 2011 revenue of 510 million euros this year.

Zalando welcomes this step of its long-time shareholder Kinnevik, which has acquired an additional stake of 10% from Holtzbrinck Ventures, Tengelmann and Rocket Internet. The three early-stage investors sold a small portion of their stakes but together still hold more than 56% of Zalando. 

Rubin Ritter, Managing Director of Zalando, comments: “We are excited to see Kinnevik increasing its ownership in Zalando and we look forward to executing our plans with Kinnevik as a large and active shareholder. Zalando has had a very fast development since the start in 2008 and given the strong growth in the first half of the year, we are on track to double last year’s sales, making us the largest shoe and fashion e-commerce company in Europe.”

Mia Brunell Livfors, CEO of Kinnevik, comments: “Kinnevik first invested into Zalando in 2009 and we have followed the rapid success of the company since then. We are very pleased to be able toincrease our ownership in the company and we look forward to being an active partner to the company and continue to support its development into a leading European e-commerce company.” 

Throughout its partnership with Zalando, Kinnevik has continued to increase its stake in the company. Rubin Ritter adds: “This is another example of trust by our shareholders in our work and business-model. Zalando has proven that we can grow strongly in all categories and markets while setting up the infrastructure of a sustainable company, such as our investments in new fulfillment centres in Erfurt and Mönchengladbach.”

Zalando was founded in 2008 and today operates in 14 European markets, forming the largest online fashion player in Europe. In the past year, Zalando has raised capital from DST, JP Morgan and Kinnevik among other investors and the company is well capitalized to fund its future expansion. In addition, Zalando obtained EUR 40.7 million in debt financing from Commerzbank and other German banks this summer. Zalando is opening up its first self-designed fulfillment center in Erfurt, Germany and just started building the second fulfillment centre in Mönchengladbach, Germany, which will open up in fall 2013.

ABOUT ZALANDO

Zalando is Europe’s leading online retailer for shoes and fashion. Its extensive selection for women, men and children ranges from popular high street brands to much sought-after designer labels from over 1000 different international brands. Exclusive accessories, beauty essentials and sportswear make up Zalando’s wide range of products. A combination of unique services: free delivery and returns, a free service hotline and a 30 day returns policy make online shopping at Zalando an easy and secure shopping experience. With its own fashion blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts, Zalando provides customers with current fashion trends, product updates and news about the company. The company was founded in 2008 by Robert Gentz and David Schneider, and its headquarters are located in Berlin. Following on from its success in the German market, Zalando launched in Austria in 2009 and the Netherlands and France in 2010. Expansion to Italy, Great Britain and Switzerland followed in 2011. So far in 2012, Zalando has gone live in Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Poland and Norway.