The single e-commerce email read by e-commerce executives, agency teams, and marketplace staff to understand what happened in the entire e-commerce sector.
Around The World In Commerce No. 318
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Dear Readers, The three things on my mind this week:
I would like to thank all the readers who take the time to reply to this email (I spend a considerable amount of time creating this newsletter) and appreciate any comments, even if you disagree with me. All comments are confidential and are not disclosed. If you'd like to help me, please share this newsletter so I can expand my list. Onwards, Hendrik MarketplacesVampire Attacks: How Marketplaces Overcome the Chicken-and-Egg Problem.. How Machine Learning is Reshaping Online Retail Marketplaces. The Global Online Marketplace Landscape in 2025. Africa Amazon exercises option to acquire direct stake in fintech Valu. South Africa's Takealot grows revenue to fend off Amazon rivalry. Another huge loss for Takealot. Nigerian e-commerce startup Shoptreo secures funding to take artisan products global. China Joe Tsai and Eddie Wu’s 2025 Letter to Shareholders. Alibaba merges its delivery platform, Ele.me, and travel agency, Fliggy, into an e-commerce group. Alibaba hits quick commerce stride with Taobao and Ele.me. JD.com hires full-time food delivery riders to challenge Meituan, Alibaba. JD.com acquires home renovation firm. Meituan expands instant retail, scales back community group-buying in unprofitable areas. Alibaba trims key governance body as it embraces AI and bets on younger leaders. JD.com offers hotels 3-years of zero commission. Europe Wayflyer secures $35M in additional funding to fuel further growth. AliExpress relies on Local+ [in German]. European Amazon Boss: ‘We are an ally’. Digital Product Passports Introduce New Sources of Value. Amazon to invest $54 billion in Britain over next three years. Sellers in Russia suffer high rates of marketplace fraud, survey finds. MPs urge Amazon and eBay to tighten controls on ebike and charger sales. eBay, Vinted, and Etsy users given £1,000 warning from HMRC. The number of Polish sellers on AliExpress has tripled [in Polish] . OLX pivots to B-to-C to boost monetization. India MakeMyTrip raises $3.1 billion to cut Chinese firm Trip’s holding. Swiggy cut losses by 30% to $182 million in 2024, and quick commerce GOV doubled. Walmart Celebrates More Than 20 Years in India With Showcase of Innovation, Growth and Partnership. Flipkart bets on livestreaming and videos to win over online shoppers. Latin America Mercado Ads expands advertising scope in Latin America [In Portuguese]. TikTok Shop battles Shein and Temu in Latin America’s e-commerce race. Mercado Libre's CMO shares his five takeaways from Cannes Aterian expands presence on Mercado Libre into Chile, Colombia, and Argentina. Shopee announces first air route with Azul and expands fast deliveries [in Portuguese]. Amazon Brazil expands FBA program to 5 more states and reduces logistics fees [in Portuguese]. Middle East No news this week that I thought was interesting or of value to readers. South East Asia and Australia Shopee To Introduce RM0.50 Seller Fee From 16 July 2025 in Malaysia. Indonesia to make e-commerce firms collect tax on sellers' sales, sources say. POP MART cracks open SEA’s collectibles craze with Lazada partnership. Southeast Asia’s Platform E-commerce GMV Reaches US$128.4B, Oasis rescues Tmon in cash deal, eyes e-commerce expansion. Australia's Woolworths to close MyDeal to cut losses. US Bipartisan 'Open App Markets Act' resurrected to challenge Apple's App Store control. Easy returns cause big trouble for Amazon sellers, but return rates show signs of slowing. Spreetail Announces New AI-Powered “Listing Doctor” to Maximize Sales. Walmart tests dark stores. Lowe's builds its marketplace to scale [YouTube video]. B2B marketplace GrubMarket acquires Coast Citrus. Luxury CommerceAmazon’s premium beauty push may be a buffer against Trump's tariffs. Reuters The Seattle-based e-commerce company is hoping that recent sales growth in high-margin cosmetics in its Amazon Premium Beauty category will cushion the impact of tariffs on Prime Day sales revenue and consumer sentiment. Mulberry Seeks €23 Million in Market Funding to Support Restructuring Efforts. Selfridges secures permission for private members' club: is this the future for luxury retail? La Perla shuts Tmall store citing strategic shifts. The Backroom: Saks Global, Amazon and the state of luxury [podcast]. Can US luxury department stores survive the next century, or even the next decade? NoLogo.com Launches to Disrupt the $1 Trillion Global Home Goods Market. Affordable Luxury Is Big Business, but Fakes Are Piling Up in Landfills Entrupy's State of the Fake report. Fashion e-commerceSkims’ Plan for Global Domination. - Business of Fashion ($) Skims' plan leverages inclusivity, strategic collaborations, and social media hype for rapid growth, expanding into new categories and retail, aiming to redefine fashion. Gensmo Secures $60M+ in Angel Funding to Reinvent Fashion E-Commerce with AI. - PR Newswire Gensmo's mission is rooted in a profound understanding of fashion as a profoundly human art form. While AI excels at structured tasks, fashion and beauty—shaped by culture, emotion, and personal experiences—are inherently subjective. Daydream Launches First Chat-Based Shopping Agent Built Exclusively for Fashion - PR Newswire I played with Daydream this week, and I will say that I am left disappointed. Yes, I know it's a beta, and I'm not the target audience, but Daydream has a lot to do. Also, is using an affiliate business model a good idea? ‘Champion has to be back in pro sports’: How Authentic Brands Group is turning Champion around with sports league deals. E-commerce will make up half of True Religion’s business by the year’s end. H&M holds firm on US prices as Zara and Shein raise theirs amid tariffs. CaaStle Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Setting Up Liquidation. Forever 21 Faces Turning Point as U.S. Licensee Liquidates Assets With Judicial Backing. Customers are ditching Shein and Temu. Can Amazon win them over? Korean fashion brands excel in China's 618 event. China fashion retailer Shein to file confidentially for Hong Kong IPO in rare move, sources say. Flaconi expands to 5 new markets. Glossier CEO Kyle Leahy to exit. Try on looks and discover your style with Doppl. Armor-lux works with Faume to launch recommerce service. AdvertisingHow Fashion Nova’s Influencer Strategy Became a Billion-Dollar Marketing Blueprint. - Influencer Hub How did a single Los Angeles mall boutique, since it was founded in 2006, morph into a fast-fashion titan valued at over $1 billion in annual revenue? And what if the secret isn’t celebrity glitz but a four-pillar engine that delivers $15.3 million EMV each quarter? Commerce media takeaways from Cannes Lions 2025. Google rolls out First Order Promotions for Shopping Ads. As AI kills search traffic, Google launches Offerwall to boost publisher revenue. Google’s head of search on the company’s AI transition.. Brij Secures $8M in Oversubscribed Round to Power the Future of Offline-to-Online Customer Relationships. Logistics is sponsored by Third Person - a new way for brands to discover 3PLsCainiao launches global-to-global Express Network in GCC, Serving Logistics Demands for the Booming E-commerce Industry with Three-Day Delivery. Amazon’s bringing faster Prime delivery speeds to thousands of smaller cities, towns, and rural communities. Clorox to replace 25-year-old tech with new ERP. ClearJet making e-commerce easier, cheaper: talking transports [Podcast] JET Go! Just Eat launches white-label delivery to transform convenience for Co-op and independent retailers. FlavorCloud and Shipium integrate AI-powered platforms to optimize global e-commerce shipping and customer experience. Flowspace announces free fulfillment assessment to combat rising logistics costs. Walmart to close Sam's Club fulfillment center in Texas. Posta Kenya is under pressure as E-Commerce shoppers seek better delivery options. Diverse Logistics, a portfolio company of Argosy Private Equity, has acquired Massiano Logistics. Egypt's Nowlun raises $2.3M Seed. Target explores factory-direct shipping model, Bloomberg News reports: Your Next Online Purchase Could Be Delivered by Delta. Amazon to add nearly 5,000 electric vans to its network, its single largest deployment in Europe. ConsumerUnilever acquires Dr. Squatch. Unilever Unilever will acquire Dr. Squatch, a men's personal care brand, expanding its portfolio in natural, high-growth grooming products. Jennifer Garner's baby food company confidentially files for an IPO. Millie Bobby Brown's DTC coffee brand goes direct-to-customer. How Sam’s Club sees fresh food, digital tools fueling its ambitious growth plans. Dutch online supermarkets must now adhere to the collective labor agreement for regular supermarkets in the Netherlands. Westwing expands across Europe. New Kidson announced that it has completed the merger process with KB No. 28 SPAC in Korea. India’s GoKwik raised a small $13M round for a hefty leap in valuation. PaymentsWalmart-backed PhonePe prepares for $1.5 billion India IPO. - Reuters Why Razorpay Added POP Music To Its ‘Paylist’. Are stablecoins e-commerce’s next big thing? Stats and Other Interesting NewsSwitzerland's top-selling B2C online shops – 2025 [in German]. Pakistanis spent over Rs317 billion on foreign online platforms in 2024–25. Walmart working with suppliers to meet $10 billion sourcing from India. Mauritania Advances E-Commerce. Meet Project Rainier, Amazon’s one-of-a-kind machine ushering in the next generation of AI. The content here is for informational purposes only and should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice. It does NOT constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase any investment or a recommendation to buy or sell a security. The content is not directed to any investor or potential investor and may not be used to evaluate or make any investment. This was edition number 317, sent on 29, June 2025. |
Hendrik Laubscher
The single e-commerce email read by e-commerce executives, agency teams, and marketplace staff to understand what happened in the entire e-commerce sector.
Read online Dear Readers, The three things on my mind this week:? I find Amazon and its AI future fascinating. Did Andy Jassy say anything new in the note sent to Amazon staff this week? We are entering an era where technology companies will have fewer staff due to the rise of AI. Amazon is unique in that it will need staff for its warehouses, but let's not get carried away with this being something like Bezos' shareholder letter. Really? No Brittain. Did something happen at JD.com this past...
Read online Dear Readers, The three things on my mind this week:? Why aren't we discussing Chinese sellers going directly to markets through marketplaces? This seems to be a developing trend, as I am aware of startups that are helping Chinese sellers enter marketplaces on various continents. These manufacturers and brands are being squeezed by Temu, SHEIN, and others, yet this topic remains largely under the radar. Will marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart save the luxury industry? I ask, as...
Read online Dear Readers, Firstly, thanks to everyone who got in touch after last week's relaunch. i am testing what the best way is to serve you on Sundays. My weekly article on Wednesday was interrupted by unplanned tasks around the house. Hopefully, I will get to sending the first mid-week post on Wednesday. The three stories on my mind this week: Amazon goes deeper into AI and launches grocery in South Africa. Amazon is often viewed as an AI laggard. I tend to disagree as the company is...