Posts by Jasmijn

H&M is bouncing back from the pandemic: in 2021 the fashion retailer made 1,36 billion euros in pre-tax profits - a sixfold increase compared to the year before. Their online branch remains strong, though, growing 30 percent in the past year.

Ecommerce feed manager Channable has raised 55 million euros. The Dutch scale up will use the funds for product development and further global expansion, eyeing markets in North-America and Europe.

AO, the online electrical retailer, is considering leaving the German market. The company from the United Kingdom launched there in 2014 but is struggling due to fierce competition, increasing costs and supply chain issues.

According to new European rules, customers have a product guarantee up to 2 years. When the product breaks, retailers are not allowed to ask for a usage fee. But with longer guarantee periods in Finland and the Netherlands, this can cause problems for online merchants.

B2B-marketplace Ankorstore has secured 250 million euros. After only two years of operations, the French company is Europe’s latest unicorn with a value over 1,75 billion euros. The platform wants to use the money to develop their existing services and open new offices in Italy and Spain.

Carrefour, the French supermarket group, is partnering with online grocery marketplace Everli to deliver in their home country France. The companies previously launched partnerships in Italy and Poland. Both brands are also looking to cover future international markets together.

SwipBox, the parcel locker company from Denmark, has had a good year. The number of lockers has tripled to 10 thousand. The amount of customers has also doubled in 2021, thanks to the pandemic boom in ecommerce as well as increased sales of their smart lockers, the company says.

Bol.com, the largest online store in the Netherlands and Belgium, is to acquire Dutch bicycle courier company Cycloon. With the takeover the online store wants to deliver more sustainably. Moreover, Bol.com will deliver its own parcels for the first time.

Amazon customers from the United Kingdom can now pay later for their orders through a partnership with Barclays, the British bank. The new payment service called ‘Instalments’ was already introduced in Germany last year. ‘Buy now, pay later’ is becoming increasingly popular in Europe.

Amazon has received a record fine of 1.13 billion euros by Italian market authority AGCM. The ecommerce giant’s logistics service Fulfilment by Amazon has abused its market dominance and disadvantages competitors too greatly, according to the regulator.

Wehkamp, the online department store from the Netherlands, is looking into an initial public offering (IPO). Their largest shareholder Apax wants to leave the company. An attempt to sell the retailer privately fell through.

Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce, the biggest branch organizations for European online retail, call on the European Union to issue a unified VAT registration. Companies that sell cross-border can already register for taxes via one EU-country. However, this does not apply to those stocking goods in multiple countries, the organizations say.

Ecosistant, a consultancy startup for recycling compliance from Germany, offers extra guidance for online fashion retailers. The service is a response to new recycling laws from the European Union (EU). In addition to packaging and electronics, the company now advises on textile waste as well.

About You, the German fashion retailer, has released its second quarter results. The company shows a year-on-year growth of over 50 percent. This is mainly thanks to their B2B services, as their fashion branch suffers millions in loss.

About You, the fashion platform from Germany, is now active in Greece and Portugal. The company continues its Southern European expansion, after launching in Italy only last month. The retailer now operates in 26 European markets.