Zalando to open new tech hub in Lisbon

Fast growing fashion etailer Zalando has announced it will be opening its third technology hub outside of its home market of Germany in Lisbon in early 2018.

The Portuguese hub will have a specific remit to focus on the development of "an enhanced digital experience for the customers of the Zalando Fashion Store, currently available in 15 European markets". It is expected to employ 50 staff initially.

Zalando head of innovations and partnerships Marc Lamik said: "As e-commerce develops, consumer behaviour becomes increasingly sophisticated. It is therefore essential to be on top of digital innovations and to offer the best overall shopping experience.

"The opening of a dedicated technology hub with a strong focus on the digital experience of our Fashion Store is a strategic step to ensure we stay ahead of customer expectations in terms of personalization, inspiration and frictionless shopping."

The business is currently recruiting frontend and backend software engineers, but also product managers and UX designers from across the industry and from within academic institutions to work at the new facility.

“Technology has always been the backbone of our company. Thanks to over 200 specialised delivery teams, we keep enhancing the capabilities that allow our platform to operate efficiently and  grow, and we constantly improve our offer towards customers and partners,” said Philipp Erler, SVP digital experience at Zalando.

“Besides allowing us to concentrate resources on the development of our Fashion Store – a cornerstone in the success of Zalando – the new hub in Lisbon will also contribute to the diversification of our technological footprint, which keeps expanding at a fast pace," Erler added.

The Lisbon hub will be Zalando's their outside of Germany following the opening of the Fashion Insights Centre in Dublin and the technology hub in Helsinki in 2015. The focus of operations in Ireland is deep data science and engineering research, involving R&D around how to build a real-time insight platform around fashion. In Finland, the tech team works on many of the cornerstones of the Zalando Fashion Store, including personalization and social fashion influencing components.

Overall, Zalando’s tech team is made up of around 1,800 employees across all locations. Most members of Zalando Technology are located at the company’s headquarters in Berlin with around 120 in the German hubs in Dortmund and Hamburg. Dublin and Helsinki employ around 100 each.