Zalando Welcomes Hungarian Customers

With the launch in the country Zalando brings loved and desired brands to customers in Hungary, while also creating growth opportunities for both existing and new brands & retailers. Hungarian customers can choose between over 350,000 products of more than 1,700 brands providing the largest selection of fashion in the market covering Textile, Footwear, Accessories, Sports, Premium and Kids. This expansion marks another milestone in Zalando’s vision to be the Starting Point for Fashion, following successful launches in Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Croatia in 2021.

Zalando, a leading European online platform for fashion and lifestyle, launches in Hungary today, giving customers access to the most comprehensive fashion assortment on the market. Local customers are able to choose between over 350,000 products of more than 1,700 brands, such as adidas, Nike and Bershka, through Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss and Guess to Karl Lagerfeld, Michael Kors and Moschino - many of which are not otherwise available in these markets. Beyond assortment Zalando brings the company’s known and loved convenience offers to Hungary. Local customers will benefit from free deliveries and free returns for up to 100 days after purchase, in addition to pre and post-purchase customer support in Hungarian, truly bringing the fitting room to their homes.

Thanks to a cooperation with GLS, customers can receive their parcels in 3-5 days at their homes, to a network of over 1,200 pick-up points or 250 parcel lockers and can return by requesting a home collection or by dropping it off at over 1,100 drop-off points. More delivery services will be added in the upcoming months to give customers an even more convenient experience. To pay, customers can choose from their most prefered payment options, from cash on delivery, credit cards, Paypal and prepayment.

Daniel Rogiński, General Manager Central and Eastern Europe at Zalando: “At Zalando, everyone can find their style. We are very excited to welcome customers in Hungary, opening up the Zalando universe to them, and we are looking forward to answering their growing online fashion needs. We strive to bring Hungarian customers the most exciting fashion choices combined with high convenience standards to become their Starting Point for Fashion.”

Local Hungarian brands and retailers can apply to join Zalando’s Partner Program and start selling their products online to customers in Hungary as well as to almost 49 million existing active customers in now 24 / 25 countries across Europe as well as in their home market via the platform. This way Zalando is supporting the local industry growth and its internationalisation while complementing the brands’ and retailers’ digital strategies.

Over the next weeks, Zalando will be airing a local campaign centred around the message Find your favourite style on Zalando, to introduce new customers to the broad range of fashion available on Zalando. The campaign will be present on both online and offline channels such as TV, Radio, Print, OOH, online video and social media. The inspirational campaign will present local talent that captures the essence of the fashion culture of Hungary, by bringing together a mix of like-minded local celebrities and influencers that express their individual style using Zalando’s unrivalled fashion assortment and drive fashion inspiration. Zalando has also prepared a welcoming voucher for every new customer of 25% and will continue with the end of season sale that will take place between June and July.

Fjällräven Reveals Latest Collection in the Woods

From the very beginning, Fjällräven's mission has been to enable and inspire more people to spend time in nature. In line with this mission, the Swedish outdoor brand's latest spring-summer collection was presented to journalists and influencers at the top of the Three Border Mountain, one of Budapest's most popular hiking spots.

At the event, Fjällräven's local brand ambassadors demonstrated how to pack a backpack for a day hike or a multi-day hike.

Then we invited our guests on a short hike to the nearby Guckler Károly lookout.

Along the way, an expert of the Hungarian Ramblers' Association gave an interesting presentation on the wildlife of the Buda Hills.

TIER and Vertical Values partner up to extend battery lifespan

TIER, the European micro-mobility leader, starts a partnership with Vertical Values, a German start-up company giving batteries a second life by repairing and upcycling lithium batteries.

The mining of raw materials for the production of lithium-ion batteries, as used in electric vehicles like e-scooters and e-bikes, represents a major environmental burden. As part of TIER’s commitment to sustainability, the company aims to set the standard in sustainable consumption, production, and operations. The introduction of ways to give battery cells a second life, in collaboration with German start-up Vertical Values, is another milestone in avoiding and reducing emissions.

Electric vehicle batteries are prime targets for upcycling as they are typically decommissioned from their first life when the electric vehicle starts to fall short of its promised range despite the battery still holding 70% to 80% of its original charge. However, the upcycling challenge is that these batteries are made up of hundreds of lithium-ion battery cells that have all aged differently, and like in a link chain, the weakest element typically defines the capability of the entire system.

At TIER, environmental responsibility is prioritised from the highest levels with its co-founder and CEO, Lawrence Leuschner, bringing extensive experience in the refurbishment of products. For this very reason, the Berlin-based provider embraces re- and upcycling and practices the benefits of a circular economy to minimise the environmental impact of its vehicles.

Ailin Huang, Head of Sustainability at TIER Mobility, said: “We are delighted to work with Vertical Values to extend the lifespan of e-scooter batteries and have a new partner who can help make our light electric vehicles even more environmentally friendly. We always first prioritise reuse over recycling according to circular economy principles. Next to the e-scooter as a whole, the batteries hold the biggest opportunity for reuse as they still have over 80% of their capacity even after several hundred charging cycles. So, it’s absolutely critical that we scale up the reuse of batteries!”

The Vertical Values team said: “We are excited to partner with TIER. Together we will set a new standard for the micro-mobility industry in terms of battery sustainability.”

Vertical Values repairs the defective e-scooter batteries and extracts the cells from broken e-scooter batteries. Each extracted cell is evaluated individually to determine its SoH (State of Health). Once the cells are properly tested, they will be sorted. Sorted cells are then repurposed and turned into new products, which extends the lifespan of the cells.

TIER strives to set the bar for sustainability in the micro-mobility industry and is continuously pioneering the development of new standards. In 2021, TIER announced its partnership with Northvolt, a leading innovator and supplier of sustainable, high-quality battery cells and systems, to improve the environmental impact of the batteries used for electric vehicles. TIER also partnered with Nunam, a German-Indian impact-driven start-up company advocating for a green power supply in rural India.