00:00:00:06 - 00:00:06:04
Lucas Bassa
There are some market players who try to make it as easy as possible to go from one country to
another.
00:00:06:09 - 00:00:40:01
Zoitsa Ilieva
Our aim is really to help both small and large sellers expand internationally with ease. With
Kaufland, sellers can reach seven markets within one single seller portal. So don’t limit your
potential. Kaufland is truly a marketplace for internationalization. By 2030, cross-border
e-commerce is expected to grow fivefold globally.
00:00:40:03 - 00:00:57:23
Lucas Bassa
All right, welcome to another podcast. Today I’m joined by Zoe from Kaufland, and we’ll be
talking about why you should sell on Kaufland, what Kaufland has been up to, and more insights
into the Kaufland global marketplace. So Zoe, maybe best to start with a short introduction.
00:00:58:04 - 00:01:14:05
Zoitsa Ilieva
Hi Lucas, first of all, thank you so much for the invitation. I’m really excited to talk about
cross-border opportunities and how we support sellers in growing internationally. Thank you for
the invitation.
00:01:14:07 - 00:01:37:06
Lucas Bassa
Yeah, good to have you here. I mentioned it already in the intro, but we’re really looking for
insights into Kaufland. We have a lot of sellers internationally who are always looking for the
next opportunity to expand their reach and grow their business. So what’s your role at Kaufland?
00:01:37:07 - 00:01:38:23
Lucas Bassa
Maybe best to start there.
00:01:39:00 - 00:02:09:16
Zoitsa Ilieva
Perfect. My role is International Sales Manager. My path with Kaufland started a few years ago
in physical retail. Kaufland is very well known for its supermarkets, as our marketplace is
younger than our stationary business. I started in Bulgaria, then moved into the international
team, which led me to Germany.
00:02:09:18 - 00:02:32:05
Zoitsa Ilieva
For the past two years, I’ve been part of the marketplace team. What I really value about this
experience is that I’ve seen how Kaufland works in both traditional retail and digital retail. This
helps me understand what sellers need to succeed and how to support them in the best
possible way.
00:02:32:07 - 00:02:35:04
Zoitsa Ilieva
So yeah, long story short.
00:02:35:06 - 00:02:45:05
Lucas Bassa
All right. Marketplaces are everywhere these days. What makes Kaufland stand out as a
marketplace? What’s unique?
00:02:45:07 - 00:03:12:15
Zoitsa Ilieva
Kaufland is an all-in-one solution for sellers, helping them grow both nationally and
internationally. We focus strongly on European expansion. We currently operate in seven
markets.
00:03:12:15 - 00:03:25:06
Zoitsa Ilieva
These include Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Austria, France, and Italy.
00:03:25:08 - 00:03:31:12
Lucas Bassa
Poland, Austria, France, and Italy being the latest additions.
00:03:31:14 - 00:03:57:09
Zoitsa Ilieva
Yes. If we look at our roadmap, we started in Germany in 2021. In 2023, we began building the
global marketplace by expanding into Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 2024, we launched
Austria, and this year we opened France and Italy.
00:03:57:09 - 00:04:26:19
Zoitsa Ilieva
Austria is a very interesting case because it’s the first country we entered without having
physical stores there. Normally, our brand supports the marketplace strongly, as Kaufland has
been around for many years. It gives sellers credibility and access to loyal customers from day
one.
00:04:26:24 - 00:04:42:20
Zoitsa Ilieva
For Austria, we were a bit unsure at first, but we performed very well. We had about 40% brand
awareness initially, mainly because Austrian customers shop cross-border with Germany.
00:04:42:22 - 00:04:44:21
Lucas Bassa
But they knew you from the physical stores.
00:04:44:22 - 00:04:46:17
Zoitsa Ilieva
Yes, exactly.
00:04:46:17 - 00:04:50:06
Lucas Bassa
And in Austria that wasn’t really the case, but it still worked out.
00:04:50:08 - 00:05:12:19
Zoitsa Ilieva
Exactly. Now brand awareness in Austria is already above 55%, and we’re seeing very good
results.
00:05:12:19 - 00:05:26:10
Zoitsa Ilieva
So expanding even without strong initial brand awareness can still deliver excellent results.
00:05:26:12 - 00:05:53:19
Lucas Bassa
Nice. From experience, I know there are marketplaces that try to make it easy to expand
internationally, but it’s not always smooth. What do you do to lower the barrier for sellers moving
between markets?
00:05:53:21 - 00:06:21:04
Zoitsa Ilieva
This is where our global marketplace really makes a difference. Our aim is to help sellers
expand internationally with ease. We know there are challenges, and we actively solve them.
00:06:21:06 - 00:06:41:23
Zoitsa Ilieva
For example, language is a big challenge. Sellers need product data and customer
communication in local languages. We provide automatic translation tools across the seller
portal.
00:06:41:23 - 00:07:08:09
Zoitsa Ilieva
Also, with one registration, sellers get access to all marketplaces—one portal, seven markets.
00:07:08:11 - 00:07:34:05
Zoitsa Ilieva
Once product data is listed in one market, we can transfer and translate it into others. This
makes internationalization very easy.
00:07:34:05 - 00:07:56:01
Zoitsa Ilieva
Another challenge is compliance. Each market has its own requirements, which can be tricky.
That’s why we work with partners to help sellers stay compliant.
00:07:56:03 - 00:07:56:16
Lucas Bassa
Compliance.
00:07:56:16 - 00:08:11:05
Zoitsa Ilieva
Exactly. For example, France has complex EPR requirements, especially around packaging and
product categories.
00:08:11:07 - 00:08:14:01
Lucas Bassa
That’s the packaging regulations, right?
00:08:14:07 - 00:08:36:16
Zoitsa Ilieva
Yes. Extended Producer Responsibility. It can be quite complex because you need registrations
for packaging, batteries, electronics, and more.
00:08:36:18 - 00:08:37:11
Lucas Bassa
Yeah.
00:08:37:11 - 00:09:22:17
Zoitsa Ilieva
To reduce this barrier, we developed EPR management by Kaufland. Sellers can use our
registration numbers, making it much easier to enter the French market. What used to be one of
the hardest markets is now one of the easiest.