Of the world’s 250 largest ecommerce companies, 95 have their headquarters in Europe. That is three more than in North and South America combined and significantly more than in Asia. Within our continent, Germany hosts the most headquarters.
That is according to a new list by German ECDB, a well-known publisher of ecommerce statistics. The figures shed new light on the balance of power between different continents when it comes to ecommerce.
Ecommerce headquarters in Europe
With 95 headquarters of the world’s 250 largest ecommerce companies, our continent holds a leading share of 38 percent. North and South America follow with 92 headquarters (37 percent), while Asia lags behind with 57 (23 percent). Australia and Oceania have six headquarters, while Africa has none.
38% of headquarters are in Europe
Germany leads the way in Europe with 22 headquarters, including those of Otto, Zalando, and takeover target About You. France and the United Kingdom follow, each with 17 headquarters. Russia, which is also counted as part of Europe, has eight. The Netherlands and Switzerland each have five headquarters.
Concentration in China
At the country level, the United States is the absolute leader, with 80 of the 250 headquarters—nearly a third. China lags behind with 17 headquarters, the same number as France and the United Kingdom. While the Chinese ecommerce market is vast, it is much more concentrated than in the U.S. and Europe.
According to ECDB, a company’s location lays the foundation for its success, as infrastructure and resource availability play a crucial role. “However, this view of ecommerce players reveals hot spots for the headquarters, while ignoring the actual size of ecommerce.”
Inquiries at ECDB show that Europe is not represented in its top 10 of the largest global ecommerce companies, which is headed by Alibaba Group, followed by Amazon. Six of the companies in the top 10 come from Asia, four from the United States. The Otto Group is the first European name on the list at position 19.
Amazon leads the European market
Amazon illustrates the size nuance: the US-based company is not only the market leader in its home region but also dominates the largest European ecommerce markets, regardless of how many headquarters of other big ecommerce players are located there.
Another important note: a recent study by RetailX found that of the thousand largest online sellers in Europe, only 49 percent have their headquarters on the continent.
