Zalando

Germany's financial regulator BaFin opened a formal review of Zalando's 2025 consolidated financial statements after finding concrete evidence the company breached accounting rules by omitting a required related-party transaction disclosure from the notes: that Anders Holch Povlsen, Zalando's largest shareholder, also held a significant stake in About You before Zalando's EUR1.13 billion ($1.29 billion) acquisition of it. Shares fell as much as 10.6% on the news before paring losses. Zalando called the omission 'purely formal and materially insignificant,' noting the underlying information was already public via the tender offer documents, and said it was in constructive dialogue with BaFin.

Following an independent investigation into Swedish forestry company SCA's logging practices in northern Sweden, which raised human rights and environmental concerns, Zalando announced on February 16, 2026 that it would phase out SCA-sourced materials from its packaging products. Zalando does not buy directly from SCA but sources paper indirectly through packaging supplier DS Smith, one of SCA's major customers; the decision followed internal and external dialogue after the investigation concluded. Zalando's move followed a similar decision by Nestle in November 2025. SCA disputed the allegations as unconfirmed and said the impact on its operations would be limited.

Zalando confirmed the shutdown of its Erfurt, Germany fulfillment center, affecting roughly 2,700 employees. Because management and the works council could not agree on a severance package, the dispute went to binding arbitration (Schiedsspruch), which set the terms of the social plan. The closure followed earlier cuts of about 450 Berlin customer-service jobs and coincided with plans to shift some roles to a new logistics hub in Bucharest, Romania.