Editor’s Note
This article reports on Zalando’s decision to close its Erfurt logistics center, resulting in significant job losses. The move reflects ongoing shifts in the retail and logistics sectors.
Zalando will close its logistics center in Erfurt at the end of September, eliminating 2,700 jobs, as company spokeswoman Anne Frohnmayer informed MDR. The site, operational since 2012, no longer meets current standards, and the modernization effort would be too high. Instead, a new logistics center with 1,700 employees will commence operations in Gießen. Bundestag Vice President Bodo Ramelow accuses Zalando of “predatory capitalism,” according to Spiegel.de.
According to a press release, Otto is taking a tougher stance against chronic, high-volume returners who permanently send back over 90 percent of their orders. The three-step process begins with an “environmental email” appealing to conscience, continues with the removal of the invoice payment option, and, if necessary, ends with customer exclusion. These cases are extremely rare, with most affected individuals changing their behavior after the initial warnings. In parallel, Otto is investing in better product information and size advisors to prevent incorrect purchases from the outset.
Amazon is providing sellers with a dashboard aimed at reducing returns, reports Haendlerbund.de. The tool, named “Returns and Refunds: Insights and Opportunities,” analyzes historical trends and identifies product-specific weaknesses. Based on customer reviews, sellers receive concrete recommendations for action and can evaluate their inventory in the fulfillment area. The dashboard works for both merchant-fulfilled and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) shipments and is accessible in Seller Central under “Returns and Recovery.”
The German service provider Genuine (formerly Genuine German), a specialist for the presence of European brands on Chinese and Asian online platforms, can now call itself the largest partner of “TikTok Shop,” the company announces:
Genuine sets up brand shops on platforms, maintains them, advises on strategy, and supports content creation and live commerce. Currently, 20 clients from Germany, Spain, Italy, and France are being served, including Xiaomi, Philips, ESN, Estée Lauder, Cosnova, and Omni-Biotic. A new 1,000-square-meter studio in Cologne is scheduled to open in early February, from which content will be produced and live streams broadcast.
Oxid Esales is integrating the checkout solution from Kustom into its shop software, reports the company from Freiburg. The Scandinavian provider, formerly known as “Klarna Checkout,” already serves over 24,000 merchants in more than 170 markets. Oxid customers thus gain access to a wide range of payment and shipping options through a single interface. The module can be customized in a few steps and is designed for performance.
Germany recorded a record year for start-ups in 2025 with 3,568 new foundations, reports Businessinsider.de. This is 29 percent more than the previous year, even surpassing the boom year 2021. At the same time, insolvencies fell by eleven percent, and the troubled sectors of food and e-commerce also recovered. Bavaria increased by 46 percent – Munich overtook Berlin as the start-up capital. Most new foundations were in the software sector, fueled by the AI boom; followed by medicine and – surprisingly – food. This positive trend, which began in 2024, is likely to continue this year.
Stripe enables US users of Microsoft Copilot to purchase products directly in the chat window, reports the financial service. Etsy sellers as well as chains like Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie are already connected. The checkout form appears automatically when a conversation evolves into a shopping dialogue. The connection runs via the “Agentic Commerce Protocol,” an open standard for AI-powered commerce. Stripe already integrated this instant checkout into ChatGPT in September.
Between July and September 2025, guests booked 398.1 million overnight stays in EU short-term rentals via…