Germany

Online marketing agency 10XCrew from the Netherlands has acquired Vorwärts, a German Amazon agency. Both companies are specialized in direct-to-consumer strategies and online marketplaces like Amazon and Bol.com.

Sennder, a digital road freight forwarder from Germany, has raised 80 million dollars (65 million euros). This follows the first close of its Series D funding round in January and brings the total size of this round to almost 200 million euros.

Dutch retailer My Jewellery expands to Germany. Tomorrow, the omnichannel retailer will launch its first online shop abroad. In time, My Jewellery wants to open physical stores in Germany as well.  

ParcelLab, which offers a post-purchase customer experience for online retailers, has raised 112 million dollars (92 million euros) in a Series C funding round led by Insight Partners. With the money, ParcelLab wants to expand globally and enhance the progression of its newly released returns portal.

Next year, DHL will have the largest parcel center in Germany. It's not building a completely new building to achieve this. Instead, DHL will expand its parcel center in Aschheim by building a new facility adjacent to the existing center. The two buildings will be connected through a tunnel for trucks.

Fashionette, an online platform for luxury fashion accessories, has acquired Dutch jewelry store Brandfield. With this acquisition, the German company Fashionette wants to accelerate its international profitable growth.

Uber Eats will launch in Germany over the next few weeks. It will be the US company's biggest entry to a new country since 2018. By launching in Germany, Uber Eats wants to challenge Just Eat Takeaway.

Almost eight in ten Amazon merchants in Germany don't see the marketplace as a partner. But they also generate an average of 51.2 percent of their turnover through Amazon. German ecommerce association BVOH calls on Amazon to reform its relationship with merchants.

Seven Senders, a German delivery platform for parcel shipping, has concluded a Series C financing round of 40 million dollars (33 million euros). The company wants to use the money to further support Chinese and US online retailers with their business activities in Europe.

Grover, a German subscription service for consumer electronics, has raised 60 million euros in an oversubscribed Series B Round. The company wants to use the money to accelerate international expansion.

Amazon is also jumping on the local train. In an effort to offer a more regional shopping experience, Amazon has launched a separate website section where small and medium-sized businesses from Germany and Austria can present their goods on Amazon.

For the first time, ecommerce in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (also known as the DACH region) reached a consolidated volume of more than 100 billion euros. The German-speaking ecommerce markets are now generating more sales than any other language area in Europe.

29 percent of German ecommerce sales are generated by small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Compared to the situation in the entire German economy, small ecommerce enterprises are much more important for the total turnover in their sector.

Gorillas, a delivery startup from Germany, has launched its services in London. The company offers a full range of groceries from its own distribution hubs within 10 minutes. The UK is the third market in Europe where Gorillas is active.

Deutsche Post DHL Group saw its revenue increase by 5.5 percent to 66.8 billion euros in 2020. This growth was primarily driven by the global ecommerce boom. The pandemic measures worldwide led to higher parcel volumes.