A conversation with Zalando Co-Founder David Schneider
In this episode of Business Casual, Anita Balchandani, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company in London, sits down with David Schneider. David co-founded Zalando in Berlin back in 2008 and has since helped shape it into a leading European platform serving over 62 million customers. Together, they dive deep into the changing landscape of fashion e-commerce—covering everything from Zalando’s humble, spontaneous beginnings to the massive shifts driven by AI, hyper-personalisation, and the evolution of brand-platform partnerships.
Watch the full interview below to see how technological scale meets local relevance:
Anita Balchindani: David, we always start with an item that has special meaning for you. What did you bring today?
David Schneider: I chose flip-flops. They have a very special meaning for us. We founded Zalando in 2008, almost 18 years ago. We started with a small investment. We were impatient during the summer before we could launch a full version of Zalando. Our first website was basic. We only bought beach sandals like flip-flops and Havaianas. We stacked them against the wall behind us. The hotline ran on our mobile phones. We packed orders ourselves and took them to the post office. That’s how it started, even before we had the name Zalando. The very first version was called FlipTops.
Anita: A perfect minimum viable product. What key consumer engagement trends are driving growth right now?
David: First, shopping is becoming much more personal. Consumers don’t want a generic approach. They expect us to cater to specific subcultures, local events and personal preferences. As a consumer, I expect this now. When I use ChatGPT or Spotify, I expect them to know my preferences. E-commerce platforms must do the same.
Second, shopping is getting more social. The lines between consuming content, getting inspiration and buying products are blurring. People expect these elements to come closer together.
Finally, it’s getting more entertaining. Consumers don’t want a purely transactional online experience. They want relevant content and cultural connections. We see a big shift toward making e-commerce inspiring and engaging.
Anita: Let’s look at the wider industry ecosystem. You often say the classic relationship where a retailer buys from brands is broken. The marketplace model has driven massive growth. What does a truly visionary partnership look like?
David: In times of rapid innovation, isolation doesn’t work anymore. The traditional retail model is too slow. There isn’t a strong feedback loop. We believe in bringing brands and consumers closer together using real-time customer insights.
The more we enable brands to connect with customers, the better the overall experience. We invest in a strong tech and data platform to open up our capabilities to brands. Brands have a superpower in creating products, storytelling and understanding their specific audience. We build the infrastructure and the stage, then match it with the brand’s capabilities. No single player can invest in all these tech developments alone. Our partnerships lift standards across the industry.
Brands have a superpower in creating products, storytelling and understanding their specific audience. We build the infrastructure and the stage, then match it with the brand’s capabilities. No single player can invest in all these tech developments alone. Our partnerships lift standards across the industry.
Anita: Technology continues to accelerate. There’s a lot of debate around the value of AI and whether it makes a real difference. What impact does AI have on your business?
David: AI is what allows us to deliver true personalisation. We talked about personalisation for years, but now we have the tools to realise it. AI helps us on two main fronts: productivity and growth.
On the productivity side, content creation used to be a massive bottleneck. Physical production required manual work and complex software. It took weeks. Today, 90% of our product marketing content is generated by AI. A year ago, that was close to zero. We increased our content output by 70%. Our marketing production cycles dropped from eight weeks to just a couple of days. This lets us react to trends much faster.
AI also enables new experiences that drive growth. For example, we use it to build personalised feeds and assistant logic.
AI is what allows us to deliver true personalisation. We talked about personalisation for years, but now we have the tools to realise it.
Anita: It sounds like you’re reducing the cognitive load of shopping and making it easier for consumers to find what they love. But hyper-personalisation and AI customer service risk feeling cold and transactional. How do you preserve the human touch?
David: AI helps us generate volume and distribute content efficiently. However, you must combine it with human creativity. AI can easily turn a simple product shot into a video or generate different backgrounds. But authentic storytelling still requires people.
Because production costs are lower, anyone can enter the market. We’ll see a flood of content and products. To stand out, you must be authentic. That’s why we focus heavily on brands. We combine AI scale with unique products, exclusive drops, great storytelling and real talent. We choose real talent over AI talent.
Anita: One final question. You started in an apartment in 2008 selling flip-flops. What advice would you give to a brand founder or retailer starting today?
David: This is a highly entrepreneurial phase. Whenever consumer trends and technology shift at the same time, it opens up massive opportunities. There’s plenty of room for new ideas and go-to-market approaches if you understand the landscape. Approach it with a test, learn and iterate mentality, alongside a frugal mindset. It’s a challenging time, but an exciting one to build something new.
I highly recommend finding the right partners. Isolation doesn’t work. Be clear on how you create value, then leverage existing infrastructure and capabilities. It’s easier than ever to launch a direct-to-consumer business, stay present on multiple channels and create content. Think about partnerships and collaboration to build something truly meaningful for customers.
Anita: Thank you, David, for a fantastic masterclass in blending technological scale with local relevance.
