Kaufland, a retail chain belonging to the Schwarz Group, which also owns Lidl, is preparing to launch its online store in France and Italy at the end of this summer.

This operation marks the brand's debut in these two markets and is part of its digital expansion strategy in Europe, focusing on a generalist offering of millions of products, excluding, for now, the food component.

With this launch, the German company aims to position itself as a European alternative to major international e-commerce platforms such as Amazon or Alibaba. Currently, Kaufland's online store already operates in markets such as Germany, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

Integration for third-party vendors

The new digital platform will offer millions of products in over 6.400 categories, including home, kitchen, fashion, and sporting goods. Products will be sold by third-party vendors through the Kaufland Global Marketplace tool, which allows for centralized portfolio management, orders, and content across multiple marketplaces.

This model allows sellers to present their products in an integrated way, with a single registration and unified management across the various countries where the Kaufland online store is present. Shipments are made directly by the sellers themselves, with Kaufland only responsible for mediating the purchasing experience.

“With the launch of our marketplace in France, we are laying the foundation to become the largest European e-commerce platform created by and for Europe ,” says Gerald Schönbucher, member of the Board of Directors of Kaufland for e-commerce.

140 million potential consumers

Entering the French and Italian markets paves the way for the brand's expansion to 140 million online users , combining the 37 million digital shoppers in France with the 22 million in Italy, in addition to the other markets already active.

Kaufland's online store already offers 45 million items and registers around 32 million monthly visitors, currently being the third largest marketplace in France, behind Amazon (41 million unique visitors) and Leboncoin (29 million).

Payment options will follow the model already in place in other markets for the brand, including bank cards, PayPal, and Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solutions.