Zalando’s Economic Impact on the European Economy
Commissioned by Zalando
Oxford Economics was commissioned by Zalando to produce an assessment of the company’s economic impact. The report, “The Economic Impact of Zalando in Europe” highlights Zalando’s significant contributions to the European economy in 2023.
Zalando was founded in 2008 as an online shoe retailer. More than 16 years later, the company has grown a customer base of more than 50 million, reached €10.1 billion in revenue and operates successfully across 25 European countries. The company is now on the path of building a pan-european ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle e-ecommerce.
In 2023, Zalando supported a total gross value added (GVA) of €9,52 billion in Europe. Almost 60% of this effect was driven by the company’s supply chain. Since Zalando acts as a fashion retail platform, the company spent a significant amount on procuring fashion stocks, as well as non-merchandise products like IT services needed for supporting the functionality of the fashion store and app. Direct operations contributed 16% to total GVA while wage payments by Zalando and its suppliers supported a further 25%. With a GVA multiplier of 6.3, each €1 of direct GVA from Zalando stimulated an additional €5.3 elsewhere in the European economy.
Moreover, Zalando’s business activities supported around 113,000 European jobs. The supply chain accounted for 70,000 jobs, while direct employment and wages stimulated by Zalando supported another 44,000 jobs. For every person directly employed by Zalando, another 6.1 jobs were supported throughout the economy.
In Germany, Zalando’s home market, the company contributed €4.81 billion to the GDP in its home market of Germany. Furthermore, Zalando’s operations supported 53,000 jobs across Germany, featuring a strong direct employment base of 15,000.
In Erfurt, where Zalando operates its oldest and one of its largest fulfilment centres, the company contributed a GVA of €144 million. The direct contribution accounted for most of the total impact with €119.5 million. A further €6.8 million in gross value added was stimulated through the company’s supply chain (indirect effect). Wage payments by Zalando and their suppliers in Erfurt supported the remaining €17.6 million in gross value added, stimulated through spending in the consumer economy (induced effect).
To read the full report and learn more about Zalando’s success story, please click on the link below.
The experts behind the research
Our Economic Consulting team are world leaders in quantitative economic analysis, working with clients around the globe and across sectors to build models, forecast markets and evaluate interventions using state-of-the art techniques. Lead consultants on this project were:
Johanna Neuhoff
Director of Economic Consulting, Economic Footprint & Sustainability
Hannah Zick
Economist, Economic Impact
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