Let's talk Marketplace

In this episode, Valerie und Ingrid sit down once again with Amazon expert Malte Karstan, fresh from his visit to Amazon’s European HQ in Luxembourg. From low-price strategies to cutting-edge AI features - Amazon is navigating competitive pressure from Temu, TikTok Shop & Co. with new tools and tactics. Together, they explore: Is Amazon Haul a tactical move or a long-term play? Is Amazon on it...

For brands looking to sell in Germany, it quickly becomes clear that this market follows its own rules, surprising even experienced cross-border sellers – for example, because of the strong dominance of Amazon. In this episode, Ingrid and Valerie explore the question of what really drives German buyers, how they behave in marketplaces, and what that means for brands planning to enter the market. D...

It is THE topic that has kept the industry in suspense in recent weeks: the launch of TikTok Shop in Europe. Valerie and Ingrid take a critical look at this in the new newsflash episode of “Let's talk Marketplace”. Because despite the hype, TikTok Shop is not suitable for every brand, every retailer, and every product. They also discuss Shein's rapid growth beyond fashion, the annual resul...

TikTok Shop's business is doing really badly in the US and the UK – even if TikTok doesn't say it out loud! But what does this mean for the TikTok Shop launch in Europe and for brands that want to jump on the bandwagon? That's what Valerie and Ingrid discussed in this episode with Ed Sander from Chinatalk. Ed explains that TikTok has clearly failed to meet its own targets in the US and...

Sometimes, the question of why someone tells a story in exactly that way is more exciting than the story itself! A good example of this is Zalando: the 2024 annual report and the associated statements are really interesting – especially what Zalando emphasizes and what is no longer mentioned. In this podcast episode, Ingrid and Valerie do just that: they analyze what the numbers really reveal and...

What does bol have that Amazon doesn't? Or to put it another way: Why is bol so far ahead in the Netherlands? Ingrid and Valerie explore this question in the new episode together with Thomas Philip-Bashar, Product Manager at the Dutch solution provider Channable. They discuss how bol has benefited from the fact that large players like Amazon have long ignored the small country, but that the Ne...

A fresh spring wind is blowing through the “Let's talk Marketplace” podcast! For the second season, Ingrid and Valerie have slightly changed the podcast concept: there is now a dedicated news episode once a month – so there is finally enough time to dive deeper into the most relevant news of the last few weeks. This episode is the first pure newsflash episode dealing with the most breaking mar...

Ingrid and Valerie are proud to present: the 100th episode of the “Let's talk Marketplace” podcast! And that's why, in this episode, Ingrid and Valerie looked back on what they have achieved and revealed their visions for this year (spoiler: a real community for the marketplace people in Europe). They looked back on their biggest failures and their favorite guests. They talked about the im...

For brands, it could become the crucial question: should they ride the (successful) wave of Temu or should they ostracize the nasty low-cost competition? Some have already taken the plunge, some with the help of Valentin Hauß, CEO of the German marketplace agency com-create, which specializes in technological connections to platforms like Temu. This gives Valentin a direct line to Temu and valuabl...

LTM 98: How to manage the cashflow of your marketplace business feat. Storfund What is often preventing marketplace sellers from growing? A lack of liquid funds, because a lot of money is either tied up in inventory or sits with the marketplace operator for weeks before it is paid out to the seller. That's why Ingrid and Valerie are dedicating this episode to the topic of financing and managin...

If you want to sell in the Netherlands via marketplaces, you can't get past the top dog bol. While the market leader used to have a reputation for being very restrictive in its selection of sellers, the platform is now opening up to international sellers. Alex Ciorapciu, Director International Business at bol, reveals in this episode what foreign merchants can expect at bol: AI tools that help wit...

Which red flags have indicated the end of Wayrfair in Germany? Why is XXXLutz so successful in the marketplace business? Why are marketplace fees sometimes ridiculously high? Valerie discussed all these questions in this episode with Philip Kehela, co-founder and managing director of the furniture brand mokebo. Philip follows this strategy: If a new marketplace has points of contact with our categ...

How does a small brand manage to do good business in the US? Niko Moll from the children's sunglasses brand Mausito has shown how it's done and in this episode he talks about his strategy: he focused on Amazon, accepted the marketplace's support, learned a lot about logistics – and paid a price. For example, because he spent far too much money on advertising. Or because he thought that...

Trends hinterherzulaufen ist keine gute Strategie – vor allem nicht für die Auswahl von geeigneten Plattformen für das Marktplatz-Business! Doch wie lässt sich eine gute Auswahl an passenden Marktplätzen treffen? Darüber diskutiert Ingrid in dieser Folge mit Julia Kühnberger von Cherry Europe und Johannes Blindhuber von PlentyONE. Julia baut gerade das Marktplatz-Engagement von Cherry aus, der Mid...

Welcome to 2025! In the first episode of “Let's talk Marketplace” this year, Ingrid and Valerie have ventured an outlook on the coming 12 months in the marketplace business. To do this, they asked various relevant marketplaces about their plans and to-do lists for 2025. The top topics on the agenda in 2025 will again be internationalization and the markets in Central and Eastern Europe. For exampl...

The news was like a shockwave: Zalando is buying About You. A week later, it's time to take a closer look at what the takeover means for the market, retailers and brands. Valerie and Ingrid have brought Stefan Wenzel, an experienced fashion and marketplace expert, into the podcast for this. Together they shed light on how the step is to be evaluated from Otto's point of view, what impact the merge...

It's December and what do many marketplace people do? They are looking for a new job! Don't believe us? Then take a look at the number of job changes that are circulating in the industry in these weeks. That's why Valerie and Ingrid have dedicated the new episode of their podcast “Let's talk Marketplace” to the topic of jobs and brought Marketplace Universe's HR manager, HR specialist Natalia Dobr...

„Das ist keine Welle und auch kein Tsunami, das ist ein Anstieg des Meeresspiegels!“ Das sagt der renommierte Handelsexperte Professor Dr. Gerrit Heinemann über den rasanten Aufstieg der chinesischen Factory-to-Consumer-Companies wie Shein und Temu. Denn selbst eine riesige Welle geht irgendwann wieder zurück - die chinesischen Player hingegen sind nach Europa gekommen, um zu bleiben. In dieser Po...

For the new episode 89 of “Let's talk Marketplace”, Ingrid took on the role of podcast guest: She presented her new marketplace quadrant “Consumer Electronics” in detail. For example, she explained where the database comes from and why the electronics industry is so special. After all, the quadrant boasts an impressive 58 marketplaces! She also discussed the leading providers and the most importan...

In dieser Episode von "Let's talk Marketplace" tauchen Valerie und Ingrid mit Lisa Haak, Head of Seller Community und Brand Relations bei eBay, tief in das Thema Markenstrategien auf eBay ein. Lisa teilt spannende Einblicke, wie eBay sich von der berüchtigten „Blackbox“ zu einem vertrauenswürdigen Partner für Marken entwickelt hat. Von autorisierten Händlern über B-Ware und Secondhand bis hin zu R...

At the end of the year, many vendor negotiations with Amazon are on the agenda – and these are truly no walk in the park! Because Amazon, of course, has its own interests in mind – not those of the brands. But if you go into the talks well prepared, you have a better chance. Martin Heubel – formerly a vendor manager at Amazon himself and now an independent Amazon consultant – explains in this podc...

Amazon impressive, Etsy miserable, eBay somewhere in between – that's how you could summarize the fresh quarterly figures. In this episode 86, Ingrid and Valerie take a closer look at the figures that Amazon, eBay, Zalando, About You and Etsy presented for the third quarter. Because: If the cautious forecasts that the e-commerce economy is slowly picking up again have proven to be true, then this...

Time to market is a much-used term – and at the same time such an important criterion in the marketplace business. A realistic timeframe for a new start in the marketplace business is usually 6 to 9 months. If you already sell via marketplaces and “only” connect another one, you might make it in 6 to 8 weeks.  The Czech solution provider Base.com says: We can do the integration in 5 days ! That so...

Jeder Marktplatz hat seine eigenen SLAs, also seine Service Level Agreements, und diese Vorgaben einzuhalten, ist manchmal eine gigantische Herausforderung - vor allem bei der Marktplatz-Logistik. Da müssen Versandzeiten eingehalten werden oder Fristen, innerhalb derer Retouren bearbeitet werden müssen. Gelingt dies nicht, rutscht das Angebot schnell im Ranking nach hinten und der Händler oder die...

The west is settled, now it's the east's turn – this is roughly how the current rush on the markets in Central and Eastern Europe can be described: It is a crucial phase in the battle for market leadership in countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Because there is so much potential in these markets, Valerie and Ingrid have brought in a specialist for their podcast: David Cicanek...