Schuhhaus Hittcher taps into the limitless cross-border potential of the Kaufland marketplaces
Source: Schuhhaus Hittcher
Whether you’re looking for Gabor, Ecco or Skechers – Schuhhaus Max Hittcher delights its customers on seven Kaufland marketplaces with its wide range of products. The family-run retail company has been selling shoes since 1934. Originally a local company, the opportunities opened up by selling via online marketplaces have transformed them into a Europe-wide player.
“We’re based in Hamburg and have several brick-and-mortar stores in northern Germany”, says Marcus Höhne, member of the management board at Schuhhaus Hittcher. He is the founder’s great-nephew and led the former brick-and-mortar business into the digital world in 2016. “We now also run our own online shop. However, we generate most of our sales via marketplaces. Thanks to their technological infrastructure combined with Kaufland’s high brand awareness, Kaufland marketplaces have become particularly important sales channels for us. The European focus of Kaufland Global Marketplace offers us the perfect sales environment, especially in terms of our international sales strategy.”
Just one registration gives you access to seven Kaufland marketplaces
Like 13,000 other sellers, Höhne benefits from the fact that only one registration is required to sell on all the Kaufland marketplaces. The innovative multi-marketplace technology seamlessly connects the Kaufland marketplaces with one another.
“Selling on other Kaufland marketplaces involves virtually no additional effort”, enthuses Höhne. “All offer, product and order data can be easily managed from a single portal. This enables us to significantly expand our reach in a convenient and resource-efficient way.”
The company is now active on seven Kaufland marketplaces, giving it the potential to reach 139 million online customers. Thanks to the underlying all-in-one solution, sellers can easily and quickly expand their online presence, customer groups and reach, while increasing online sales beyond national borders while making efficient use of resources.
Source: Schuhhaus Hittcher
Intuitive onboarding and additional marketplace services – make your first sale in just two days
“It’s quick and easy to activate additional storefronts. From onboarding to the first sale, it only really took about two days. The process is intuitive and can be completed in almost no time at all”, reveals Höhne. “Also, additional marketplace services support your start in other countries. We’ve found the automated tool for translating customer tickets and the tool for price adjustment in different currencies particularly helpful.”
Source: Kaufland
In late summer 2025, Kaufland Global Marketplace expanded into Europe’s third- and fourth-largest e-commerce markets, thereby unlocking further potential and target audiences for sellers. However, it is not only the new marketplaces that continuously improve the sales experience: New features, tools and services are constantly being developed in close alignment with sellers’ needs, making (international) sales on the Kaufland marketplaces even easier and more efficient than ever before. Payment processing in the respective local currency, 1st-level customer support in the local language of each marketplace and automated translation of product data and legal texts are just some of that ways that save sellers time and effort.
Brand awareness of up to 99% attracts target group
“Thanks to the free automated marketplace services, we can focus on increasing our sales and getting to know our target group better. It’s exciting for us to see which products are particularly popular with which customers, so that we can tailor our offers accordingly”, explains Höhne.
Source: Schuhhaus Hittcher
“Products perform differently across the various Kaufland marketplaces. We are already familiar with this phenomenon from the comparison between brick-and-mortar and online sales. Depending on the channel, we adapt our strategy so that we can perform as well as possible. One constant factor, however, is the strong Kaufland brand.”
By this, Höhne is referring to the high brand awareness of up to 99% that Kaufland has achieved in the marketplace countries.
“Such recognisable brand names are particularly attractive to international sellers like us. We can quickly and easily reach many online customers without the need to invest significant resources in targeting specific groups.”
The Kaufland marketplaces are backed by the food retailer Kaufland. The company is one of Europe’s leading retail chains with 1,600 stores across eight countries, offering a wide range of everyday products. This special link between offline and online is further strengthened by customer loyalty programmes such as the Kaufland Card and the Kaufland app, resulting in many customers having a deep trust in the brand, which also benefits the online marketplaces. Kaufland is part of the Schwarz Group. The group also includes other well-known companies, such as the international company Lidl. This brand awareness also extends to online marketplaces. Kaufland.de alone attracts up to 32 million online shoppers every month.
Sustainable success thanks to partnership on equal terms
“We’re on the rise with Kaufland Global Marketplace! Since September 2024, we have been recording continuous international growth. We are particularly impressed by the low rate of returns on the Kaufland marketplaces. Even in Germany, where the returns rate for shoes is usually higher, we are very happy with the results”, says Höhne. “The strong performance helps us with marketplace diversification. We are no longer dependent on a single supplier, but now offer our product portfolio in as many ways as possible. We therefore recommend that all sellers, regardless of size, sell on not just one, but several – or ideally all – the Kaufland marketplaces. Otherwise, we think you’re just wasting great potential!”
And Höhne has an additional tip for sellers: “It’s obviously possible to do it independently, but if you have the opportunity, we recommend that you seek support from a software partner. We have been working with irisOne since 2024 and are very satisfied with our partner’s services! Kaufland Global Marketplace cooperates with 130 technology partners – find the right one for you and get started internationally!”
Reliable partnerships are the foundation on which the Kaufland marketplaces are built. Kaufland Global Marketplace sees itself as a strong expansion partner for sellers and aims to support sellers of all sizes and revenue levels, enabling them to get set up and expand their online business more quickly and with fewer resources than if they were to go it alone.
Source: Schuhhaus Hittcher
“We are delighted with the partnership and particularly appreciate the services and rapid support provided by the personal Seller Support team. We were able to quickly generate cross-border sales with Kaufland Global Marketplace, so we are excited about our future together and the new countries, and look forward to continuing our partnership.”
Marcus Höhne, member of the management board at Schuhhaus Hittcher