Chapter 2: Shared Growth

France's retail and e-commerce sector continues to evolve. According to FEVAD, French consumers spent €196.4 billion online in 2025, a 7% increase on the previous year. The market is now approaching the €200 billion mark, creating opportunities for brands that can scale efficiently.

Growth is no longer confined to domestic markets. Consumers increasingly shop across borders, and brands are expected to provide the same delivery experience in neighbouring countries as they do at home. At the same time, competition is intensifying, making speed, flexibility, and customer experience more important than ever.

Many companies still approach expansion through heavy investment in warehouses, systems, and operational resources before entering new markets. While this can provide control, it often slows growth and ties up capital that could be invested elsewhere.

An alternative approach is to grow through partnership. By working with a single end-to-end 3PL provider across domestic and international operations, brands can access established networks, specialist expertise, and scalable infrastructure without carrying the full cost and risk themselves.

Scaling omnichannel operations across France

As demand grows, many retailers consider expanding their own logistics operations through additional warehouse space, larger teams, or new fulfilment systems. In today's market, that approach is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.

E-commerce now represents more than 11% of total French retail sales. Demand patterns are also becoming less predictable, with volumes fluctuating significantly between categories and rising sharply during promotional periods.

Consumer demand is spreading beyond the Greater Paris Region. Cities such as Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, and Toulouse continue to gain importance as online shopping adoption increases across the country. Broadband and smartphone penetration now reach 93.5% of French premises, supporting continued growth in regional markets.

For brands operating from a single fulfilment location, keeping pace with these changes can be challenging.

An end-to-end 3PL partnership offers a more flexible model. Arvato's network of multi-client facilities provides access to warehouse capacity in locations that reflect customer demand, without requiring long-term property commitments or major capital investment.

As demand shifts between regions, capacity can be adjusted quickly. Returns management, click-and-collect services, and multi-carrier delivery options can all be managed through a single operating model, helping brands maintain a consistent customer experience across France. 

Entering European markets without starting from zero

For brands looking beyond their domestic market, the opportunity remains significant.

According to Statista and wider European e-commerce industry data, online retail revenues continue to grow across Europe, while cross-border purchasing has become increasingly common among consumers. For brands with strong products and established domestic operations, international expansion is often the next logical step.

The challenge lies in execution.

Companies expanding independently must manage customs requirements, carrier relationships, returns operations, local regulations, and, in some cases, warehousing infrastructure in multiple countries. These requirements can slow expansion and increase costs long before meaningful revenue is generated.

"International expansion is where the Shared-Growth model delivers its clearest competitive advantage," explains Emeric Crepin.

Supporting multi-platform expansion

Growth today is about more than entering new markets. It is also about selling through more channels.

French brands and international retailers operating in France increasingly serve customers through a mix of direct-to-consumer websites, marketplaces, fashion platforms, and social commerce channels. Amazon, Cdiscount, Zalando, Veepee, TikTok Shop, and brand-owned e-commerce sites all play an important role in today's retail landscape.

Managing inventory, fulfilment, and returns across multiple platforms can quickly become operationally complex when each channel is treated separately.

As e-commerce continues to expand, many brands are simplifying their operations by consolidating fulfilment through a single strategic logistics partner. The benefits include greater inventory visibility, more efficient returns management, consistent service levels across channels, and the flexibility to move stock where demand is strongest.

"Multi-channel growth is genuinely exciting for our clients, but it creates real operational complexity if each channel is managed separately," says Sandra Teboul.

The pan-European infrastructure advantage

One of the strongest advantages of working with a 3PL partner is access to infrastructure that would be costly and difficult for most brands to build independently.

A company growing from €50 million to €150 million in revenue may need access to multiple warehouse locations, transport networks, carrier partnerships, and technology platforms across several countries. Building and managing these capabilities internally requires significant investment and ongoing operational oversight.

France's position within European supply chains has become increasingly important. Post-Brexit trade flows have reinforced the country's role as a logistics gateway for mainland Europe. New trade corridor developments linking French ports with emerging international routes are expected to strengthen that position further.

Arvato's hybrid network combines owned facilities and partner locations across France and key European markets. Supported by technologies such as AutoStore automation and AI-powered order routing, the network provides brands with access to established infrastructure without the need to own it.

Shared warehouse capacity helps absorb seasonal demand peaks. Consolidated transport networks improve efficiency. Partnerships with major European carriers provide the delivery speed and visibility consumers increasingly expect.

A well-structured 3PL partnership changes the economics of growth.

Expanding into a new French region no longer requires major investment in facilities. Entering a new European market becomes faster because the logistics network is already in place. Launching a new sales channel becomes an operational adjustment rather than a major infrastructure project.

As French e-commerce continues to grow and cross-border purchasing becomes more common across Europe, the businesses that succeed will be those that can scale quickly while maintaining service quality and controlling costs.

A strong 3PL partnership gives brands the flexibility to do exactly that. Instead of building logistics infrastructure ahead of demand, companies can access capacity, expertise, and technology as they need it.

Arvato has supported brands at every stage of this journey, from first-time omnichannel operations to pan-European fulfilment networks serving millions of consumers across multiple countries and channels.

Whether the next phase of growth is regional expansion within France, entry into Germany or Benelux, or growth across multiple marketplaces at the same time, the goal remains the same: helping brands scale faster, with less complexity and lower risk.

The question for French decision-makers is simple: are you continuing to build logistics infrastructure at the pace your growth ambitions demand, or is there a smarter way to scale?

Ready to explore how Arvato's end-to-end services can support your domestic and international growth in 2026? Contact the Arvato France team today and turn shared growth into shared success.