Overview
Zalando is about to build a new growth vector in the field of B2B by productizing our proven capabilities in technology and operations in order to make brands and retailers successful with their ecommerce strategies. Our vision is to ‘Deliver Europe out of a Box - making ecommerce easier and better’. To this end we are productizing our proven capabilities in European eCommerce to offer them to external brands and retailers. We aim at building an Operating System for the fashion and lifestyle industry in Europe, i.e., providing the full backend that merchants can use to build their online Direct-To-Consumer business on top. Eventually, this Operating system will consist of 3 layers
The infrastructure layer - Logistics. We will offer merchants access to the most advanced fulfillment network for fashion and lifestyle in Europe. This network consists of 12 international Fulfillment Centers and 23 Return Centers. With our ‘Multichannel Fulfillment Product’ (MCF) Merchants can now use this network to fulfill orders placed on a rich set of European marketplaces such as About You, Amazon, La Redoute or Otto - or on their own eCom. They benefit from flexible access to highly customer centric delivery and returns services - basically the services Zalando has been built on. Of course, merchants can also use our Fulfillment Services for sales done on the Zalando platform where we already serve more than 1000 merchants and generate almost 1B€ in revenue p.a. - this is our ‘cash cow’.
The digital layer - Software. Here we offer software to seamlessly integrate into the richest set of marketplaces across Europe via Tradebyte (not part of this role) and plan to extend value adding software domains, such as our proven size and fit capabilities to drive down size related return rates. This is the layer that generates stickiness with our merchants and ensures margin developments.
The value adding laser - Services. Here we offer value added services on top helping our merchants to unblock growth constraints, such as tax services, content production, multi-language customer care, or access to financing options. Mostly, these services are provided by 3rd parties that we seamlessly integrate into our ecosystem. With these services we add value and, in particular, ensure that merchants make more use of our infrastructure and digital layer as we remove important growth bottlenecks.
Facts and Figures
Target Market: Fashion eCommerce EU (currently operating in 25 markets, GMV 14.6m in 2023, 12 warehouses allow capacity for future growth)
Customers: more than 1000 external partners from Zalando Platform / Partner Program (40% share)
Revenue (ZFS) (adj.) >700+€M in 2023, B2B Logistics overall is expecting to reach more than 1,000Mio Revenue in 2025
THE ROLE
Join us in building an Operating System for the Fashion & Lifestyle industry. The Sales Director B2B is responsible for driving revenue growth and business success through strategic sales initiatives, effective customer relationships, and team leadership. This role is key to shaping and executing ZEOS sales strategy, optimizing sales operations, and building a high-performing sales organization. The Sales Director will also collaborate closely with product, marketing, and leadership teams to ensure the alignment of market strategies and product offerings.
Key Responsibilities:
Sales Execution & Strategy: Lead the execution of the sales strategy, fine-tuning the sales playbook to meet short-term business objectives.
Deal Negotiations: Oversee and lead negotiations for large, mission-critical deals, ensuring successful contract closure and revenue realization.
Customer Penetration: Drive the penetration of existing customers by introducing and promoting newly launched products to maximize upsell opportunities.
Sales Team Development: Build and develop a world-class sales team with a strong sales mindset, exceptional selling skills, customer-centric approaches, and deep product knowledge.
Scalable Sales Model: Develop a scalable sales coverage model tailored for different account segments, ensuring efficient resource allocation and maximizing market potential.
Product & Market Alignment: Align the product development roadmap with the go-to-market strategies, working cross-functionally with sales, marketing, and product teams to ensure seamless execution.
Requirements:
Strong ability to drive sales execution and optimize sales strategies.
Proven expertise in negotiating and closing high-stakes, mission-critical deals.
Experience in account management and expanding customer portfolios with new product launches.
Ability to develop and implement scalable sales models for different market segments.
Expertise in aligning product development with go-to-market strategies across sales and marketing functions.
Leadership capabilities to build, mentor, and scale a high-performing sales team.
Qualifications:
Proven experience in a senior sales leadership role, preferably within B2B environments.
Strong track record of meeting or exceeding sales targets.
Experience in managing large sales teams and complex sales cycles.
Excellent communication and negotiation skills, with a customer-centric mindset.
