H&M Group vs Zalando

H&M Group Newsroom: New announcements including ELIE SAAB H&M collection, Nine-month report 2026, and first store in Paraguay

The newsroom page now features several new press releases: 'Celebrate ELIE SAAB H&M collection in Paris' (29 Sep 2026), 'H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB Nine-month report 2026' (24 Sep 2026), 'H&M teams with Nick Knight and SHOWstudio on a visually experimental London Fashion Week show' (19 Sep 2026), 'Announcing ELIE SAAB H&M: a celebration of glamour and timeless elegance' (8 Sep 2026), and 'H&M opens its first store in Paraguay' (17 Aug 2026).

Announcing ELIE SAAB H&M: a celebration of glamour and timeless elegance

H&M Group announces a new designer collaboration with ELIE SAAB, celebrating glamour and timeless elegance. Additionally, H&M opens its first store in Paraguay.

Austria's New Parcel Tax Criticized as Costs Pass to Consumers

Austria's new parcel tax, effective October 1, 2026, charges large online retailers €2 net per parcel (€2.40 incl. VAT). Amazon passes the fee directly to customers as a separate line item, while Zalando and Otto refund it on full returns. The tax targets companies with over €100 million annual parcel revenue in Austria, affecting 16 firms including Amazon, Temu, Shein, and Zalando. Critics, including the Austrian trade association and retailers, argue the tax burdens consumers and small businesses, potentially costing 2,800 jobs. Legal challenges are planned, with possible escalation to the Constitutional Court and CJEU. Proponents say the tax levels the playing field with brick-and-mortar stores and funds a VAT reduction on staple foods.

• Austria's parcel tax of €2 net (€2.40 incl. VAT) per parcel took effect October 1, 2026.
• Amazon passes the €2.40 tax directly to customers as a separate line item per order.
• The tax applies to 16 companies, including Amazon, Temu, Shein, Zalando, and Otto, with over €100M annual parcel revenue in Austria.

Zalando and ERGO Transform Video Production with Google AI

At the YouTube Festival 2026, Lounge by Zalando and ERGO showcased how they leverage Google AI to revolutionize video production. Lounge by Zalando halved its production time for the Black Friday 2025 campaign using Veo 3 and Imagen 3, reducing it from three months to 1.5 months. ERGO is piloting an 'Agentic Gen AI Marketing Engine' with Deloitte and Google, which automates the creation of localized YouTube video ads from simple inputs. The engine generates up to 50 assets per month, a 20-fold increase, and cuts production time from weeks to days. Both companies emphasize maintaining brand identity and human oversight. YouTube's higher ROI compared to linear TV (90%) and paid social (70%) drives budget shifts, according to studies by Ekimetrics and Nielsen.

• Lounge by Zalando reduced campaign production time from 3 months to 1.5 months using Google AI (Veo 3, Imagen 3).
• ERGO is piloting an 'Agentic Gen AI Marketing Engine' with Deloitte and Google to automate YouTube video creation.
• The ERGO engine can produce up to 50 video assets per month, a 20-fold increase from current levels.

Fashion spricht viele Sprachen: Zalando Plus kooperiert mit Duolingo

Zalando Plus announces a partnership with Duolingo, highlighting the collaboration as a strategic move to enhance customer engagement through language learning.