After going public last year, online fashion retail giant Zalando has been looking to expand across Europe, opening offices to increase its chances of attracting local tech talent to support its growth and shift to a 'platform strategy' (PDF).
After announcing last month that it was opening shop in Dublin, looking to hire 200 people (actually more), the Germany company is today announcing at the Arctic15 conference that its next tech centre will open in central Helsinki 'late summer' this year.
Zalando plans to hire some 50 people in the first year but that number may double or more in the future. The first people are already being interviewed and the company is about to close a deal for a space in the center of the city.
The focus for the new Helsinki tech hub will be on its customer-facing products (mobile app development, user experience, design etc.) in the context of its recently announced platform strategy and 'mobile first' approach.
Aside from being on the ground with a clear intent to hire (away) local tech talent, Zalando also wants to engage more with Finnish startups and says Helsinki was an appealing choice because of the 'entrepreneurial spirit'. No word about the weather.
Also read:
Meet the people behind the tech behind Zalando (video interview)
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