Amazon launches new website in Poland

US e-commerce giant Amazon has launched in Poland, one of the last major European countries without a dedicated Amazon site.

"From today, Polish customers can buy on Amazon.pl and choose from over 100 million products," the company said in a statement.

“We are thrilled to launch Amazon.pl and to be able to offer Polish customers a selection of more than 100 million products, including tens of thousands of products from local Polish businesses,” Alex Ootes, Vice President, European Expansion for Amazon, said.

Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, said it would offer free shipping on orders worth more than $100 (83 euros).

Within the EU, Amazon has already dedicated sites in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

Its German website had previously hosted a Polish-language section and the company employs around 18,000 people in nine warehouses in Poland and through the IT company Amazon Web Services.

Amazon is planning to open a 10th warehouse in Swiebodzin later this year with the creation of over 1,000 jobs.

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Intensifying competition

Amazon had said in January it would open a Polish site to better serve local customers previously reliant on its German version but did not set a date. The news had sent shares in Polish e-commerce firm Allegro sharply lower on the day.

On Tuesday, shares in Allegro were up 2.4 percent at 0923GMT.

In a statement emailed to Reuters on Tuesday morning, Allegro Chief Executive Francois Nuyts said “at Allegro, we focus primarily on customers” but he did not directly refer to the Amazon move.

Poland’s growing e-commerce market was given a further boost from online shopping during the pandemic and in October, home-grown eBay rival, Allegro, enjoyed a buoyant stock market debut, followed in January by parcel storage firm InPost.

Homegrown retailer Allegro, which made the largest stock market entry in Europe in 2020, is currently the country's largest online marketplace.

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