Benelux

Zalando will expand its Beauty assortment to the Netherlands. On the 28th of August, Dutch consumers will be able to buy over 8,500 different beauty products from more than 200 brands at Zalando.

Ecommerce is getting increasingly important for Dutch logistics company PostNL. During the first half of this year, 51 percent of its revenue was related to ecommerce. PostNL is focusing less on postal activities and more and more on the delivery of parcels. Selling Postcon is just the latest example of this trend.

Eyewear retailer Lentiamo has expanded to a new market in Europe. The eyecare specialist has opened its online shop in the Netherlands, making this the 16th country where Lentiamo is present. Foreign markets currently account for 85 percent of the company's revenues.

Dutch food delivery group Takeaway has confirmed it wants to acquire its British competitor Just Eat. If Just Eat and Takeaway successfully end talks, the combined company will be one of the largest food delivery companies in the world.

Payconiq, a mobile payment app supported by several Benelux banks, wants to expand further in Europe. To achieve this goal, it just raised 20 million euros in a funding round led by its existing shareholders.

Zalando has announced it will build its first fulfilment center in the Netherlands. With the 140,000 square meters nearby Rotterdam, the fashion company wants to further boost its growth in Western Europe.

Dutch online payment processor Mollie has raised 25 million euros from a group of technology and payment entrepreneurs. With the money, Mollie wants to accelerate its expansion through Europe.

H&M will launch its latest brand Afound in the Netherlands. It's the first market outside Sweden where H&M will be present with its outlet concept. In the autumn of this year, Afound will launch in the Netherlands.

Dutch ecommerce company All4running is expanding to Germany. With the acquisition of German competitor 21Run, All4running is further shaping its ambitions to become an important running specialist in Europe.

iDeal is getting increasingly popular among Dutch consumers. The payment method was used for 59 percent of online purchases in the Netherlands last year. That's an increase of 3 percentage points compared to the situation one year before.

Fashion retailer Peek & Cloppenburg will open an online store in the Netherlands later this year. The retailer, which has three physical stores in the Netherlands, is focusing more and more on its online business. One year ago, the company opened its online store in Poland.

Ikea is launching a new app, which enables customers to visualize products in the context of their own homes and then order these items through the app. The new Ikea app will be launched first in France and the Netherlands.

Lidl has stopped selling wine online through its online shops in Belgium and the Netherlands. The supermarket chain wants to limit itself to selling only non-food items online.

Ecommerce in Belgium is still being dominated by foreign online retailers. Last year, the biggest online turnover was achieved by Dutch ecommerce giant Bol.com, followed by Coolblue (also from the Netherlands) and Amazon France. In the top 10, there are only two Belgian players.

Starting today, AliExpress customers in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Finland can choose when and how they want to pay for their goods. This is the result of a partnership between Klarna and AliExpress' payment service provider Adyen.