The European Marketplace Landscape

100+ active e-commerce marketplaces across the 27 EU member states plus the UK, ranging from pan-European giants (Amazon, Zalando, Kaufland) to country-specific leaders (Bol.com in NL/BE, Allegro in PL, eMAG in RO/HU/BG, OTTO in DE, Cdiscount in FR). Operator One operates seller-of-record relationships on the 100+ that handle commercially meaningful brand-side volume.

Amazon is the largest cross-border marketplace by GMV across the EU (~€100bn+ across the 10 EU + UK Amazon storefronts). However, country-by-country, local marketplaces frequently outperform Amazon: Bol.com dominates the Netherlands and Belgium, Allegro dominates Poland (~50%+ market share), Zalando is the European fashion authority, and OTTO is a €4bn+ marketplace in Germany alone. There is no single 'biggest' — the answer depends on market and category.

European B2C e-commerce was approximately €900bn in 2024 (Ecommerce Europe Report 2025), with marketplaces accounting for around 50% of that — meaning the addressable marketplace channel is approximately €450bn. The cross-border share within this is growing fastest: pan-EU consumers buy across borders at increasing rates, particularly on Amazon, Zalando, and Cdiscount.

Not always. The EU One Stop Shop (OSS) lets you collect and remit VAT for cross-border B2C distance sales via a single registration once you cross the €10K threshold. However, the moment you warehouse stock in a country (which Amazon's pan-EU FBA does automatically), you need a local VAT registration in that country. In practice, brands using Amazon FBA pan-EU end up with 7-8 local VAT registrations on top of OSS. A Merchant of Record like Operator One absorbs all of this through its existing registrations.

A Merchant of Record (MoR) is the legal entity that sells products to end consumers and takes full responsibility for the transaction — VAT collection, consumer-law compliance, GPSR Responsible Person, DAC7 reporting, EPR registrations, customer service liability, and account-health risk. For European marketplaces, MoR matters because the regulatory stack is too fragmented and too expensive for most brands to handle internally across 28 countries. Operator One acts as the MoR so the brand can focus on product and demand while we absorb the operational and legal complexity.

Yes — through a Merchant of Record. Without one, every major marketplace (Amazon, Bol.com, Zalando, Kaufland, Allegro, Cdiscount, OTTO) now requires the seller to have an EU-registered entity, an EU-based Responsible Person under GPSR, per-country EPR registrations, and active VAT registrations. Operator One holds all of these, sells under our entity, and routes net proceeds to the brand.

With a Merchant of Record, the typical timeline is approximately 30 days from contract to first marketplace go-live, then 90-180 days to expand across the major tier-1 platforms (Amazon EU + UK, Bol, Zalando, Kaufland, Allegro, plus 2-3 country-specific). DIY pan-European launch takes 12-18 months because of VAT registrations (5-8 jurisdictions), EU entity setup, EPR registrations (per country), GPSR Responsible Person appointment, and individual marketplace onboarding processes.

Three categories are growing at the highest rate in 2026: (1) social commerce — TikTok Shop EU rollout across DE/FR/IT/ES/IE/NL/BE/AT/PL through 2025-2026; (2) CEE marketplaces — Allegro expanding from PL into CZ/SK/HU, eMAG dominating RO/HU/BG, Kaufland in DACH + CEE; (3) vertical specialists — ManoMano (DIY), Shop Apotheke (pharma), Worten (electronics in PT/ES), Decathlon (sports). Amazon EU continues to grow but at a slower rate than these category leaders.

Since 13 December 2024, the EU's General Product Safety Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/988) requires every product sold in the EU to have an EU-based Responsible Person on file. This person handles safety documentation, market-surveillance authority correspondence, and product recalls if needed. The Responsible Person follows the importer who introduces the product to the EU market — for brands using a Merchant of Record, that is typically Operator One. Without a Responsible Person on file, marketplaces are now actively delisting products.

No single marketplace is best for every brand — the right answer depends on category, target geography, and operating model. Amazon EU + UK is the universal default for cross-border reach. For Benelux it is Bol.com; for fashion it is Zalando; for Poland and CEE it is Allegro; for German-language reach beyond Amazon it is OTTO and Kaufland. The Operator One launch strategy typically combines 3-5 tier-1 marketplaces in the first 90 days based on a brand's specific category and target markets.