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Zalando | R&D in China
Laying the foundations for global innovation—bridging European roadmaps with Chinese R&D.
Role:
Design manager
Industry:
E-commerce
Duration:
Ongoing since late 2024
Challenges
In late 2024, Zalando opened a new R&D innovation cabin in Shenzhen, marking a pivotal step toward building more globally informed, locally relevant experiences. I’ve been part of the foundational team shaping how we expand successfully into China, while building strong connective tissue between our EU and APAC product organizations.
This work isn't just geographic expansion—it’s about reimagining how we learn from international innovation ecosystems and embed those insights into Zalando’s future experience vision.
My Approach
Stream 1: Opportunity Development
We kicked off the expansion by partnering with IDEO Shanghai, who led cultural research and market concepting to understand fast-evolving Chinese digital behaviors.
My Role:
Acted as European design partner to local design agencies, identifying overlaps between their insights and our existing product strategy
Brought cross-market perspectives to identify realistic, scalable opportunities from trend-level signals
Worked across teams to socialize the work internally, helping Zalando orgs in EU see how these findings could shape near-term roadmap evolution.
Stream 2: Building Ways of Working
Scaling innovation across timezones and cultural norms requires more than product ideas—it requires infrastructure for creative collaboration.
I’ve led efforts with Design Ops to develop shared foundations for long-term success between Europe and Shenzhen:
Tooling: Auditing and unifying Slack, Figma, and documentation channels
Onboarding: Supporting early hires with global context and workflows
Design Systems: Connecting EU and China system languages for brand cohesion
Hiring + Rituals: Establishing practices for cross-cultural interviews, design reviews, and feedback
This work ensures that the Shenzhen cabin is not a satellite—but a fully integrated innovation hub.
Results
First Pilot – Livestream Shopping
One of the standout insights from our Chinese research was the depth and stickiness of livestreaming commerce, especially in fashion and beauty.
Inspired by this, I collaborated with our new Shenzhen design team to co-create Zalando’s improved livestream shopping experience—built and launched in beta for the French market.
Outcomes:
Team assembled, product designed, and launched in just a few months
Exceeded internal expectations for early adoption and engagement
Became a proof point for cross-continental collaboration under tight time and cultural constraints
Created momentum internally, shifting livestreaming from “inspiration” to “strategic priority”
Future Plans
We’re just getting started. The next phase of this work focuses on deepening capability and expanding our learning edge:
Hiring and developing our Shenzhen team with strong cultural fluency and design leadership
Establishing repeatable playbooks for working across EU and APAC product teams
Exploring new opportunity areas, from social inspiration flows to creator ecosystems
Embedding learning loops between markets so that local inspiration continuously informs global strategy
Conclusion
This project marks the beginning of a bold chapter: learning from the world’s most advanced digital markets while building global product fluency inside Zalando. From foundational strategy and pilot launches to cultural infrastructure, I’ve helped design not just a feature—but a way of working that’s built to grow.
And we’re just getting started.