Is About You still an independent public company?

No. Zalando SE closed its acquisition of About You on 11 July 2025 with about 91.45% of shares, then completed a merger squeeze-out on 6 November 2025, delisting About You from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. About You is now a wholly-owned Zalando subsidiary with no independent stock listing.

Is About You profitable?

Not on a net basis. For H1 FY2025/26, About You reported revenue of €1,041.7M (up 7.6%) but a net loss of €34.5M, an improvement from a €37.6M loss the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was €22.6M, up from €12.8M, showing improving but still thin margins.

Could AI replace About You's product photography team?

Largely already happening: as of July 2026, About You says roughly 90% of its e-commerce photo and video production runs through its SCAYLE STUDIOS AI tool, cutting costs about 90% and saving an estimated €8M annually versus traditional studio photography.

Who is About You's biggest competitor threat?

Shein and Temu pose the sharpest price-based threat, with combined estimated German revenue of €2.7-3.3 billion in 2024 and roughly 40 million German shoppers between them, while Amazon holds about 63% of German online retail share overall as of mid-2025.

Who owns About You now?

Zalando SE. Zalando announced its takeover intent on 11 December 2024, closed the deal on 11 July 2025 owning about 91.45% of shares, and completed a squeeze-out merger on 6 November 2025, making About You a wholly-owned Zalando subsidiary.

What is SCAYLE and does it matter for About You's future?

SCAYLE is About You's B2B enterprise-commerce and AI-imaging platform, spun off in August 2023, with enterprise clients including Levi's, Harrods and Manchester United. A January 2026 investor update projected SCAYLE reaching €175M in revenue by FY2029.

E-commerce and marketplaces · subsidiary of Zalando SE · Germany

About You

aboutyou.com ↗

German fashion e-commerce platform, now a fully owned Zalando subsidiary.

Protection under test

Assessed 22 July 2026 · Evidence as of 22 July 2026

Something worth protecting exists and is being tested right now.

On the recordSince 22 July 2026 · Checkable from Q4 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Zalando Q3/Q4 2026 earnings test FY2026 guidance of 12-17% growth and €660-740M adjusted EBIT

The call

About You now survives inside Zalando's balance sheet, with its fate tied to synergy math, SCAYLE's unproven external sales, and how much brand independence Zalando allows it to keep.

About You is a German online fashion retailer that Zalando bought completely in late 2025, taking it off the public market. The clothing sales part makes very little profit (only about 1.4% after costs), loses money overall, and has been cutting jobs to save costs. The harder-to-replace piece is SCAYLE, a brand-new software tool for fashion companies that locks customers in, but it just launched and faces competition from bigger, richer tech platforms. The big question is whether Zalando keeps About You as its own brand aimed at young shoppers or folds it into Zalando's main site, and whether SCAYLE can hang onto its first customers and grow fast enough before companies like Shein and Temu squeeze everyone's prices down.

Why

AI pressure: Zalando's own AI discovery feed (shipped 2025) plus SCAYLE's uncertain B2B traction. Zalando already has an AI shopping feed, so About You's SCAYLE AI studio must prove itself fast or get folded into the parent's stack. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.

Bigger players: Zalando SE (now 100% owner) and Shein/Temu on price. Zalando bought About You outright and is squeezing €40M to €100M in synergies while Shein and Temu pull ~€3B and 40M German shoppers on price. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. SCAYLE's B2B enterprise software lock-in and About You's youth-skewed customer base give it something beyond retail margin.

What would change this call

Zalando's Q3/Q4 2026 results versus its 12-17% growth and EUR660-740M adjusted EBIT guidance. shows whether the combined group is meeting the targets used to justify the acquisition.
Whether About You's consumer app and brand remain distinct or get folded into Zalando's platform. shows if About You survives as a separate customer-facing brand or is absorbed.
SCAYLE's external client count and retained ARR reported over the next 2-3 quarters. shows whether the B2B software arm is gaining real traction beyond internal use.

Key numbers

H1 FY2025/26 revenue €1,041.7M, up 7.6% (2026-07-09)
H1 FY2025/26 net loss €34.5M (2026-07-09)
FY2024/25 adjusted EBITDA just €28.1M on €2B revenue (2026-06-20)

Named risks

Loss of standalone financial disclosure now folded into Zalando's consolidated reporting, reducing visibility. Severity: medium
Zalando's €40M to €100M synergy targets through 2028 could drive further About You headcount cuts beyond the current 17% decline since 2023. Severity: high
BaFin found Zalando omitted disclosure of a €252M related-party share purchase tied to About You takeover, raising governance concerns. Severity: medium
Shein and Temu price-led disruption continues eroding the German fashion e-commerce market About You depends on. Severity: high
SCAYLE Studios external B2B rollout is only weeks old as of July 2026, with unproven retention and revenue traction. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Zalando	losing to	Zalando acquired ~91.45% of About You on 11 Jul 2025 and completed squeeze-out delisting on 6 Nov 2025
Shein and Temu	losing to	Combined ~€2.7-3.3B German revenue and ~40M shoppers as of 2024/2025, price-led disruption in About You's core market
Amazon	contesting	Amazon holds ~63% of German online retail share as of mid-2025, far broader assortment than About You
Vinted	losing to	Vinted leads Germany's over €9.9B secondhand fashion market, drawing younger price-sensitive shoppers as of 2026
Otto Group	contesting	Otto Group remains Germany's largest domestic online retailer and was About You's original parent investor

Questions people ask

Is About You still an independent public company?: No. Zalando SE closed its acquisition of About You on 11 July 2025 with about 91.45% of shares, then completed a merger squeeze-out on 6 November 2025, delisting About You from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. About You is now a wholly-owned Zalando subsidiary with no independent stock listing.
Is About You profitable?: Not on a net basis. For H1 FY2025/26, About You reported revenue of €1,041.7M (up 7.6%) but a net loss of €34.5M, an improvement from a €37.6M loss the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was €22.6M, up from €12.8M, showing improving but still thin margins.
Could AI replace About You's product photography team?: Largely already happening: as of July 2026, About You says roughly 90% of its e-commerce photo and video production runs through its SCAYLE STUDIOS AI tool, cutting costs about 90% and saving an estimated €8M annually versus traditional studio photography.
Who is About You's biggest competitor threat?: Shein and Temu pose the sharpest price-based threat, with combined estimated German revenue of €2.7-3.3 billion in 2024 and roughly 40 million German shoppers between them, while Amazon holds about 63% of German online retail share overall as of mid-2025.
Who owns About You now?: Zalando SE. Zalando announced its takeover intent on 11 December 2024, closed the deal on 11 July 2025 owning about 91.45% of shares, and completed a squeeze-out merger on 6 November 2025, making About You a wholly-owned Zalando subsidiary.
What is SCAYLE and does it matter for About You's future?: SCAYLE is About You's B2B enterprise-commerce and AI-imaging platform, spun off in August 2023, with enterprise clients including Levi's, Harrods and Manchester United. A January 2026 investor update projected SCAYLE reaching €175M in revenue by FY2029.

Timeline

2026-07-21BaFin censures Zalando for omitting disclosure of a €252M related-party About You share purchase; no fine
2026-07-20About You launches SCAYLE STUDIOS AI photo/video tool externally, expands to UK market
2026-07-09H1 FY2025/26 results: revenue €1,041.7M (+7.6%), net loss narrows to €34.5M
2025-11-06Zalando and About You complete merger squeeze-out, delisting About You shares
2025-08-05Zalando confirms successful completion of About You acquisition transaction
2025-07-11Zalando closes acquisition, acquiring about 91.45% of About You shares
2025-07-01EU merger-control clearance for Zalando-About You deal obtained
2024-12-11Zalando announces intent to acquire 100% of About You
2023-08-01SCAYLE spun off as standalone About You subsidiary for B2B commerce SaaS

Revision history

22 July 2026

First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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