Zalando takes over ABOUT YOU: New fashion giants conquer the market!

Zalando takes over ABOUT YOU: New fashion giants conquer the market!

Berlin, Deutschland - On July 11, 2025, significant changes in the online fashion market have taken place. The online giant Zalando has completed the takeover of About You and now holds 91.45 percent of the company's share capital. This transaction was approved by the EU Commission at the beginning of the month and is a big step for Zalando, which had taken a takeover offer of around 1.1 billion euros in December 2023 to take over.

About You, founded in Hamburg in 2014 as a subsidiary of Otto, remains geared towards young customers and wants to continue working with influencers. The founders of About You, Tarek Müller, Sebastian Betz and Hannes Wiese are still involved in the company and are active. The sales of ABOUT YOU in the 2022/2023 financial year was around 1.9 billion euros, and the company employs 1,250 people.

strategic goals and expectations

Zalando plans to increase sales of the newly formed group of companies by 2028 by an average of five to ten percent per year. In addition, Zalando hopes to achieve an additional operational profit of 100 million euros per year through synergies in corporate customer business. The company wants to specifically counter the competitor Shein, who is known for its cheap products from China.

Zalando, which was founded in Berlin in 2008, can look back on over 50 million active customers in 25 European markets and is currently generating sales of around 10 billion euros with a profit of 83 million euros. The company benefits from strong cooperation with various brands that are part of its strategy to strengthen the market position.

market development and competitive situation

The online fashion market in Germany achieved sales of around 185 billion euros in 2023, and the forecasts indicate further growth to 298 billion euros by 2028. Zalando and ABOUT YOU are the main actors in this dynamic market, whereby Zalando is considered one of the most sales-strong online shops in Germany with sales of 2.3 billion euros.

The competition in the industry remains tough. H&M follows with sales of 617 million euros and overtook Zalando compared to the previous year. Shein, on the other hand, has increased its revenues in Germany by 49% to around 2 billion euros and has climbed to 7th place in the fashion market. In view of these developments, interactive marketing strategies, in particular through influencers, are crucial because 40% of online shoppers buy fashion items that are advertised by such people.

The takeover is seen as an opportunity by both companies to continue growing in the increasingly competitive market for fashion and clothing and pursuing innovative approaches to customer addressing.

For more information on this topic and the development of the fashion industry in Germany, read more on rbb24 , Tagesschau and Statista .