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Sereact, Zalando and CEVA Logistics start AI-powered, automated returns handling in Germany and Poland. GlobeNewswire Published Oct 07, 2026 Dual-arm robotic systems enter live operations, marking the first milestone in a strategic partnership to scale AI-driven returns handling across Europe * CEVA Logistics deploys Sereact's AI-powered dual-arm robotic systems for Zalando returns handling at sites in Greven, Germany, and Świebodzin, Poland. * Powered by Cortex, Sereact's Physical AI platform, the systems autonomously grasp, identify, and sort fashion returns without requiring per-item training or fixed SKU profiles. * The deployment marks the first operational milestone in scaling returns automation across Europe, backed by Zalando joining Sereact's Series B as a strategic investor in July 2026. * Delivered via a Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model, the systems take on repetitive tasks to lower physical strain, enabling warehouse teams to transition toward station supervision, exception management, and quality control. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. STUTTGART, Germany, Oct. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Sereact, Zalando and CEVA Logistics today announced the launch of AI-powered automated returns processing across key fulfillment facilities in Germany (Greven) and Poland (Świebodzin). Powered by Cortex, Sereact's physical AI platform, the dual-arm robotic systems have entered live operations to autonomously process returned fashion items, marking the initial phase of a broader initiative to scale returns automation across Europe. Top Stories Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Returns management remains one of the most complex operations in fashion eCommerce logistics. Returned items often arrive poorly packed and disheveled. The uniqueness of the state of the returned items defies conventional robotic pre-programming. Sereact's Cortex platform groups previously unseen objects - identifying, grasping and sorting items dynamically without requiring article-specific training or pre-determined article sets. Delivered as a Robotics-as-a-Service model, the deployment represents the first operational milestone of the strategic collaboration. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In July, Zalando joined Sereact's Series B round as a strategic investor, and the partners are actively collaborating to scale intelligent automation across their shared European logistics footprint. The technology is designed to work alongside humans. By taking on highly repetitive handling, the robotic system reduces physical strain on employees, allowing them to upskill into higher-value roles where human expertise and judgement are required. "At the heart of our collaboration with Sereact and CEVA is a fundamental belief: true innovation happens when technology and human potential advance together. By solving the most complex challenges in modern fulfilment today, we are actively shaping the future of e-commerce logistics for fashion and lifestyle" Masood Choudhry, SVP Logistics, Zalando "One of the toughest challenges is returns handling, due to its extreme operational nature and scale, unpredictable volumes, manual quality checks, seasonality, value decay, and a disproportionately high cost per unit. Our Robotics-as-a-Service model classifies items faster, reduces manual touchpoints, and delivers consistent, predictable quality on a large scale. For our customers, this transforms returns from a cost driver into a controlled, high-performance service." This advertisement has not loaded yet. Chris Walton, SVP Contract Logistics, CEVA Logistics "Returns are the hardest manipulation problem in fashion logistics. If a system only works on articles it has seen before, it does not work in a returns operation at all. Running this in production with CEVA at Zalando volumes is the strongest proof point we have." Dr. Ralf Gulde, CEO and Co-Founder, Sereact About Sereact Sereact develops Physical AI software that enables robots to grasp, identify and handle objects they have never seen before. Founded in Stuttgart by Dr. Ralf Gulde and Marc Tuscher, the company raised a $116 million Series B in 2026. Customers include Zalando, IKEA, DHL, Rohlik, Arvato, alza.cz, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Truck. About CEVA Logistics CEVA Logistics, a world leader in third-party logistics, provides global supply chain solutions to connect people, products and providers all around the world. Headquartered in Marseille, France, CEVA Logistics offers a broad range of end-to-end, customized solutions in contract logistics and air, ocean, ground and finished vehicle transport in more than 170 countries worldwide thanks to its approximately 110,000 employees at more than 1,700 facilities. With 2025 revenue of US$18.3 billion, CEVA Logistics is part of the CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air and logistics solutions. Story continues below About Zalando Founded in Berlin in 2008, Zalando is the leading European technology platform for fashion and lifestyle. The Zalando group connects 62 million active customers with more than 7,000 brands across 29 markets. Our operations are built on a unique AI-powered data and infrastructure platform. For our customers, our multi-app approach - comprising Zalando, ABOUT YOU, and Lounge by Zalando - delivers an inspiring, highly personalised shopping experience, serving different customers with different needs. For our partners, we are building the operating system for e-commerce. Through ZEOS, Tradebyte, and SCAYLE, we open our logistics, software, and service capabilities to brands and retailers, enabling them to seamlessly scale their businesses across borders. Press contacts Quick Picks

Zalando will continue to refrain from paying a dividend - 'lifestyle AI' planned. Online retailer Zalando will continue to refrain from paying a dividend. "Our priority is profitable growth. That is why we first invest in our business and maintain a solid liquidity reserve," co-CEO Robert Gentz told the "Handelsblatt", according to an advance report circulated on Tuesday evening. Excess capital would instead flow into share buybacks. Gentz continues to believe in "strong organic growth" for the DAX-listed company. October 6, 2026 10:59 On the subject of "artificial intelligence", the manager is optimistic. Zalando is currently building a "lifestyle AI". Regarding concerns that AI agents could make retailers redundant, Gentz said: "I do not believe that agents will completely take over the purchasing of fashion and lifestyle." Clothing is emotional and individual, unlike, for example, laundry detergent./he/edh

Berlin marketers talk building content, communities & fandoms. By Dianna Dilworth September 30, 2026 While Zalando is No. 5 in Digital Commerce 360's top Europe 500 retailers, the company does not just think of itself as a retailer. It is also a publishing platform. During the first six months of 2026, Zalando published 4,000 pieces of editorial content. They have more than 10 million daily active users consuming content on Zalando. "That's a completely different surface for audience interactivity," said James Rothwell, senior vice president of marketing & content at Zalando, during the Brand Innovators German launch at Zalando's office in Berlin. "We learn a lot more about our audiences in terms of demand signals, preferences, and taste. And that allows us to play a big role in their lives and then ultimately build a bigger role in culture." Rothwell said that the role of marketing fundamentally shifts when selling things people want versus what they need. "When you're trying to sell a fashion product, a sports product, an entertainment product, you have to create demand and that requires a very different creative approach and also a different media approach," he said. "You need more of a platform for storytelling, because it's something that you have to convince someone to want and to love." "Our core role is to help Europe get dressed," he added. "It helps us to show up authentically, and it helps us to build a role in culture." That philosophy informs how Zalando approaches content, particularly around moments when fashion, sports and culture intersect. During the World Cup, Zalando launched 90+ Show, an exclusive behind-the-scenes get-ready-with-me video series that highlighted athletes preparing for the summer football tournament. These rituals are key moments for audiences. "Everyone asks themselves, what do I wear today? Whether you're going out to the pitch as a professional athlete or showing up to the match as a fan or getting in your PJs at home and watching it night and night because the World Cup is in North America and the time difference is insane," said Joey Bernier, head of social media at Zalando. This week, Bernier was at the finish line of the Berlin Marathon creating content where he captured the looks of diverse groups of runners. "What was really great is how much effort people put into what they put on their bodies ahead of the marathon," said Bernier. "We had people in head-to-toe matching looks. We had some people in ridiculous outfits...self-expression and fashion and what people put on their bodies is becoming more and more important in the sports space, and we want to celebrate that. We want to tell those stories." Sports has become a year-round cultural conversation. Sports from running to football to basketball continue to attract consumers, making it an increasingly important space for marketers to play. When it comes to sports marketing, most panelists on stage agreed that slapping a logo on an event is fairly meaningless. Instead it is about finding creative ways to lock into the community that extends beyond the game. "Most people think of sport as the moment, the match, the run, the whatever, but actually, 85% of what happens and that people engage is actually pre or post that moment," said James Ricker, vice president of marketing & product innovation at EA Sports App. "And that's where a lot of the consumption happens. It's where a lot of the communities are built. It's where a lot of the celebration happens." Women's sports is one of the fastest growing categories, offering brands an opportunity to lean into working with female athletes. "Fans of women's sports are three times as likely to buy from a woman athlete compared to another influencer. They're more likely to buy from a woman athlete than a male athlete. They get higher social media engagement," said Taylor Gobar, director of marketing at HelloFresh. Don't treat creators transactionally Zalando works with creators to help with its storytelling. Natalina Manni, director of creator and content partnerships at Zalando said the best way to work with creators is to understand what they want to build and work symbiotically in their world. "If they have an affinity with us and they build that into their world, we become symbiotic with their world," said Manni. "They are following their community and trust their brand so they trust our brand on top of it." Building trust is crucial to connecting with consumers and creators can help brands with legitimacy. It's important to work with creators that make sense for the brand and not see it as a transaction. Saruul Karuse-Jentsch, head of podcasts at Spotify advises brands to play where they belong and to make it a two-way partnership. For example, work with creators that reach the community that are interested in your brand and think about how you can help that community. "If you really want to be part of the community, take the community seriously and then don't be greedy and take the quick transaction," she said. "Really thinking about how can I give back to this community and how can I maybe leave something also in this community. For example, when you do an activation, can you maybe leave the recording studio there?" The LGBTQIA+ community is very important to Tinder, because this is a community that has been with the brand from the start. "A big part of this community comes out on Tinder before they come out to their family," said Silke Lakeit, senior director of marketing at Tinder. "So this is a community we always consider, we always want to give back to and we also push forward when it comes to policy, to regulatory decisions, right? So it's beyond marketing." "If brands look at communities as groups or circles of people sharing the same values, and they want to be part of that, they kind of need to adapt those values," she continued. Community is big for Netflix who is heavily focused on fandoms. "There is only one marketing objective that we have at Netflix, and that is conversation," said Mirja Tavra, brand creative studio lead DACH at Netflix. "That's really all there is. We don't measure anything else because we really believe that getting people to talk about something they love is ultimately going to drive relevance." Netflix measures the success of the shows by how many people watch it but they also track fan love. "We don't treat our members just as paying subscribers," said Tavra. "There's a big understanding at Netflix that they, first and foremost, are really fans." The Netflix effect - seen in examples like the Wednesday dance, the tracksuits from Squid Game or the dresses in Bridgerton - happens when the conversation becomes bigger than the actual show itself. "People don't passively watch," said Tavra. "What's on screen really spills over into the lives of people and really means a lot to them and they engage in a big way." It's not something the company can always predict. "It's definitely an idea at the moment when the shows and films are being created," said Tavra. "But sometimes there's surprises like K-pop Demon Hunters. Nobody at Netflix thought that it would be this global phenomenon that it became." AI may be changing how marketers create, but speakers argued that it shouldn't erase the human role in creativity. "There is what AI can do and what you still want to have human beings do," said Alexandra Brandt, head of brand and marketing at Back Market. "You can cook with a machine but you also might like to cook your vegetables yourself." "There might be some stuff that we're super happy to do with AI," she continued. "And there might be the content, the discussion that you still want to keep human...it's a cultural discussion right now about what role do we want as a society to give AI." Carola Seybold, head of global partnerships at Pantone said people are shifting from makers to orchestrators. "Generation of content can be done by AI but to position it needs to remain human," she said. "People want to feel emotions." She said the digital world lacks - emotion, empathy, an instinctive sense of play. The essence of being human is imperfection and the brand has named this the trend of 2028. "To remain human is to choose presence, responsibility, and authorship," said Seybold. "AI might extend our reach, but it does not replace our thinking. We don't design as humans, we design from what makes us human."