Six of the world’s 10 largest fashion brands are European-based online marketplaces.
From Asos, Vinted and Zalando to El Corte Inglés, Next and La Redoute, online fashion marketplaces dominate the world’s global fashion brands in terms of annual site visits, according to the RetailX Europe Fashion Report 2023.
Here’s what you need to know about them.
Asos
Asos’s share price might have fallen to new lows recently, but that hasn’t stopped online fashion shoppers flocking to its website with 224 million visitors in 2022. An early pioneer of online fast fashion retail, Asos directly targets young fashion-conscious Millennials with an array of affordable apparel, accessories and footwear. Trends away from fast fashion, tightening of household budgets and increasing competition has seen sales drop in 2023, but Asos is still a major marketplace force, selling over 850 brands (including its own label) and shipping to more than 190 countries. In addition, Asos recently expanded its ‘Partner Fulfils’ programme, enabling it to host products on the platform without holding any stock or handling fulfilment.
Web traffic: 224 million
HQ: UK
Commission: 20%
Vinted
From humble origins to intercontinental stardom, Vinted has come a long way in a short space of time. Founded as a site where Lithuanian women could trade clothes, Vinted now operates in 16 European countries (and the US and Canada) and became Lithuania’s first unicorn (+$1bn valuation) in 2022. The largest second-hand retailer in Europe, Vinted has rode the wave of used-fashion popularity and also launched VintedGo, an environmentally-friendly pick-up and drop-off network of lockers, which it intends to expand across Europe. Mostly app-based, fashion sellers can pay fees to bump the visibility of their listings, add items to a dedicated catalogue search or use Vinted’s buyer protection service.
Web traffic: 182 million
HQ: Lithuania
Commission: Free (the buyer pays a fee per purchase, not the seller)
Zalando
While some fashion sites are struggling, Zalando’s numbers are heading in the right direction. In 2022, the German-based fashion retail juggernaut increased customer numbers to 51 million and order numbers to 261 million (5.1 average orders per customer), with customers buying from multiple fashion segments. Zalando also doubled the membership of its loyalty programme to two million, with members spending 3x more than non-members. Selling more than 7,000 exclusively fashion brands in 23 European markets, while also offering pay-per-click advertising and a Zalando Fulfilment Service (ZFS), Zalando is a ‘do-it-all’ marketplace for fashion sellers.
Web traffic: 124 million
HQ: Germany
Commission: 5-25%
El Corte Inglés
Spain’s largest department store is not exclusively fashion or exclusively online, but it’s still a major player in the European online fashion scene. Since 2012, El Corte Inglés has been focusing on its European e-commerce sales to fight online brands like Amazon.es, leveraging its trusted brand name (92% customer satisfaction) to become the leading online fashion marketplace in Spain. Europe’s largest department store group also provides fashion brands with their own exclusive corner within elcorteingles.es to market their products and offers ultra-fast delivery (under 2 hours) in over 50 European cities, thanks to its warehouse network.
Web traffic: 99 million
HQ: Spain
Commission: 1.5 - 7%
Next
Like El Corte Inglés, Next is not solely an online fashion marketplace, but online sales now account for over 50% of its £3.2 billion revenues. In particular, the launch of Next Label - an online marketplace selling more than 1,000 brands across all major fashion segments, which directly compete with its own lines - led to a surge in web traffic and online sales (Next Label saw 20% YoY growth in 2022). Fashion brands can choose to offer just a few products on the marketplace or subcontract the whole process to Next.
Web traffic: 80 million
HQ: UK
Commission: Variable
La Redoute
Despite being 150 years’ old, French heritage brand La Redoute has embraced the digital age with its online marketplace service for fashion, lifestyle and homeware products. Launched in 2010, La Redoute’s marketplace is France’s most popular online fashion platform (99% brand awareness), particularly for women who account for 90% of its customers. La Redoute provides a 50:50 mix of own brand and external brand products to 26 European countries, but it’s very selective, approving just 1% of applicants. What’s more, La Redoute doesn’t offer a fulfilment service and sellers must deliver to France and register with French tax authorities if selling over €35k of goods per year.
Web traffic: 69 million
HQ: France
Commission: 8 - 20% (+ €49.90 monthly fee)
Want to sell on European fashion marketplaces?
At Rich Insight, we partner with some of the biggest online European fashion marketplaces and help fashion brands optimise their marketplace listings and boost their marketplace sales. For advice, contact sales@richinsight.co.uk.
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