Czech and Romanian investors take over the Hungarian e-commerce market

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 06. 21. 10:55

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The sale of the Hungarian family-owned Foxpost parcel vending machine network brought about a significant change in the Hungarian logistics and e-commerce sector. Wallis Group and private equity fund manager Trueway sold the company to a consortium led by CVC Capital Partners and EMMA Capital Group, which already owns one of Foxpost’s former competitors, Packeta.

This transaction highlights the trend of Hungarian e-commerce increasingly falling into the hands of Central and Eastern Europeans. Based on the 2023 data of the GKID-Mastercard eTOPLISTA, only five of the 15 largest e-retailers in Hungary remain under Hungarian ownership. The first three places are occupied by companies with Romanian and Czech parent companies, Emag, Alza and Kifli.

The Hungarian market is also losing domestic players in logistics, where the consortium supported by CVC and EMMA is further strengthening its position with the inclusion of Foxpost. The network created by the merger of Foxpost and Packeta already operates more parcel machines than the market leader GLS.

State initiatives, such as the mandatory offering of Magyar Posta services to e-commerce companies, are trying to restore the domestic presence, but these measures have so far met with limited success. Only a small part of Hungarian businesses operating in the e-commerce sector sell abroad, and many do not even plan to enter international markets.