M&S says expanded Zalando deal can cut Europe delivery times by three days

One of the key points that came out in Zalando’s Q3 results release Thursday was that it has just struck a new logistics deal with the UK’s M&S. That’s big news. And now M&S has added some detail to it.

The UK retail giant has had a more limited partnership with Zalando since 2022 to fulfil orders through three marketplace partners in Europe (Zalando, About You and Amazon). But on Thursday it said that from early next year, Zalando’s B2B logistics solution ZEOS will supply M&S’s entire online direct-to-consumer business in continental Europe.

Zalando also has a similar partnership with another UK giant, Next, so clearly these British business see huge potential in mainland Europe and equally clearly they see Zalando as the go-to logistics company to help them achieve it.

Why has M&S deepened its Zalando link? The retailer said that in the last quarter, it has seen rapid growth online with Zalando sales up 131% vs last year.

The new partnership using the German firm’s ZEOS operation will serve 21 markets.

M&S will be able to take advantage of ZEOS’s inventory efficiency, “creating one single stock pool as well as an advanced order management system for Fashion, Home & Beauty products”.

And the British firm believes the customer shopping experience online will “be elevated with faster delivery and returns processes; cutting delivery times by up to two-to-three days”.

M&S’s ambition for its International operations is to build a global omnichannel business, using the expertise and infrastructure of strategic partners, “through simple, scalable operating models, which are capital-light”. 

And it thinks that the ZEOS link can deliver an expected sales uplift of up to 30%, while also reducing logistics cost by up to half, and improving operating margins. 

Mark Lemming, MD of International at M&S, said: “Having reset the International business to reshape M&S for global growth, we’re focusing on bigger, better partnerships, which enable us to bring the best of M&S to the world.”