Zalando to expand into Ireland this summer

Global online fashion giant Zalando will expand into Ireland and the Czech Republic this summer; the first two additional countries to be added to its line-up since 2013.

Once the expansion is complete, the German-based business will have a presence in 17 European countries and will have extended its local reach and opened its offering up to an additional 15.4m customers. The two markets will be served by existing Zalando logistics facilities but will benefit from free delivery and returns.

"We are excited to bring Zalando to new customers, and we believe our unlimited assortment, personalised shopping experience, and substantial convenience offering will resonate well with Irish and Czech customers," said Zalando co-CEO Rubin Ritter.

"We are tackling our expansion smartly, leveraging knowledge from our existing European markets. And we’re operating in usual Zalando style: launch, learn, iterate, and scale," Ritter added.

As well as the expansion into Ireland and the Czech Republics, Zalando will further localise its proposition in Germany and Switzerland by offering additional language versions of its online shops. From mid-summer 2018 onwards, customers in Germany will have access to an English language version of the German shop, and customers in Switzerland will benefit from an Italian language version of the Swiss shop.

The etailer has also struck a deal with H&M Group to sell its Monki brand on its site from August. Zalando already sells H&M's Weekday and Cheap Monday brands, along with almost 2,000 other international fashion brands.