Czech e-commerce — Alza, Mall, Notino, Rohlík

The Czech e-commerce ecosystem is one of Central Europe's most mature. Alza.cz is the pivot (~€2.2B revenue), CEE leader by absolute revenue. Mall Group was acquired by Allegro in 2022 for ~€881M. Slevomat dominates daily deals, Heureka the comparator (acquired by Allegro 2024), Notino leads Central Europe perfumery, Rohlík ultra-fast grocery. Historic EDIFACT adoption + modern REST APIs + rising PEPPOL.

History — from Alzasoft 1994 to Allegro 2024

The story starts in 1994 with Alzasoft founded by Aleš Zavoral in Prague — software and PC distribution. The Alza.cz site launched late 1990s. The market densified rapidly in the 2000s: Mall.cz (PPF group), Slevomat (2008), Notino, Heureka (comparator).

Cross-border CEE consolidation is marked by the acquisition of Mall Group by Allegro in 2022 for ~€881M (Mall.cz, Mimovrste.com Slovakia, HEUREKA platform, WE|DO logistics marketplace). Allegro followed in 2024 by acquiring Heureka. Alza remains independent, controlled by Aleš Zavoral.

1994       | Aleš Zavoral founds Alzasoft in Prague — software and PC
           | distribution, the ancestor of Alza.cz.
           |
1998-2003  | Alza.cz launched as consumer electronics e-commerce.
           | ~30 categories.
           |
2008       | Slevomat created — first Czech daily-deals site, Groupon
           | imitator (local deals + flash sales model).
           |
2011       | Alza opens Alza.sk for Slovakia. First Czech e-commerce
           | to go regional CEE.
           |
2014       | Mall.cz launched by Internet Mall (PPF group), quickly
           | becomes #2 Czech market. Notino starts international
           | perfumery.
           |
2017       | Heureka (comparator) takes ~70% of CZ + SK e-commerce
           | comparison traffic. CPC + CPA model dominant.
           |
2018       | Rohlík.cz launch — 90-minute ultra-fast grocery, driven
           | by Tomáš Čupr. Dark store model + DE/AT/HU/RO scaling.
           |
2022       | Allegro (Poland) acquires Mall Group for ~€881M and
           | WE|DO Logistics — first major CEE cross-border
           | consolidation.
           |
2024       | Allegro acquires Heureka — CEE concentration in motion.
           | Alza remains independent (Zavoral majority), ~€2.2B revenue.
           |
2025-2026  | Market ~€6B cumulated CZ GMV. Alza dominant, Mall under
           | Allegro banner, Notino Central Europe beauty leader,
           | Rohlík in restructuring (refocused CZ + DE).

Governance — APEK + GS1 + voluntary EDI

• APEK (Asociace pro elektronickou komerci, Association for Electronic Commerce) — owns CZ e-commerce standards, publishes quality charters (APEK Certified Shop), issues annual market statistics.
• GS1 Czech Republic — provides GLN + GTIN to merchants. Highly adopted at Alza, Mall, Notino, Rohlík.
• ČOI (Czech Trade Inspection) — consumer supervision, applies Act No. 634/1992 Coll. on consumer protection.
• ÚOOÚ — GDPR oversight via Act No. 110/2019 Coll., very active on cookies and e-commerce direct marketing.

Schema — EDIFACT + REST APIs + PEPPOL

Czech e-commerce has a mixed heritage in exchange formats:

• EDIFACT EANCOM 2002 S4 — used by Alza and Mall for large-volume supplier flows (INVOIC, ORDERS, DESADV, RECADV). Connected via VANs Comarch, EDITEL, T-Systems.
• Modern REST APIs — Alza, Mall, Notino, Rohlík expose B2B APIs with OAuth2, JSON, async webhooks. Public documentation on partner portals.
• ISDOC as attachment — many suppliers attach their ISDOC invoice to the EDIFACT or REST API flow to facilitate recipient archiving.
• PEPPOL BIS 3.0 — progressive adoption since 2022, especially on cross-border flows (Allegro Poland, Rohlík Germany).
• Alza Partner marketplace — third-party sellers use a specific API to publish catalogues, manage orders and issue invoices.

# Alza.cz B2B API - sample invoice payload
# Endpoint: https://api.alza.cz/b2b/v3/invoices
# Authentication: OAuth2 Bearer + partner API-Key

POST /b2b/v3/invoices HTTP/1.1
Host: api.alza.cz
Authorization: Bearer eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsInR5cCI...
Content-Type: application/json
X-API-Key: prt_alza_b2b_2026...

{
  "supplier": {
    "ico": "12345678",
    "dic": "CZ12345678",
    "name": "Sample supplier s.r.o.",
    "iban": "CZ6508000000192000145399"
  },
  "invoice": {
    "number": "FA-2026-04211",
    "issue_date": "2026-06-15",
    "due_date": "2026-07-15",
    "currency": "CZK",
    "order_reference": "AZ-PO-2026-882144",
    "variable_symbol": "2026004211"
  },
  "lines": [
    {
      "ean": "8594000123459",
      "description": "Wireless headphones XYZ Pro",
      "quantity": 50,
      "unit_price_excl_vat": "1290.00",
      "vat_rate": 21,
      "total_excl_vat": "64500.00",
      "total_vat": "13545.00"
    }
  ],
  "totals": {
    "subtotal_excl_vat": "64500.00",
    "vat_total": "13545.00",
    "grand_total": "78045.00"
  },
  "delivery_note": "DESADV-2026-00417",
  "isdoc_attachment": "base64-encoded-isdoc-xml..."
}

# Typical response
HTTP/1.1 202 Accepted
{
  "invoice_id": "alza-inv-7f8e9d6c-...",
  "status": "received",
  "next_status_webhook": "https://supplier.example.com/webhooks/alza"
}

Czech e-commerce vs CEE (PL/SK/HU)

Adoption — ~€6B GMV / year

• Alza.cz — ~€2.2B revenue 2024, ~30% market share. Catalogue 700K+ SKUs, ~3,000 active EDI suppliers.
• Mall (Allegro) — ~€800M revenue, open marketplace + proprietary retail.
• Notino — ~€620M revenue, Central Europe perfumery leader, 25 countries. Brno + Hala u Hradce Králové logistics.
• Rohlík — ~€450M revenue 2024 after restructuring, refocused on CZ + DE. 90-minute grocery delivery via dark stores.
• Slevomat — ~€180M GMV, ~5M monthly visitors. Deals on hospitality, restaurants, beauty, travel.
• Heureka (Allegro) — ~€110M revenue, ~70% of CZ + SK comparator traffic.
• Sectoral marketplaces: Aukro (auctions), Zoot (fashion), Datart (electronics), CZC.cz (PC + gaming), Kasa.cz, Vasko (DIY), Pilulka.cz (online pharmacy).

Common pitfalls

• REST API vs EDIFACT. New suppliers must check which channel the marketplace requires. Alza accepts both but prefers REST for marketplace sellers, EANCOM for proprietary retail suppliers.
• Webhook timeout. The Alza, Mall, Rohlík APIs use webhooks to notify order / shipment status. An endpoint responding > 5s can be disabled — implement an immediate response then async processing.
• Residual VAT 15% or 10%. Like classic retail, former rates merged into 12% on 1 January 2024. Any marketplace invoice still at 15% or 10% is rejected.
• GDPR + e-commerce CRM. Czech ÚOOÚ has strict doctrine on marketing consent and cookies. Foreign sellers often miss the mandatory double opt-in.
• Slovakia vs Czech Republic. Alza.cz and Alza.sk share back office but invoice in CZK for CZ and EUR for SK. DPH/DIČ confusion between countries is frequent for new marketplace sellers.

Cross-links

• Czech Republic hub — full overview
• Czech retail EDIFACT
• Škoda + TPCA + Hyundai — automotive
• ISDOC — national XML standard
• DPH — VAT regimes
• PEPPOL — European standard
• APEK — Asociace pro elektronickou komerci
• Alza.cz
• Allegro — owner of Mall + Heureka