Zalando has upgraded its ambitions to take a larger share of the European fashion market as sales soared over the past year.

The German fashion marketplace is now aiming to take more than 10% of the market share with expectations to achieve gross merchandise volume (GMV) of more than €30bn by 2025.

Zalando recorded a strong uplift in sales during 2020, with GMV up 30.4% to €10.7bn (£9.2bn), while revenues grew 23.1% to €8bn (£6.9bn).

The etailer also achieved an adjusted EBIT of €420.8m (£360.7m), which it attributed to optimised operations and a significant decrease in return rates year on year.

Throughout the year, it grew its active customer base by 25% to 38.7 million.

Zalando also said its first quarter has had a strong start and it expects around 50% growth of GMV.

With a focus on sustainability, Zalando now holds 80,000 eco-friendly products, which are tagged with a flag on site. In 2020, the sale of such sustainable products accounted for around 16% of GMV, up from about 7% in 2019. 

The retailer is now targeting 25% of GMV from these products by 2023, up from 20% previously.

Co-chief executive Robert Gentz said: “2020 has been a year like no other. We have kept our eyes on our long-term vision to be the starting point for fashion. For the coming years, our focus remains on growth and investments for the long-term.”

Co-chief executive Rubin Ritter added: “We have an opportunity and responsibility to leverage our scale and platform position to drive positive change in the fashion industry.

“If we want to build the starting point for fashion and win the hearts and minds of consumers, we need to be part of the solution to the sustainability challenge we jointly face.”