The Netherlands

Bol.com, the biggest online store in the Netherlands, has generated sales worth 4.3 billion euros in 2020. That's way more than was expected by its holding, Ahold Delhaize. Of course, it has everything to do with the closure of physical stores in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Picnic has shown strong growth in 2020 and is busy with the expansion to France. Sources say that last year, the Dutch online supermarket had managed to double its revenue, which is now predicted to be worth almost half a billion euros.

Dutch omnichannel retailer Coolblue is considering an initial public offering. HAL, which currently has a 49 percent interest in Coolblue, has confirmed the IPO consideration. It's expected the IPO may take place this year.

The Netherlands is the most popular destination for online retailers looking to expand. These ecommerce players see this Western European country as the number one place to expand their logistics operations.

Dutch fulfillment company Active Ants is growing fast. In October 2020, the company opened its second fulfillment center in the Netherlands, and the opening of two other sites are already planned. Ecommerce News Europe spoke with managing partner Jeroen Dekker about their ambitions.

Sellpy has launched in both the Netherlands and Austria today. The second-hand platform, which is part of H&M Group, is now active in four countries across Europe. Previously, it launched in Sweden and Germany.

Tom Omnichannel Management has launched Spanish versions of eleven of its online shops. The Dutch omnichannel ecommerce company says it now wants to focus even more on the international market.

Webador, the international brand name of Dutch website builder JouwWeb, is slowly expanding across Europe. The ecommerce software solution has released a French version of its service and is currently busy launching Webador.be, to better serve the French-speaking part of Belgium.

Wholesale platform BigBuy has launched its new connector, which enables selling on Amazon.nl, the Dutch Amazon marketplace that opened its doors in March last year. BigBuy wants to help its B2B customers sell on Amazon.nl without the need to invest in stock.

Last month, Amazon has managed to double its reach in the Netherlands, compared to last year. In November, the US ecommerce giant reached 7.3 million Dutch consumers. This amounts to 45 percent of all online users in the Netherlands.

Dutch ecommerce association Thuiswinkel.org has launched Shopping Secure, a trustmark for cross-border ecommerce companies. The international trustmark can be used by both B2C and B2B companies.

The six biggest online stores in the Netherlands in 2019 are still the same six as in the year before. Bol.com remains the biggest ecommerce player, with a revenue of 2.17 billion euros. It's followed by fellow Dutch companies Coolblue and Albert Heijn.

Smartmile is expanding its network of open and shared parcel automates. The company will install a total of 40 new lockers in Finland and the Netherlands.

Silverflow, a new platform that connects to card networks, has announced a 2.6 million euros seed funding round. With this, the Amsterdam-based company that is founded by Adyen alums has now raised 3 million euros in total funding.

DHL Parcel has introduced a service in the Netherlands which lets consumers choose a delivery spot around the house. This way, the courier can still drop off the parcel when the consumer isn't at home.