Post by Martijn Wiktor-Wagemans

If "Europe" stops at DACH and Benelux for you… you are leaving 100M+ shoppers on the table. Eastern Europe is the most under-indexed marketplace opportunity in 2026. Here is the map: 🔹 Poland → Allegro. 40M+ users. Higher disposable income than most "Eastern Europe" assumptions suggest. Polish shoppers buy premium when the value proposition is clear. Content must be in Polish. 🔹 Romania → eMAG. 15M+ users. Largest marketplace in Romania by far. Amazon barely competes. Romanian-language content non-negotiable. 🔹 Hungary, Bulgaria → eMAG (regional). Combined 6M+ buyers. Cross-border logistics from Romania. Lower-priced markets, but loyal shoppers and improving infrastructure. 🔹 Czech Republic, Slovakia → Kaufland + Allegro CZ. Allegro is expanding into CZ. Kaufland is the local incumbent. ~10M shoppers combined. Early-mover advantage available now. The right sequence: 🔸 Step 1: Poland. Largest, most mature, best infrastructure. If you can win on Allegro, you can win in the rest of the region. 🔸 Step 2: Romania (eMAG). Radically different market, but same playbook with Romanian-language content. 🔸 Step 3: Hungary or Czech Republic, depending on category. Lifestyle and home tend to do better in HU. Tech and tools tend to do better in CZ. What you will need: 🔸 €20-40K minimum first-year channel budget (per market) 🔸 Native-language copywriter 🔸 Local fulfilment partner or FBA-equivalent 🔸 Patience: 6-9 months to break even is normal The mistake: trying to launch all of Eastern Europe at once. The lesson: pick one. Master it. Expand sequentially. Thinking about Eastern Europe? Send me DM tell me your category and starting market I will suggest the order. #Allegro #eMAG #Kaufland #Marketplaces #EasternEurope #InternationalExpansion #eCommerce