BERLIN (Reuters) – Europe’s biggest online only fashion retailer Zalando, which has seen sales soar during coronavirus lockdowns, said on Thursday it will grant all staff an extra week off in recognition of the pressure of recent months.
Zalando’s more than 14,500 employees can take off from Aug. 2 to Aug. 6 as a “collective break” to recognise their performance and allow them to recover from the pandemic workload, chief people officer Astrid Arndt said in a blog post.
The company’s business will be maintained by staff in critical positions, such as those in warehouses, who can take the five days at a different time.
The Berlin-based company reported that first-quarter sales soared 47% to 2.24 billion euros ($2.73 billion) and it raised its revenue and profit outlook again for the full year.
Zalando, which competes with companies including Britain’s ASOS and Boohoo, was founded in 2008 and serves around 42 million customers in 20 markets in Europe. It has a target to capture more than 10% of the European fashion market.
($1 = 0.8207 euros)
(Reporting by Nadine Schimroszik, writing by Emma Thomasson; editing by Barbara Lewis)
