Robert Gentz is co-founder of Zalando, Europe's leading online fashion platform. He's responsible for the retailer's tech business as well as strategy and management of new clients.
Robert will be speaking on the Main Stage at WIRED Retail, our second annual one-day summit focusing on the future of sales and consumption, being held in London on November 23.
He will take part in the session, "E-commerce giants share their stories", alongside mydala co-founder and CEO Anisha Singh.
What are you planning to speak about at WIRED Retail?
The retail tech industry is constantly changing. And at Zalando, we've been at the heart of it for seven years.
I'll be talking about how the industry has changed, and what we have done to reimagine fashion, as well as the role of tech in the whole process.
But it's a two-way process -- I'll be very interested to hear the thoughts of those around us, as we are all responsible for where the industry goes next.
Is there anything you'd like to achieve by speaking at WIRED Retail?
I feel it comes down to shared experiences. It's about giving the young guns in the tech, retail and fashion world an insight into some of the nuggets of information that I would have loved to hear when I was starting out selling flip flops.
Part of this is show that you need to give people the feeling of independence, and that you need to let them make their mark. And crucially, you need to let them know that mistakes are not fatal -- a trial and error culture has got us to where we are today.
Who are you looking forward to hearing and/or meeting at WIRED Retail?
I'm looking forward to meeting my contemporaries young and old to hear their views about where the industry is headed.
At Zalando, we want to discover as much as we can about fashion. Getting out there and meeting people, hearing their opinions and thoughts, sharing our experiences, is a key part of this.
In the end, we want to make sure that the whole fashion universe benefits from where we as a company are headed -- from the biggest brands to the smallest startups.
What do you think could be the most significant challenges and developments in the field of online fashion and lifestyle retailing over the next five years?
For me, it's all about mobile. Mobile completely changed the consumer behaviour: how we communicate, how we shop and how we live.
Mobile fashion technology is still very much in its developmental stage. But we're rapidly approaching a point where the majority of purchases will be done through the press of a button in an app.
Almost 60 percent of our visits already come through mobile devices, but we need to live mobile to really know and understand what drives our customers. We will have to be up to the challenge to make sure we can keep them happy.
What's next for Zalando?
In short, we want to become an open fashion platform and eventually the number one tech company in Europe.
That's no mean feat, so it's so important for us to remain agile and innovative in everything we do. We've seen Google and Facebook become the flagbearers for tech in the United States, but nobody in Europe has taken on the baton to anywhere near the same level.
The opportunity is there. But the immediate plan is to continue our shift from being an online retailer to become Europe's largest online platform for fashion.
WIRED Retail returns to London on November 23 at St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Last year’s event sold out, so secure your place now: WIRED subscribers save 10 per cent. We also have a limited number of half-price tickets available for retail sector startups. For more information visit: wiredevent.co.uk/wired-retail-2015.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
