Dunja-Maria Bischof’s Post

Zalando supports the #Zusammenland initiative in Germany. “Zusammenland” can be translated as “together land”. We employ people from over 140 nations, who assist more than 50 million customers across 25 European markets in expressing themselves freely and diversely through fashion. Whether at our headquarters in Berlin or at our many locations across Germany – it's these employees who have made Zalando the European success story that it is. We are committed to our employees and customers. We want them to feel at home in Germany. We want Germany to be a welcoming country. We want the best talent from all over the world to be happy to come to work and live here. That's why we believe in and advocate for diversity and inclusion, openness, and equal opportunities. We reject anything that opposes these values. And to avoid society becoming divided, the economy being damaged, and Germany becoming less liveable, we must never give space to exclusion, hate and xenophobia.  This campaign was created by DIE ZEIT, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Handelsblatt, Verlag Der Tagesspiegel, Ströer SE & Co. KGaA & WirtschaftsWoche. #diversity #inclusion

We’re constantly experimenting to find better ways to connect our customers, brands, and partners. When those experiments work, we celebrate. When they fail, we learn the lessons. It’s part of the Zalando culture. But we know that for lots of people, failure feels like a big deal. So how do you become a pro at 'failing forward'? Here are our top tips. 1. Break it down Being good at failing doesn’t mean taking unnecessary risks. If you’ve got a bold idea, break it down into smaller chunks, so that if you fail, you fail early and move on. 2. Remember the re-do At school, lots of us learn that instant success is the only acceptable result. But the joy of being an adult is that there’s always the re-do. If a project goes wrong, try it from a different angle. If this week’s presentation is a disaster, there’s always next week. Take the long view. 3. Give yourself points for being brave If your only measure of career success is perfection, you’ll probably take a pretty safe (and boring!) path. Give yourself points for being creative and bold. 4. Understand the consequences What would really happen if a project failed? What would your manager actually do if your big idea turned into a big mess? Where are the boundaries? Talk to your team leader to make sure your fears are based on reality. 5. Give yourself permission Failing doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you somebody who is brave enough to try. And that’s the kind of person we love! Put failure into perspective by allowing it into your career as part of your growth. At Zalando, we think big and act fast – it’s been an essential part of the Zalando story. Read it here: https://zln.do/3X4zU2K #InsideZalando

Yesterday, I had the privilege of presenting at the Zalando Grow event. For those unfamiliar, Grow@Zalando is an annual, company-wide event focused on internal growth and development opportunities offered by Zalando. We discussed personal branding, a topic that resonates deeply with me. During the panel discussion, which included colleagues from various departments, we explored the challenges of creating a personal brand, the importance of authenticity, and the balance between professional and personal life while maintaining a strong professional image. Key themes such as courage, feedback, peer support, and leadership were highlighted. If you are interested, here are some tips for building your personal brand: # Treat it as a Project: Collect data and feedback from individuals you trust to provide honest and constructive criticism. Reflect on your value system and identify how your personal values align with the company’s values. # Be Authentic: Show genuine interest in your interactions. Authenticity fosters trust and credibility with your audience. # Set Clear Goals: Define your objectives for your personal brand. Establish both short-term and long-term goals that align with your values, career aspirations, and personal life. I was thrilled to see my team’s support, the audience's engagement, and the insightful questions that arose during the session. Thank you, Robert Schiller, Veronica Schilling, Fuada Daco for the opportunity & Preethi Rao, Miguel Dupret, Charlotte Preut for an amazing discussion & exchange. #insidezalando

I joined Zalando 5 years ago. Since then I have worked for 5 teams and 5 managers. The working conditions have changed since then, as well as the market, the tools and my role. Thanks to Internal Mobility, I have also changed my career path. And there are still so many new inspiring challenges to work on. Why I chose Zalando? The reason was the scale of the problems they offered (~2000 engineers employed, ~100 recruiters, very diverse tech stack), not really for the shopping discounts. Since I chose to be here to play the long game, I am definitely getting the feedback on my past decisions. Understanding complex problems requires becoming an integral part of the DNA. Applying the same remedy to different organisms often doesn't produce the same result. Too often, I've seen the recycling of proven solutions from previous companies go sideways in the hope of a quick win. Zalando is unique. There are no perfect companies or perfect employees. Each of us decides what kind of problems we want to deal with when starting a new job. And this is what I wanted to understand from the candidates when I interviewed them for Zalando. Is it all about perks (lunches, parties) or is it about having a great manager to get support from? Most of the time we join a company to work with a certain person, but what if they decide to leave at some point? I am convinced that if the company has the right culture, it will resonate and bring you new colleagues. Care to join us? Check out our current openings here: https://lnkd.in/drHY8tmJ

Exactly 10 years ago I started at Zalando. I started as a Product Management Trainee. It was supposed to be an 18-month traineeship. Every 6 months they cycled me through a different part of the company. From Fashion store to Logistics. There are only a few moments in a person's career where opportunities arise. To me... that happened after 6 months when I and my small team were tasked to prototype same-day delivery. Instead of building something fancy, we did something very rudimentary. We drove to the nearest warehouse, packed parcels headed for Berlin, and delivered them ourselves. Instead of the regular 2-3 day delivery. We surprised customers with a delightful 4-hour delivery. At the door, we asked them for feedback. Some of them were shocked. After 100 positive deliveries, we took this feedback and prepared a pitch for Robert the CEO. I remember clearly that Jan let me help prepare the pitch. We stayed up till midnight preparing the pitch. He was a former McKinsey partner. And I was just a trainee. I saw it as a learning opportunity. And these opportunities come by seldom. He pitched the project, we got an internal budget and ended up building same-day delivery for Zalando with two other teams in 6 months. It was the first corporate startup I got to be part of. My advice for other juniors in Tech. Be on the hunt for responsibility. If your manager tests you, go above and beyond. Not that I know much about corporates, but in my short time at Zalando I understood that corporate success is all about building momentum. Small wins, followed by medium wins, and then larger wins. I'm very grateful for having worked at Zalando and that I had several mentors who coached me, challenged me, and ultimately helped me grow. Thanks for all the help and I hope I wasn't too much of a pain in the a$$ 🤣 Jan Bartels Henri Holjewilken Clemens Kress Christoph Lange Rasmus Voigts Till Juchheim Stephan Christ Carsten Ernst Artur Weber One thing that I applaud Zalando for is their continuous innovation. They've built a culture that dares to take risks and continuously launches new products. So hats off to you Robert Gentz for being a great role model in Germany 👏

✨ 3 years ago I joined Zalando Here are my 7 reasons to keep promoting this amazing company. Starting in 2019, I applied 8 times to Zalando😅. In 2021, I was FINALLY invited to the Hiring Sprint 🚀. I had 0 confidence that I would pass these interviews. My main concern was the lack of English fluency 🗣️. It was an amazing 3 hours of interviews with Franziska Konnopka, Brian Kim, and Jessika Lichtenecker. Their answer was YES, and I started my journey at Zalando in September 2021 🎉. I truly believe that Zalando is the dream company for me. Here are my 7 reasons: 1️⃣ Smartest and open people from all around the world 🌍 It’s a fantastic mix of openness, maturity, and diverse experiences. Zalando hires people from all over the world, creating an incredible mix of experience and culture. 2️⃣ Innovative and customer-centric 📊🛍️ Fashion e-commerce is one of the most exciting areas to work in. It’s always about REAL customers, trends, and technology. It’s not just Nike, Boss, or Tommy Hilfiger — it’s AI, data, and industry tech trends. 3️⃣ Diversity 🤝 Genders, colors, passports, ages — we are all equals. I understood how important this is, especially being Russian in 2022 (you know what I mean). 4️⃣ Be your own boss 🔑💪 Learn basic processes and act like an owner. Incredible flexibility in the way I work allows me to manage programs and projects with autonomy and ownership. 5️⃣ Environment 🏢💻 I can work from home 3 times a week and even work abroad each year. If I prefer the office, I can choose from multiple locations, enjoy the benefits, join open spaces for active discussions, or select a quiet area for focused work. 6️⃣ Mature PMO practices 📈🔍 One of my goals in joining Zalando was to learn how PMOs work in Europe after successfully launching 3 PMOs in the largest Russian e-commerce companies. At Zalando, I continue to learn the best practices, not just in program management but also in portfolio and strategic planning. 7️⃣ Employee value 🌟🎁 I feel that the company values me, engages with me, supports me with perks, invites me to activities, and helps me develop my career. I see this pattern not just on the team level, but across the company as a whole. Today, my work is my hobby, and I get paid for it! It feels like a dream life ✨😇. I’ve learned so much about program management, fashion e-commerce, and I continue to grow in communications, leadership, and stakeholder management 🧠📚. I hope this story motivates you to keep searching for your dream company and never give up! 💪🌟

How to deal with unpredictable challenges in supply chain logistics in times of constant change? Zalando building the leading pan-European ecosystem for fashion and lifestyle explains the strategy: The key are flexible partners like we as KNAPP are.🤝 Zalando values various factors that make our partnership so good and flexible: ✅ Save time up front: Working closely together as partners also during times without an active project and preparing for different scenarios. ✅ Scalability: providing modular solutions that can be scaled up when needed. ✅ Internationality: possibility to handle large projects across Europe. ✅ Resident engineers: short response times for technical challenges. ✅ Collaborative approach: transparent communication about requirements. We are proud to have this partnership with Zalando and we are looking forward to our further collaboration. 🚀

Braze sat down with Gaiar Baimuratov, Head of Product and Technology at Lounge by Zalando to discuss the challenges that companies face to stay ahead in a highly competitive market. The decision to build or buy isn’t always straightforward; it involves evaluating resources, market availability, and long-term goals. With a modular approach to their technology stack, they've developed a balanced strategy that empowers them to scale efficiently while keeping ownership of critical processes. Here are seven steps Lounge by Zalando takes as they navigate the "Build vs. Buy" dynamic. https://lnkd.in/e7RiWxpd https://bit.ly/3OeQZ4A

Braze sat down with Gaiar Baimuratov, Head of Product and Technology at Lounge by Zalando to discuss the challenges that companies face to stay ahead in a highly competitive market. The decision to build or buy isn’t always straightforward; it involves evaluating resources, market availability, and long-term goals. With a modular approach to their technology stack, they've developed a balanced strategy that empowers them to scale efficiently while keeping ownership of critical processes. Here are seven steps Lounge by Zalando takes as they navigate the "Build vs. Buy" dynamic. https://lnkd.in/gUvKQdjd https://bit.ly/4eupkY4

How does a major company reach its diversity goals while contributing to its business strategy by empowering underrepresented communities? I am happy to announce the launch of the Black-Owned Brands Accelerator Programme designed by ADAN for Zalando! This project exemplifies that working on creating a more diverse and equitable company is not just a charity project, but can also contribute to a company’s business goals. Zalando’s strategic focus is to become an ecosystem around Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) by further deepening customer and partner relationships. Part of this is also to be a partner of choice for brands from underrepresented groups, with a commitment to diversify the partner portfolio by initially onboarding 70 Black-owned brands. In line with our ongoing partnership, we recognized the need to better understand the challenges faced by these brands. This led us to conduct research, define the challenges, and create an Accelerator Program specifically for small Black-Owned Brands. Running from September 2024 to February 2025, five brands will cover brand building, marketing, product safety, logistics, and finance, concluding with an in-person Pitch Day in Berlin. I am very proud of this initiative, which took eight months to put together, but confirms my conviction that companies can combine profit with purpose by supporting underrepresented communities. This would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of our amazing DEI Leads, Helene and Maddalena, who pushed this project through and aligned with countless stakeholders within the organization. Thank you for your effort! I look forward to the exciting brands we will empower. If you know any Black-Owned Brand with European VAT and at least 20k in revenue that wants to scale across a major e-commerce platform like Zalando, please point them towards this program. Link in the comments. #empowerment #blackownedbrands #fashion