Allegro Preparing to Expand Third-Party Marketplace to Czech Republic

Polish eCommerce platform Allegro plans to launch its third-party marketplace in the Czech Republic this year.

That will be the first step in the firm’s plan to expand its marketplace model internationally, having shown in the Polish market that it can deliver both value and convenience, Allegro said in a Thursday (March 30) earnings release.

“Having established itself as an economic lifeline for all customers during the pandemic, Allegro now proved its status as the most convenient shopping platform to serve clients in time of inflation,” Allegro CEO Roy Perticucci said in the release.

Speaking about 13 months after Russia invaded Poland’s neighbor Ukraine, Perticucci said geopolitical conflicts, inflation and trade concerns made 2022 a challenging year for online retailers.

Still, for the full year, Allegro recorded gross merchandise value (GMV) growth of 15.9%, revenue growth of 24.1%, and new highs in the number of active buyers and overall offers on the marketplace, according to the release.

The company attributed this growth to competitive pricing, increasingly fast delivery, a growing selection of products, resilient demand for these offerings from consumers and a structural shift to online shopping.

Allegro Pay, the firm’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) offering, saw 370% year-over-year growth in terms of the value of extended loans, according to the release.

The firm is working with AION Bank to launch additional financial products and services this year.

As it prepares to take this third-party marketplace model to the Czech Republic, Allegro will be aided by the client base it has with Mall, the Czech online retailer and logistics company it acquired last year, Perticucci said in the release.

At the same time, Allegro is managing its capital and costs across the organization to fund its international expansion, Perticucci said.

“We want to be ready when the macro situation eventually improves, leveraging our know-how to build and scale a profitable marketplace,” Perticucci said. “We are confident that the Mall client base takes us a good few years forward on this journey. We have a plan and the right set of priorities to be ‘fit to grow,’ as we say internally.”