Zalando-Gründer Robert Gentz: Die Alibaba-Lektion & warum KI jetzt alles bei Mode verändert

We've been waiting ten years for this episode: Robert Gentz ​​speaks more openly than ever before in the OMR Podcast about building Zalando. He explains why he and co-founder David Schneider initially failed with a social network in South America – and then launched Zalando in the midst of the financial crisis with just €50,000. What's it like when a startup grows so fast that there are long lines of new employees outside the office every morning, all eager to set up their own desks? And what problems almost derailed Zalando's success story? In conversation with Philipp Westermeyer, Robert Gentz ​​discusses the company's rise to become Europe's largest online fashion retailer – and reveals how the DAX-listed company is currently undergoing another transformation. Find out in this episode why LinkedIn is serving as a model for this transformation. [Advertisement] The ultimate employee benefit: Make your team sustainably mobile with FINN JobAuto and save a significant amount of money – all the details at: https://finn.com/jobauto-omr 00:00 – Intro 01:17 – Roots in harness racing 02:23 – WHU & the path to becoming an entrepreneur 04:45 – First project: A flop in Mexico 06:00 – Tarifas24 & the discovery of SEO 07:50 – Why shoes? Market Data vs. Gut Feeling 11:42 – The First Order: A Gabor Shoe 12:30 – Basement Logistics & the Battle for Brands 14:30 – Start-up Capital: €50,000 & Rocket Internet 17:30 – Strategy: Niche Sizes & Efficient Purchasing 18:48 – From 0 to 1.2 Billion in Four Years 21:15 – The Role of the Samwer Brothers 24:30 – Marketing Revolution: TV Meets Google Data 28:26 – "Screams of Joy": The Power of Creativity 29:30 – Returns & Customer Lifetime Value 31:45 – Expansion: Fashion & Internationalization 33:15 – Founding of Zalando Lounge 34:30 – Hypergrowth: 5,000 Employees & Chaos Management 38:00 – Logistics Nightmare: Planning Boots in Winter 39:45 – Advertising Flop in the Netherlands 41:30 – The Road to an Initial Public Offering (IPO) 44:50 – Impact on the Berlin Ecosystem 47:15 – Private Investments & Cherry Ventures 48:30 – Strategy Shift: From Wholesale to Platform 51:00 – Logistics as a Service (LaaS) 52:30 – Newsletter & Organic App Usage 54:30 – Mobile Transformation: "Mobile First" Mindset 56:59 – AI for Efficiency: Content & Delivery Precision 01:00:00 – AI for Growth: Size & Fit Management 01:02:30 – Engagement: Zalando as a Content Company 01:04:30 – Benchmarks: LinkedIn & Social Commerce 01:07:30 – B2B Revenues: Software & Logistics (Levi's) 01:08:30 – US Market Entry: Status Quo 01:10:54 – Share Price vs. Business Reality 01:12:30 – Europe: A Plea for a Positive Vision 01:15:34 – Transformation from Founder to DAX Board Member More from the OMR Podcast: 🎙 https://omr.com/de/podcast 🤳   / omrpodcast_official   📱 https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=... SEND THIS MESSAGE:%20Sign%20me%20up 💁‍♂️   / philipp-westermeyer-omr