Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has completed a review into Zalando's 2025 annual report, concluding that the company's approved consolidated financial statements contained errors.
The regulator did not impose any fine, and the examination was conducted under the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG).
BaFin found that the notes to Zalando's consolidated accounts failed to disclose the retailer's acquisition of shares in About You from a related party during the 2025 financial year.
The counterparty was a company controlled by a member of Zalando's supervisory board. The shares were bought for €251.8m ($287.2m).
BaFin said the omission breached rules requiring companies to detail the nature of related-party relationships, along with the particulars and value of transactions carried out with them.
Under the WpHG, significant accounting errors identified through balance sheet control proceedings must be made public, which is how the finding has come to light.
The regulator opened its inquiry on 19 June, assigning its own auditors to the case after identifying what it described as concrete indications of possible gaps in disclosure within the accounts.
The share transaction it examined formed part of Zalando's broader takeover of About You.
Responding to the findings, Zalando said: “BaFin has found that information regarding a related-party transaction was omitted from the notes to the consolidated financial statements 2025. We acknowledge this omission.
“As stated at the outset of this review, this is a purely formal and materially insignificant aspect of the notes to the financial statements. All relevant information regarding the acquisition of the About You shares – including the companies involved, the transaction structure, and the purchase price – was fully publicly accessible as part of the public tender offer.”
The company added that it would cover the procedural costs of the review, which it expects to be minor, and noted that the process was completed swiftly as a result of its cooperation with BaFin.
The regulatory review came in the wake of Zalando's full-year 2025 results, which landed at the upper end of the company's guidance range.
Gross merchandise volume reached €17.6bn – equivalent to $20.07bn using the company's own exchange rate – a rise of 14.7% from €15.31bn a year earlier.
Revenue climbed 16.8% to €12.3bn, up from €10.57bn.
Zalando credited the results to the completed About You acquisition alongside growth in its consumer and wholesale segments.
