Zalando said the two companies will join forces to lead the way in engaging and inspiring customers by combining Highsnobiety’s cultural relevance and insight, fashion authority and storytelling expertise with Zalando’s fashion network, e-commerce knowledge and operational capabilities, leveraging each other’s complementary strengths.
While continuing to operate independently, Highsnobiety will serve as a strategic and creative advisor, helping Zalando develop new inspiration-centric spaces and formats on its platform. In turn, joining the Zalando Group allows Highsnobiety to leverage Zalando’s expertise and resources to drive its own e-commerce capabilities.
Highsnobiety was founded in Berlin in 2005 by David Fischer as a blog that heralded the fusion of streetwear and high-end luxury fashion. Today, Highsnobiety includes a publishing arm, creative consultancy and a curated business platform. Partnering with Highsnobiety will accelerate Zalando’s ambition to become a top destination for streetwear, new luxury and fashion inspiration, especially for young, fashion-forward consumers.
“Both of our companies are passionate about building strong brand partnerships and enabling brands to inspire their audiences through their products and stories. Partnering with Highsnobiety will allow us to realize our ambition to provide our customers with the most relevant, engaging and convenient shopping experience faster,” said David Schneider, founder and co-CEO of Zalando.
As part of the deal, Highsnobiety will retain its editorial and curatorial autonomy, with publishing and agency work remaining completely independent. highsnobiety will continue to be led by its two managing directors, Fischer and Jürgen Hopfgartner, with Fischer retaining a minority stake in the business.
Last month, Zalando Robert Gentz’s co-CEO said the company was confident of achieving its ambition to reach a total merchandise volume (GMV) of more than 30 billion euros ($31.8 billion) by 2025, despite the impact of macroeconomic factors in the first quarter.
