Zalando is looking to go bigger in streetwear and has bought a majority stake in Highsnobiety, the media brand at the crossroads of streetwear and luxury.
Highsnobiety will act as a strategic and creative consultant to the German e-commerce giant, but also “retain its editorial independence, with creative agency work remaining fully autonomous and management structure unchanged,” the firms said.
“The two companies will join forces to lead the way in engaging and inspiring customers,” according to a statement from Zalando and Highsnobiety. “They will leverage each other’s complementary strengths by bringing together Highsnobiety’s cultural relevance and insight, fashion authority and storytelling expertise with Zalando’s fashion network, e-commerce know-how and operational capabilities.”
Highsnobiety founder and chief executive officer David Fischer, who founded the brand as a Berlin-based blog in 2005, has retained a stake in the business.
“Highsnobiety has mastered the art of turning stories into products and products into stories,” Fischer said. “I am very excited to bring our capabilities to Zalando’s commitment toward fashion inspiration and together reimagine the future of content and commerce. Equally, I am thrilled to tap into Zalando’s unrivaled expertise in scaling e-commerce platforms and bring my lifetime’s passion work to the next level.”
And David Schneider, Zalando’s founder and co-CEO, said: “Both of our companies share a passion for building strong brand partnerships and enabling brands to inspire audiences with their products and stories. Partnering with Highsnobiety will allow us to execute much faster on our ambition to offer the most relevant and engaging — as well as convenient — shopping experience to our customers. I’m excited to see our joint vision materialize and to shape the future of fashion content in commerce together.”
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