Zalando (ETR:ZAL) said its second-quarter results kept the company on track for its 2026 profit targets, although it narrowed its full-year growth outlook to the lower half of its prior range after softer demand in sneakers weighed on first-half performance.
Co-CEO Robert Gentz said the company carried momentum from 2025 into the first half of 2026, citing progress in its multi-app consumer strategy, B2B operations, and artificial-intelligence initiatives. On a reported basis, first-half gross merchandise volume, or GMV, rose 21%, revenue increased 22.2%, and adjusted EBIT grew 16.1% to €270 million. On a pro forma basis, assuming ABOUT YOU had been consolidated in the prior-year period, group GMV growth was in the mid-single digits.
Second-Quarter Performance and Guidance
In the second quarter, group GMV increased 4.4% on a pro forma basis to €4.9 billion. Revenue rose 1.1% pro forma, while adjusted EBIT increased 10% year over year to €205 million. The group adjusted EBIT margin was 6%, down from 6.5% a year earlier, which CFO Anna Dimitrova attributed entirely to the first-time consolidation of ABOUT YOU, which currently operates at a lower margin.
The company now expects reported GMV and revenue growth for 2026 in the lower half of its previous 12% to 17% range. It narrowed adjusted EBIT guidance to between €680 million and €720 million and said it has increased confidence in reaching the midpoint of that range.
Dimitrova said the outlook is supported by expected benefits from the reshaping of Zalando’s logistics network, operational efficiencies, synergy delivery from the ABOUT YOU integration, and disciplined autumn/winter inventory purchasing. She added that the company expects to remain in the mid-single-digit GMV growth range in the third quarter.
Management said the second-half top-line acceleration implied by its outlook will depend partly on measures intended to strengthen retail performance. “No accounting measures. It’s a real growth,” Dimitrova said in response to an analyst question about the revenue outlook.
Sneaker Weakness and Inventory Management
Executives identified broad-based softness in lifestyle sneakers as a key factor affecting demand. Dimitrova said the sneaker business represents a low-double-digit percentage of total GMV. She said the company did not choose to push more sneakers into the market through higher marketing spending or discounts, instead prioritizing profitable growth.
Zalando does not expect a near-term turnaround in sneaker demand, though management expects another sneaker cycle to emerge over time. Dimitrova said the category is characterized by substantial in-season purchasing, allowing the company to adjust buying decisions based on customer demand, wish lists, price points, brands, and product categories.
The weakness was focused on sneakers rather than footwear broadly, she said, adding that Zalando has seen developments in other categories including sandals and pumps.
Inventory excluding ABOUT YOU rose 3.9% year over year in the second quarter, as Zalando reduced older inventory while bringing in stock for the new season. The company said it plans for inventory to decline year over year by the end of 2026 and is aligning purchases with growth in its partner business.
B2C Platform Shift and Customer Growth
Zalando’s B2C GMV rose 20.7% on a reported basis and 4.4% pro forma. B2C revenue reached €3.1 billion, down 0.6% pro forma. The company said the revenue development reflected both softer sneaker demand and its shift toward a platform-led model, where partner sales increase GMV but revenue is limited to commissions earned.
The partner share of Zalando standalone B2C GMV rose 3.2 percentage points to 36.9%. Retail media revenue increased by almost 40% and reached 2% of B2C GMV.
Active customers increased 18.3% to 62.5 million over the past 12 months, driven in part by the inclusion of ABOUT YOU. Six million customers now use both Zalando and ABOUT YOU; management said those customers generate order frequency and GMV contributions about twice the overall average. Average spending per customer increased 2.9% to €307, primarily because of larger basket sizes.
B2C adjusted EBIT declined to €164.1 million from €173.7 million a year earlier. Dimitrova cited temporary expenses from logistics-network changes, including the ramp-up of sites in Giessen and Paris, a strike involving a last-mile delivery provider in Belgium, and a favorable one-off comparison in the prior-year period. She said the company expects logistics efficiencies to begin improving the fulfillment-cost ratio in the second half.
B2B Growth, AI and ABOUT YOU Synergies
B2B revenue rose 27.6% on a reported basis and 21.1% pro forma to €335 million. B2B adjusted EBIT more than tripled to €41 million from €11 million, and the segment’s adjusted EBIT margin rose to 12.2% from 4.3%.
Management attributed the improvement to scale and operational efficiencies in ZEOS fulfillment, the inclusion of higher-margin SCAYLE software revenue, and temporary phasing effects that are expected to even out during 2026.
Zalando highlighted several B2B developments, including the launch of its logistics collaboration with Marks & Spencer, which is set to roll out across 22 markets in coming months. Hugo Boss selected ZEOS to manage fulfillment for its Zalando marketplace business, while SCAYLE added customers including Wortmann Group, Rose Bikes, Bike Components, and U.K. music retailer HMV.
The company also introduced SCAYLE STUDIOS, an AI-generated content platform that it said can reduce time to market by 95% and visual-content costs by more than 90%. More than 100 brands had joined within two and a half months, producing an annual revenue run rate above €1 million, according to Gentz.
ABOUT YOU integration synergies exceeded €20 million in the first half, ahead of plan. Zalando maintained its target of €40 million in synergies for the full year, with savings coming from commercial negotiations, logistics, packaging, transport, marketing, content, and procurement.
About Zalando (ETR:ZAL)
Zalando SE operates an online platform for fashion and lifestyle products. The company operates through Fashion Store and Offprice segments. It provides shoes, apparel, accessories, and beauty products with free delivery and returns, as well as various payment options. The company also sells its products through Lounge by Zalando; and brick-and-mortar outlet stores. It operates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, France, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
