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Dear Readers,

Apologies for the late newsletter, I had to deal with a very fearful little Jack Russell amidst rain in Cape Town..

The three questions this week:

1. ​We had two initial public offerings last week, StubHub and Pattern. One company will be able to leverage scale to generate quarterly revenues without owning inventory, whilst the other (whose staff looked dejected) will face a very tough environment once its quarterly earnings reports underwhelm analysts. I hope we see more companies going public in the remainder of 2025.
2. Amazon has announced that it will end commingling by the end of 2026. As Amazon's logistics business grows, it feels to me that they are trying everything to remove friction inside their warehouses. I will admit that I do not understand why it took Amazon this long to to stop this practice.,
3. Are companies using B2B2C commerce or a merchant of record to sidestep the impact of tariffs? I do not think in the current climate that this is a good look for ESW and Global-e.

I want 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. I want you to know that all comments are confidential and are not shared.

If you'd like to help me, please share this newsletter to help me grow my list.

​Onwards, Hendrik

Around The World in Marketplaces

Africa

Jumia Kenya signs a partnership with Watu Credit. Valu rolls out the first licensed BNPL Experience with Noon in Egypt via the newly issued fintech license. Is there a future for the ‘Amazon of Africa’? [podcast]. Amazon is opening new pop-up shops in South Africa. Big changes for Takealot in South Africa. Morocco’s Done.ma lands $2.1M to build a homegrown food delivery platform.

China

Chinese marketplaces slash iPhone 17 pre-sale prices. Alibaba’s Tmall merchants enter Southeast Asia through Lazada’s platform. Alibaba and’ WeChat are in talks to launch a Taobao mini program. Musinsa opens Tmall flagship to push K‑fashion into China. Jack Ma has returned to Alibaba ($)

China's market regulator probes Kuaishou's e-commerce unit.

​JD.com doesn't want to spark a price war in China’s hospitality sector, founder says. JD.com Founder Liu Qiangdong says new hotel development plan coming by year-end.

China’s tax overhaul ends the third-party export loophole.

Europe

​Allegro teams up with DPD on delivery programme. Allegro installs first parcel lockers at Orlen stations in Czechia.

Temu opens its platform to local sellers in Switzerland. Rakuten France announces European marketplace expansion: Spain as the first step in a strategic rollout. Kaufland: strong growth in Poland and Austria.

Temu’s UK operation doubles revenues and pre-tax profits.

German regulators approve JD.com's acquisition of Cecenomy. Back Market on track for $3.5B in GMV this year.

India

Prosus doubles stake in Urban Company ahead of $1.8 billion IPO ​

​Amazon India marketplace narrows losses by 89% to Rs 374 crore; Revenue rises 19%. Flipkart sees 25-30% rise in transacting sellers in last six months.

Latin America

Amazon, Mercado Libre, and Geodis announce $1.2 billion investment. Meet Ariel Szarfsztej, who wants to run Mercado Libre as a startup ($).Mercado Pago acquires Brazilian Nikos DTVM. How WhatsApp Business is transforming e-commerce in Latin America.

Middle East

Chinese food delivery giant Keeta launches in Kuwait with 50 per cent discounts. JD Property expands Dubai footprint with second logistics facility in JAFZA. Amazon opens first Abu Dhabi fulfilment centre to boost e-commerce. Bidding heats up for KKR-owned Yad2, Israel’s No. 1 classified site.

South East Asia and Australia

Korea conditionally approves AliExpress, Shinsegae unit joint venture. The Chosun Daily​

The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) conditionally approved on the 18th a corporate merger between Shinsegae Group and Chinese Alibaba Group, which established a joint venture to co-control the online shopping platform 'G Market' and the overseas direct purchase platform 'AliExpress Korea.' However, conditions were imposed, including the requirement to operate independently and prohibit the use of each other's consumer data in the domestic online overseas direct purchase market.

Malaysia’s used motorbike market is in high gear, reflecting a shift in the recommerce sector: iMotorbike. Singapore's Carro raises $60M to promote Japanese cars in Asia. South Korea’s Danggeun launches Buy Now feature for secondhand goods. Lazada's 9.9 Mega Brands Sale 2025 delivers record growth. Following the launch of its quick commerce service, Amazon reportedly Invests in Astro in Indonesia [In Indonesia].

US

Prime Big Deal Days is back October 7-8. Amazon violated online shopper protection law, judge rules ahead of Prime signup trial. Amazon launches online Winn-Dixie grocery delivery in Florida. Amazon plans to phase out commingling to combat counterfeits by 2026. CEO Andy Jassy says Amazon’s partnership with independent sellers is the most 'substantial collaboration in the history of retail.'

5 takeaways from CNBC’s investigation into Walmart Marketplace. Grumpy Butcher is bringing smiles to picky foodies on Temu.

The multi-billion-dollar B2B rental opportunity: Part 1 - mapping the giants.

Ticket reseller StubHub raises about $800M in US IPO. E-commerce firm Pattern is valued at $2.4 billion,​ raises $300M as shares fall in Nasdaq debut.

Luxury Commerce

Federico Marchetti’s “The Geek Of Chic” Inspires Fashion’s Future. - Forbes​

The breakthrough came in 2003 when Benchmark Capital, one of Silicon Valley's most prestigious venture capital firms, made a bold bet on an Italian entrepreneur. "They invested in an Italian company, but in the case of fashion, they understood that being Italian was a competitive advantage," Marchetti explains. "They invested $7.2 million to penetrate the New York market and enable international expansion."

​SSENSE secures $40M financing and court-approved restructuring plan. Watchfinder opens first US boutique in New York’s SoHo. Hlumelo Nyaluza seeks support after losing millions from luxury bag pricing error. Luxury brands’ big challenge: figuring out Gen Z ​.

Taiwan-based luxury resale platform provider raised $3M in Series A funding. Fashionphile partners with Assouline to release the book of iconic bags, highlighting the 25 most influential bags of all time. Carousell to open second-hand luxury bag store at The Centrepoint. eBay CEO triples down on "no counterfeits" claims as scrutiny on authentication heats up. Saks considers selling a minority stake in Bergdorf Goodman.

​ Lucira Jewelry secures $5.5M Seed Round to redefine sustainable luxury in India.

Fashion and Beauty e-commerce

Retailers lose online momentum as Shein, Temu, and Vinted rise in France. Shein and Pimkie join forces to enhance e-commerce with collaborative efforts.

Condé Nast to launch Vette, an Influencer storefront platform in 2026. Sephora to launch ‘shoppable storefronts’ where influencers can curate beauty product buys. Anthropologie debuts digital marketplace featuring Nest fellows.

Puma shares seesaw on Authentic Brands Group takeover speculation. Shein opens its supply network to fashion brands to boost growth.

​NextPlat launches its Florida Sunshine Brand of premium vitamins in Europe and North America and receives initial approval for sale in China. Missguided eyes £200M revenues in two years on Shein Xcelerator success. Myntra net profit jumps 18-fold as fashion ecommerce gains momentum.

AI and Commerce

Agentic Commerce is a Collective Hallucination. Media, Ads + Commerce​
​Agentic commerce means giving purchasing autonomy and authority to a bot as a default. But consumers actually prefer seeing options presented before making a decision because they want to feel confident in the selection.

Microsoft Copilot adds commerce experience using Curated for You. Digital Commerce 360​

Microsoft Copilot will feature commerce-enabled results through a new experience featuring retailers such as Revolve and Steve Madden. The platform Curated for You announced it would provide the new options in response to queries through Microsoft’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered assistant.

Google's new plan to build trust in AI agents as personal shoppers. Powering AI commerce with the new Agent Payments Protocol (AP2). AI agents are going to revolutionize e-commerce, but what about the fraud?​

Amazon unveils new agentic AI tools for sellers amid heightened scrutiny. Amazon's big agentic bet.​

​Behavioral Insights — Rather Than More Data — Can Improve AI-Driven Recommendations.

Shop Circle extends Series B to $100M as it doubles down on AI-powered acquisitions. MarqVision raises $48M in Series B funding to power the new era of brand protection. Agentic AI customer service startup Clarity raises $12M, Envive raises $15M to build AI agents for online retailers. Sphinx launches with $9.5M to redefine how AI works with data. Curated For You raises $8.3M in Seed funding to transform retail with its AI-powered contextualized shopping platform. Ethosphere scoops $2.5M to give retail associates AI “superpowers” with in-store voice coaching.

​XGEN AI acquires R2Decide to accelerate the future of AI-powered retail. Shopnomix invests in Creator.Co to power an agentic marketplace for content-to-commerce.

Advertising

Rolling Stone, Billboard owner Penske sues Google over AI overviews. Magnite becomes the third SSP in two months to sue Google over antitrust allegations. Google doubles down on AI Max pitch to wary advertisers. Google returns to court for the remedy phase of the DOJ ad-tech antitrust trial.

Amazon adds SiriusXM to programmatic sales offer. Any Amazon seller buying Sponsored Product Ads can now use Amazon's clean room.

Pinterest brings ‘where-to-buy’ links to image ads. New YouTube tools aim to turn product discovery into purchases.

Logistics is sponsored by Third Person - a new way for brands to discover 3PLs

UPS cancels deal for Estafeta.

iThink Logistics launches AI-powered platform for cross-border e-commerce. Is it time for Ninja Van to quit e-commerce logistics?

THG Fulfil launches global fulfilment checkout tool, ‘Checkout by THG Fulfil’.

The end of 'de minimis' has hit Temu and Shein. Now, it's a problem for bigger companies like FedEx. Amazon opens fulfillment services to Shein, Shopify, and Walmart sellers. JD Airlines launches Shenzhen–Singapore–Shenzhen freighter service
​
​Catena raises $5M to build the trusted data infrastructure for freight.

Consumer

L Catterton makes a strategic investment in Seki Furniture. Online grocer Paddock to Pantry expands its product range in a push against the supermarket duopoly in New Zealand.

​Carrefour exits more GCC countries: Kuwait stores shut after Bahrain, Oman, Jordan. Brazil approves Bimbo-Wickbold deal, requires brand divestment.

Compare Group launches in Denmark and Norway.

​Tanger acquires Legends Outlets in Kansas City, Kansas. Gopuff launches its new website.

​Mars shares plans to invest €1 billion to boost manufacturing and innovation across the EU. Nothing closes $200M Series C led by Tiger Global, plans AI-first device launch. Rosenthal Capital Group Closes $3.5M Joint Recourse Factoring and PO Financing Transaction for XCEL. UK-based social commerce platform WeShop files for a direct listing on the Nasdaq.

Payments

How Apple Pay became ubiquitous at retailers. PayU Kenya Enters Liquidation After Struggling to Gain Traction in Competitive Fintech Market. Airwallex is targeting a wide array of companies in Israel, specifically due to the ecosystem. Adyen Is unifying payment systems across all of LVMH.

Stats and Other Interesting News

Nearly half of U.S. retail spending comes from top 10% of earners. VML: The Future Shopper 2025: Key trends shaping e-commerce. European prosecutors made a mega seizure (2435 shipping containers) of Chinese goods at Piraeus. Similarweb’s 3rd Annual Global Ecommerce Report: Growth Shifts to Apps and 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 330, sent on 22 September 2025.