Zalando delivers orders for Adidas in France

Zalando and Adidas have partnered up to run a multi-channel pilot in Paris. Customers who shop online at the French Adidas website can get their order on the same or next day, thanks to Zalando, which takes care of the delivery.

Zalando and Adidas say they are running a test on how to “efficiently steer logistics capacity”. For Zalando, it’s the first test with multi-channel models. With this pilot, which started in the beginning of this month, the German fashion company wants to give brand partners extra and easier ways to connect to the Zalando platform.

Faster delivery and in unbranded shipping box

The partnership is not just a gimmick, it also leads to faster delivery times, as the first Adidas customers in Paris have already noticed. They got their orders within a two-hour delivery window on the same or the following evening, but with the usual look and feel, Zalando explains. Despite the parcels being packed in a logistics center from the German fashion giant, they still come in an unbranded shipping box.

Pilot leads to extended same-day delivery area

“The test is an important step within our platform strategy”, Jan Bartels from Zalando commented. “We are very happy that we are once more joining forces with Adidas, to test an exciting approach where we create synergies for the benefit of our customers. Adidas customers benefit from faster delivery, and Zalando customers benefit because the pilot allows us to extend Zalando’s same-day delivery areas.”

‘We are still a fashion platform’

Bartels isn’t worried that helping brands with their own ecommerce operations will draw customers away from its ecommerce platform. He thinks most shoppers still want to buy a range of brands. “We are not afraid of cannibalization. We have a very strong proposition in multibrand retailing,” he told Reuters. “We don’t want to become a third party logistics provider. We are still a fashion platform.”

This kind of setup should eventually lead to improved margins for Zalando, as providing logistics and advertising services is more profitable than its core online retailing operations.