We will gradually discontinue shipping to EU countries outside Germany.

Not because we no longer want to serve our customers in those countries, but because the administrative and financial burden on smaller retailers is becoming increasingly difficult to manage.

Packaging registrations, licensing requirements, reporting obligations, and differing national regulations mean that we sometimes have to deal with a considerable amount of additional administration for a relatively small number of shipments.

In our view, this is particularly difficult to understand within what is supposed to be a single European market.

Large companies can absorb these requirements with their own legal and compliance departments. For smaller retailers, the calculation is very different: at some point, the administrative effort and costs are simply no longer proportionate to the revenue generated.

We therefore do question what influence major market players, industry associations, and other interest groups may have on the growing level of regulation. We cannot prove such a connection. What is clear to us, however, is this: the more complex the rules become, the easier it is for large companies to deal with them — and the harder it becomes for smaller businesses.

We have already seen this development in traditional retail. Many small shops have disappeared, while large chains and platforms have gained market share.

We are convinced that the same development is now being repeated in online retail.

What we find particularly contradictory is that shipping to many countries outside the European Union is quite clearly easier for us than shipping within the EU itself.

A single market should make trade easier, not make it more difficult through an ever-growing number of national requirements.

For this reason, we will in future assess each EU country individually to determine whether shipping there remains economically viable.

We particularly regret this for our customers in the countries affected.