Zalando in Nike Connected Partnership deal for Europe

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 30, 2022

Friday was a key day for the Nike Connected Partnership programme that it originally launched in the US last year. Not only did it link up with JD Sports for a UK debut, but it also partnered with Zalando to give access to Nike member-exclusive products and other benefits for the European e-tail giant’s customers.

As with JD in Britain, this Zalando deal has deepened the German firm's existing and longstanding strategic relationship with the American megabrand. But it's interesting that unlike JD, Nike has this time joined up with a non-sports specialist.

Zalando said the partnership “brings together [our] unparalleled customer experience and deep e-commerce knowledge, serving over 49 million customers across 25 markets with Nike’s best-in-class footwear and apparel assortment, designed to support consumers in their efforts to make sport a daily habit”. 

It added that Nike has already been “an important partner in delivering customer excitement and inspiration for Zalando. We are thrilled to now take this partnership to the next level by offering our customers exclusive benefits when shopping for Nike on our platform”.

Zalando’s co-CEO David Schneider said the new link-up strengthens its efforts to “best serve customers with Nike's innovative sport lifestyle footwear and apparel, compelling connected member benefits and distinctive experiences.” 

The countries covered will include Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Italy and Poland with the on-site experience allowing member-shoppers there to seamlessly shop an expanded selection of Nike footwear and apparel on Zalando directly.

The experience will go live in all 10 markets Nike is present in with Zalando’s partner programme, starting with Austria in October.