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Co-founder and co-chief executive of Zalando, Robert Gentz, has told the Financial Times that the company’s stall in internet shopping is just “a blip” and that the company aims to avoid mass job cuts by cutting its marketing spend instead.
The FT reported that the European fashion retailer’s competitors, which includes Amazon, Klarna, and Shopify have already cut a significant number of jobs this year as online shopping has been the slowest in two years.
Berlin-based Zalando had also suffered a fall of 4% in revenue to £2.19bn during its Q2 report from 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022 compared with £2.28bn in Q2 2021.
The retailer also confirmed that its H2 guidance was lowered in June, forecasting a sales increase between 0% and 3% and an adjusted EBIT of £150.7m to £217.6m.
Nonetheless, the group is “adamant” it can avoid mass cuts by cutting elsewhere, according to the Financial Times. Zalando aims to keep employment steady by the end of the year, having increased its workforce by a quarter to more than 17,000 employees.
However, Gentz admitted having become “more cautious” in hiring.
Gentz said: “Two years of enormous growth lie behind us. When I think about the fashion industry, my optimism has not changed at all. What has changed a bit is the trajectory of getting there.”
