Zalando to create 200 tech jobs at new Dublin hub

Europe's largest dedicated online fashion retailer Zalando opened a new technology centre in Dublin on Wednesday and said it would create up to 200 jobs for data analysts and developers there in the next three years.

The fast-growing Berlin-based firm, which now ships 1,500 brands to customers in 15 countries, said last month it expected to increase its staff to about 10,000 by the end of 2015 from around 8,000 now, including several hundred in the tech field.

"Zalando will combine fashion and technology even more in future. Our team in Dublin will play a crucial role in that," said Zalando co-founder Robert Gentz.

Helped by Ireland's low corporate tax rate, Dublin has become a hub for technology companies expanding into Europe and Zalando opened its new centre on the same street as Google's European Headquarters.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said Zalando's move to the Silicon Docks development in Dublin strengthened Ireland's emergence as the "Internet capital of Europe".

"This clustering of high-technology companies, offering high quality jobs, in a part of the city that was previously a declining industrial area, is symptomatic of the changed nature of the Irish economy," Kenny said in a speech.

Ireland's unemployment rate is expected to fall below 10 percent for the first time in over six years when data is released next week, down from a high of 15 percent in 2012 when the country was in the middle of an international aid programme.

Zalando shares jumped last week after it reported better-than-expected results due to a good start to the spring/summer season, but were trading down 3.5 percent at 1150 GMT.