Robert Gentz, Co-CEO of Zalando, discusses the company's improbable start in 2008 during the financial crisis, its rapid scaling to become Europe's leading online fashion platform, and its innovative use of AI for customer experience. He also shares insights on his evolving leadership style and advocates for a positive "European dream" to foster entrepreneurship and global competitiveness.
Summarized by Podsumo
Zalando started in 2008 by selling flip-flops online, a concept widely considered a bad idea during the financial crisis, but quickly grew into Europe's leading online fashion platform.
The company experienced hyper-growth, scaling from €5-6 million to €1.2 billion in revenue within four years and increasing employees from 50 to 2,500 in just two years by expanding selection and geographic reach.
AI is central to Zalando's innovation, used for personalized discovery feeds, natural language shopping assistants (e.g., occasion-based questions), and a virtual try-on feature for accurate sizing, which has been used by 1 million customers.
Robert Gentz's leadership evolved from a 'front-row player' to an 'enabling leader,' focusing on trust, curiosity, and strategic involvement only in ambiguous decisions, long-term vision, and corporate culture.
Gentz advocates for a positive, inclusive 'European dream' to provide a clear direction for entrepreneurship in Europe, emphasizing its values, talent, and the need to compete effectively with the US and China.
He identifies curiosity (for informed decision-making through listening) and humility (respect for future challenges) as the most important traits for successful founders.
"So we literally went from 50 people in 2009 to 2011, we were more than 2,500 employees."
"I try to actually spend quite some time in just understanding and being curious about what's happening. And then only we get involved in the areas where I feel that only I can do that now."
"Curiosity is a very, very important, the idea should trade for me because I mean, you can only really take good decisions when you listen, yeah?"