18.03.24

The lowdown: Tesco UK, The Range and Debenhams marketplaces

Written by The EM Team | Read Time: 3 mins

Tesco, The Range and Debenhams are established names on the UK’s supermarket, retail park and high street scene, but they’re also looking to make a splash online too. Combining a large variety of products with a trusted brand name, these three marketplaces offer a wide range of opportunities for sellers in the UK. Here’s what you need to know.

Tesco UK

Didn’t Tesco’s marketplace close, we hear you say. Well, yes, in 2018 Tesco’s third-party marketplace, Tesco Direct, ceased trading after going head to toe with Amazon and struggling to reach profitability. “They tried to take on Amazon in a category they are not known for – non-food items – with an inferior customer experience and without a sustainable logistics infrastructure,” Paul Adams, CEO of marketplace services platform Tambo, told the Grocer.

But Tesco marketplace is making a comeback. In Autumn 2023, Tesco published a job advert for a Business Development Manager for its revamped ‘Marketplace’ venture, which will sell its groceries and ‘a broad range of third-party products’, including health & beauty and pet wares. According to the Grocer, the marketplace will sell larger pack sizes than Tesco stores, will be open to new and existing Tesco sellers, and will require brands to fulfil orders themselves.

Expected to go live in 2024, Tesco’s marketplace relaunch has three main elements in its favour. First, Tesco will have learned the lessons from its first marketplace attempt, which didn’t allow enough competition and offered sellers disjointed platform operations. Second, similarly-sized supermarkets and retailers, such as Walmart, Kroger and The Range, have successfully launched marketplaces providing a playbook of what works. Third, it’s Tesco: the retail giant has over 25% of the UK’s supermarket share and millions of loyal customers.

The Range

Since launching in 1989, The Range has grown rapidly and now operates 210 stores across the UK and Ireland, selling a large selection of home, garden, tech and toys to 15 million weekly customers. In fact, The Range’s recent annual growth rate of 7% is only bested by Amazon in the UK.

Given its momentous growth, it was no surprise to see The Range launch its own online marketplace, The Range Plus, in Autumn 2020. The Range Plus offers the same approach as its physical stores - i.e. a large selection of high-quality goods at low prices - but to a much larger potential audience of 45 million customers, which helped drive £120 million of online sales in 2022.

Like Amazon, brands can choose to either sell as a first-party seller (selling wholesale to the Range who then sets the retail price) or as a third-party seller, which requires brands to complete an eligibility form, add its own listings and fulfil its orders. The Range Plus operates a no sale, no fee commission-based structure (varying from 7-20% depending on product type) and pays on monthly cycles.

Debenhams

Founded in 1778, Debenhams was a constant presence on UK high streets until closing its doors for the last time in 2021. Months later, fast fashion company Boohoo bought the Debenhams brand and website and relaunched Debenhams as an online marketplace, which offers thousands of products from jackets and tableware to cosmetics and mattresses.

Debenhams 2.0 has got off to a flying start, making full use of its 300 million site visitors to become one of the largest online shopping destinations in the UK. In particular, Debenhams is the second biggest retailer of skincare products in the UK and has the largest share of the UK make-up market.

To become a Debenhams seller, brands must have an established online presence - either through their own site, on other marketplaces or have a Trustpilot score above 4 - and must fulfil orders with a return slip. Debenhams also has strict requirements on elements like product images and listings, but setting up on Debenhams is free and there are no minimum SKUs. Debenhams takes a category-based commission (average 20%) on products sold and also charges £25 per month after the first year, but this is a small price to pay to access a growing audience (including loyal Debenhams customers and younger customers brought in by Boohoo brands) and a trusted brand name.