Zalando increases quarterly revenue by almost 24 percent following About You acquisition

Berlin-based online fashion retailer Zalando SE has closed the first quarter of the 2026 financial year with a significant increase in revenue and operating profit, as expected. However, negative one-off effects resulted in a significant net loss. In light of the current results, published on Wednesday, the management maintained its annual forecasts.

In the period from January to March, group revenue amounted to just under three billion euros. This corresponded to an increase of 23.8 percent compared to the same quarter last year. The acquisition of the e-commerce company About You last summer played a major role in this strong growth. On a pro-forma basis, revenue increased by 3.4 percent, according to the group. Additionally, “strong revenue growth in the B2B and retail media business” was achieved.

Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) grew by 21.7 percent to 4.29 billion euros. On a pro-forma basis, it increased by six percent. The number of active customers increased by 18.8 percent year-over-year to 62.3 million.

Operating profit exceeds market expectations

The group also made progress in operating profit during the first quarter. The adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose by 38.7 percent to 64.8 million euros, exceeding analysts' expectations. The group attributed this largely to synergy effects of ten million euros from the About You acquisition. The company is therefore “on track to achieve the synergy target of 40 million euros for the full year 2026”, according to a statement.

“Our first-quarter results reflect the financial discipline we demonstrated last year,” emphasised chief financial officer Anna Dimitrova. “We promised profitable growth and have delivered once again.”

One-off effects push the group into the red

However, the group had to record high one-off charges. Restructuring costs amounted to a total of 96.8 million euros, resulting mainly from the planned closure of the logistics centre in Erfurt.

The reported loss before interest and taxes was therefore 79.7 million euros, after a positive EBIT of 21.4 million euros was achieved in the same quarter last year. The bottom line was a net loss of 87.6 million euros. In the first quarter of 2025, Zalando had posted a net profit of 9.9 million euros.

Management confirms its annual forecasts

Co-CEO Robert Gentz drew an overall positive conclusion from the past few months. “Our strong first quarter demonstrates the strength of our strategy. We are very pleased with the progress we are making in scaling AI innovations and integrating About You,” he explained in a statement. “Our unique data and infrastructure platform, which we have built over 17 years – including the most extensive fashion-specific data in Europe and the leading European logistics network – is a huge advantage in combination with AI.”

The management maintained its forecasts for the full financial year, especially as the company stated it had observed “no significant operational or financial impact from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East” in the first quarter. Revenue and GMV are still expected to increase by 12 to 17 percent compared to 2025. The adjusted EBIT is expected to reach 660 to 740 million euros.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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