Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 6, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleZalando disputes EU tech rules, claiming its model differs from Amazon and AliExpress. The General Court's decision is pending.
By Foo Yun Chee
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Zalando, Europe's biggest online fashion retailer, on Thursday criticised EU tech regulators for lumping it in the same group as Amazon and AliExpress, saying it should not be subject to as stringent provisions of the bloc's tech rules as the other two companies.
The European Commission's Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into effect in 2022 requires very large online platforms (VLOP) to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content or risk fines as much as 6% of their global annual revenue.
Such label should not apply to Zalando, the company told Europe's second-top court.
"Amazon, AliExpress, booking.com. Zalando differs fundamentally from these (business models). The European Commission has not paid sufficient attention to this," Zalando's lawyer Robert Briske told the panel of five judges at the General Court.
"Zalando has a hybrid service which in our view is one of the issues in this case. It is not purely an online shop, not purely an online marketplace," Briske said.
Zalando, which on Thursday said it aimed to expand its range of brands, sells its own products as well as those provided by partners.
Briske also disputed the Commission's count of Zalando's active users, saying its 83 million figure was erroneous and that only 30.8 million visitors to its site can be counted as active recipients in 2023 when it was classified as a VLOP.
The EU executive said there was no difference between Zalando's business model and that of Amazon or AliExpress.
"Amazon Store, AliExpress, all operate similarly hybrid services," Commission lawyer Liane Wildpanner told the court.
"The applicant is seeking to have the best of both worlds," she said.
BEVH, Germany's e-commerce association, backed Zalando while the European Information Society Institute, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union sided with the Commission.
The General Court will rule on the challenge in the coming months. Amazon has also sued the Commission over its designation and is waiting for the court to set a date for a hearing.
The case is T-348/23 Zalando v Commission.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Zalando criticizes EU tech regulators for categorizing it with Amazon and AliExpress, arguing that its business model is fundamentally different.
The Digital Services Act mandates that very large online platforms tackle illegal and harmful content or face significant fines.
Zalando claims it operates a hybrid service, selling its own products alongside those from partners, unlike purely online shops or marketplaces.
The General Court is expected to rule on Zalando's challenge against the European Commission's classification in the coming months.
Germany's e-commerce association, BEVH, has backed Zalando, while other entities like the European Parliament support the Commission.
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