Marketplace To Be #7: A review of a record-breaking edition in the Home & DIY sector

A format designed to unlock decisions

Marketplace To Be exists because a specific need was not being met: to allow brands in the Home & DIY vertical to meet European marketplaces in their sector face-to-face, in a structured and frictionless environment.

General e-commerce trade shows have their uses, but they dilute the message. Identifying the right contacts is difficult. Concrete exchanges are rare.

The format is based on a simple principle: each brand has 20-minute slots for face-to-face meetings with the marketplaces of its choice. In 2 hours, it can have up to 6 meetings and leave with direct answers regarding entry requirements, logistical constraints, and commission models.

For this 7th edition: 125 meetings in 2 hours, 11 marketplaces gathered simultaneously, more than 100 merchants present.

📌 Key points to remember‍

The B2B speed-dating format between brands and marketplaces remains the only one of its kind in France for the Home & DIY sector. No other event offers this level of concentration of qualified contacts within the same industry.

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11 major marketplaces all in one place

For the first time ever, so many major platforms in the Home-DIY universe had been brought together simultaneously in France: Amazon Seller & Vendor, Leroy Merlin, ManoMano, Castorama, Cdiscount, Conforama, bol, Kaufland Global Marketplace, Maisons du Monde, Home24 and Vente-Unique.

Each represents a different model: generalist or specialist, French or European, volume-oriented or premium. For a brand seeking to structure its multi-marketplace distribution strategy, having access to all these players in one evening represents a considerable time saving.

This lineup also reflects the reality of the French market. According to the Lengow 2025 Barometer, based on data from 600 active merchants, Leroy Merlin, ManoMano, and Castorama rank 2nd, 3rd, and 9th respectively among the largest French marketplaces, excluding Amazon. The DIY and home improvement sector alone accounts for three of the top ten platforms in the ranking.*

📌 Key points to remember

 The Home & DIY vertical is the most represented in the top 10 French marketplaces. For brands, this means access to qualified audiences on specialized platforms, but also high expectations in terms of catalog, logistics and service.

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From exploration to decision

What has changed compared to previous editions is the nature of the exchanges. Brands no longer came to explore or discover. They came with specific questions about entry requirements, logistical constraints, commission models, and onboarding timelines.

Decisions that had been blocked for several months were resolved in 20 minutes.

This is a sign of maturity in the sector. The question is no longer "should we go on marketplaces?" It's "how to go, with whom, and in what order?".

Christine Francoulon, CEO of Batinea, put it this way: "Opportunities are not found. They are created. These open discussions are often what bring out the best ideas. The ones that will make the difference tomorrow."

📌 Key points to remember

 Advance preparation is crucial. The brands that derive the most value from this type of event are those that arrive with a list of specific questions and a basic understanding of the platforms they wish to meet.

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Villeroy & Boch: 278 years of history facing the marketplaces

The evening continued with a 40-minute conversation with Paul-Louis Villeroy de Galhau, who has led global sales for the Bathroom & Wellness division at Villeroy & Boch for the past nine years. The company, founded in 1748, is currently undergoing a marketplace transformation.

The issues addressed were deliberately operational.

Digitizing a complex and technical product. Choosing a toilet isn't like choosing a lamp. How do you make a product that requires technical installation, plumbing compatibility, and sometimes a 3D configurator, available for purchase in just a few clicks? This was one of the first challenges Villeroy & Boch had to overcome to activate this sales channel.

Arbitration with established distributors. The sanitary sector relies on networks of wholesalers and installers built up over decades. How can a direct channel be activated without weakening these partners? The coexistence between D2C and traditional distribution remains one of the most sensitive issues for brands in this sector.

The logistics of heavy and fragile items. A bathtub or a piece of ceramic is not a standard package. Damage rates, packaging optimization, logistical organization to meet the deadlines required by the platforms: these are all operational challenges that most brands underestimate before embarking on this journey.

The "pro-sumer" customer. More and more individuals are buying their bathroom fixtures online from ManoMano, Leroy Merlin, or Amazon before looking for an installer. This new buyer profile, caught between the price demands of the web and the quality expectations of a premium brand, requires a rethinking of product messaging and the level of information available on product pages.

Data as a design tool. Customer feedback on marketplaces now influences the design of future products: ease of installation, packaging, ergonomics. This feedback loop is one that few brands have yet integrated into their product development process.

This testimony garnered attention because it wasn't a slick success story. It was a narrative of real transformation, with its tensions and trade-offs. And it's precisely this kind of concrete feedback that's lacking at most industry events.

📌 Key points to remember

 Villeroy & Boch's challenges aren't unique to the bathroom sector. Complex logistics, distribution networks to manage, and technical products to digitize: these are the same obstacles faced by the vast majority of home improvement brands. The difference is that V&B has taken the plunge. The question for other brands is no longer whether it's possible, but how to do it in the right order.

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Home & DIY in 2026: a market that is accelerating

Home & DIY remains perhaps the vertical where the tension between traditional distribution and marketplace channels is greatest. Networks built over generations, products difficult to ship, margins under pressure.

However, the 11 marketplaces present on April 16th are actively recruiting brands in this sector. And the discussions that evening confirmed that the brands making progress are not necessarily the largest. They are often those that have agreed to experiment, to test a market, a channel, a logistics model, before having all the answers.

As Nicolas Appert, CEO of Lengow, summarizes in his 2025 barometer: "The challenge for brands is no longer to be on all marketplaces, but to be on the right ones, with the right strategy."

📌 Key points to remember

 The Home & DIY market is maturing rapidly on European marketplaces. Onboarding times, logistical requirements, and catalog competition are increasing. Waiting until everything is "ready" before launching often means entering a more competitive and less favorable environment.

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About eTAIL agency

eTAIL agency supports European brands in deploying and optimizing their sales on European marketplaces: strategy, content, operations, and advertising. As the creator of Marketplace To Be, it also fosters the marketplace ecosystem in France through its events and content.

Do you want to structure your presence on Home & DIY marketplaces in Europe? Let's talk about it.

👉 Contact the eTAIL agency team

Source: Lengow 2025 Barometer, based on aggregated and anonymized data from 600 active merchants (GMV sales volume, number of orders, number of active sellers). Ranking intentionally limited to French marketplaces, excluding international players.