Effective June 1, 2022, Kamil Christoph Kasprowicz will take the chair of the Executive Board at the newly founded Baur Hermes Fulfilment GmbH in Altenkunstadt. His successor as Group Vice President Supply Chain Management of Otto Group is Raphael Maier, who has been responsible for Supply Chain Strategy & Innovation since 2021.
Alexander Peters, currently Group Vice President Otto Group IT, will become the new Managing Director of the Manufactum Group and lead the company together with Kai Steffan from 01 August 2022. He succeeds Max Heimann, who will leave Manufactum at his own request with effect from 30 June 2022 to take up a new career challenge outside the Otto Group.
Effective May 15, 2022, Heidi Stevens will take over as CEO of Otto International. Heidi Stevens follows Michael Dumke, who will retire on June 30, 2022, after eleven successful years as CEO of the global procurement and services company.
The Otto Group has agreed to sell Collect Artificial Intelligence GmbH to Aareal Bank Group. A corresponding contract has been signed by both parties, who have mutually agreed not to disclose the purchase price. All current CollectAI employees will be retained under the new ownership.
Otto Group, the international retail and services group, has acquired a majority stake in the Swiss company Medgate Holding, a provider of digital health services that include medical teleconsulting. At the same time, Medgate Holding has acquired BetterDoc GmbH, a data analysis service active in the DACH region that helps patients identify the most suitable doctors and clinics for their condition. The founders of Medgate and BetterDoc will continue to hold a minority stake in Medgate Holding and a corresponding contractual agreement has been signed by the parties. The Otto Group is thus pursuing the targeted expansion of its digital services towards digital health. The contractual parties have mutually agreed not to disclose the acquisition price.
The Otto Group's logistics network in the fulfilment sector is taking shape in terms of its personnel. The managing director of Baur Hermes Fulfilment GmbH & KG (today: Baur Hermes Fulfilment Vorrats-Verwaltungs GmbH & Co KG), the new joint venture between Hermes Fulfilment and the Baur Group in the southern German town of Altenkunstadt, in Upper Franconia, will be the chairman of the Management Board of the Baur subsidiary Baur Fulfilment Solutions (BFS), Andreas du Plessis, who will now hold both positions. Also effective 1 March 1 2022, Baur Managing Director Olaf Röhr will leave the company to take overall charge of all IT for the Hermes Fulfilment Group.
Online retail remains a reliable growth driver for the international retail and services group. According to initial forecasts the Otto Group will close its 2021/22 financial year ending 28 February 2022 with online sales revenues of almost 11 billion euros, compared with 9.9 billion euros in the previous financial year. Germany is expected to account for almost 7.6 billion euros of this, compared to 7 billion euros in the same period of the previous year.
The Chair of the Executive Board of EOS Holding GmbH, Klaus Engberding, will be leaving the international financial service provider on January 31, 2022, for personal reasons. Managing Director Marwin Ramcke, who is currently in charge of the region Eastern Europe, will become Chair of the Executive Board, effective February 1, 2022. This change also means that Carsten Tidow will take over the Eastern European business as of February 2022.
The international retail and services Group is modernizing and expanding the logistics infrastructure at the traditional Upper Franconian location of the Baur Group. This is the result of a joint shareholders’ decision between the Otto Group and the Friedrich Baur Foundation. The plan for the coming years is to invest around 150 million euros on the expansion and the technological development of the Group location in Altenkunstadt as well as to secure job opportunities in the region and in Germany for the long term.
With effect from 01 March 2022, Katrin Behrens will join the top management of the Mytoys Group alongside CEO Martin Schierer and CFO Tobias Nieber. As part of the future management trio, she will assume responsibility as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the Technology Division. Katrin Behrens will move from Bonprix, where she is currently Vice President IT and Controlling.
Scayle ("Scayle - Your Commerce Engine") is the new B2B brand of About You Holding SE. It enables brands and retailers to scale their commerce business with a Commerce Engine that consists of three components: commerce technology, online marketing, and commerce operations.
The most inspiring and personal fashion online shop in Europe ABOUT YOU continues its successful expansion and launched its new online shop aboutyou.pt on October 26th, 2021. In the past, ABOUT YOU proved its approach of a special shopping experience within several country launches in Europe and is currently active in 25 European markets. The fashion online shop in Portugal was officially launched with a huge marketing campaign and spectacular launch event in Lisbon with over 400 social media stars, celebrities, industry experts and journalists. Among the guests were the most influential Portuguese personalities such as actress Sofia Ribeiro, actress and model Rita Pereira, TV host Carina Caldeira, actress and singer Ines Herédia, actress Kelly Bailey, actress Lourenco Ortigao, singer Barbara Bandeira and many other Portuguese stars.
As the detailed exploratory talks on the formation of the new German government begin, a broad alliance of German businesses from all key sectors of the economy is calling for an ambitious, cross-sector climate policy fit for the purpose of reaching the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
The international retail and services group can look back on a successful first six months of the current financial year 2021/22 (to 28 February). The positive revenue development is due in particular to sustained growth in online retail and a revival in brick-and-mortar business.
The Otto Group is to sell Shopping 24 Gesellschaft für multimediale Anwendungen mbH to YK Group GmbH. Both parties have signed a corresponding contract. The new owner will take over all Shopping24 employees and Dennis Kallerhoff will remain as CEO.
With effect from October 01, 2021, Bianca Lammers is to take over at the lead of the Otto Group Kulturwandel 4.0 team. She succeeds Tobias Krüger, who leaves the Group to take up a new career challenge
adSoul GmbH, provider of automated search engine marketing and former Otto Group Digital Solutions (OGDS) portfolio company, has been acquired by phinx Ventures GmbH with effect from 01 September 2021.
Great success for the occupational health & safety of workers in Bangladesh and worldwide: After intensive negotiations, global trade unions and several international companies have agreed on a new agreement (International Accord) for health and safety in the global textile and apparel industry. As an active partner in this process, the Otto Group has signed the new International Accord.
Despite all the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hamburg-based EOS Group successfully concluded its 2020/21 financial year (ending on 28 February). With a slight decline in revenue of 7.1 percent to EUR 792.5 million, the financial investor and technology-driven debt collection service provider reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of EUR 312.4 million (previous year: EUR 343.4 million).
Viviane Reichert-Brown will join the Management Board of Hermes Einrichtungs Service with effect from 01 July 2021. Teaming up with the long-standing Managing Directors Carsten Meinders and Michael Dildey, she will be responsible for the key topics of innovation, internationalization and strategic personnel development.
Stephan Elsner is to become CEO of the Baur Group from 01 November 2021. The current Bonprix Italy Chairman of the Management Board will succeed Patrick Boos, who will become the new Witt Group Chairman of the Management Board as of 01 January 2022.
Not a classic corporate publishing product, but not a purely journalistic product either. In collaboration with GEO, a family of monthly geographic magazines, the Otto Group is publishing its own sustainability magazine "NOW". On 108 pages, the magazine, with a circulation of 100,000 copies in German and English, highlights the sustainability activities of the Otto Group and its foundations. The publication is aimed at decision-makers and multipliers from the media, politics and society as well as Otto Group employees worldwide.
Despite the enormous challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Otto Group wrapped up the past financial year 2020/21 (to 28 February) with outstanding success. The Group was able to increase its global revenue on a comparable basis by 17.2 percent to 15.6 billion euros.
A few weeks ago, the Otto Group announced that it would offer all colleagues in Germany voluntary and free Corona vaccination. The planning and set-up work for putting nearly twenty plant vaccination centres nationwide into operation, including one at the Group Campus in Hamburg, has now been completed.
Roy Smolders is to become Chief Operating Officer of Hermes Fulfilment GmbH, Hamburg, as of 01 July 2021. He succeeds Kevin Kuf, company CEO since the beginning of April this year.
ABOUT YOU, Europe’s digital fashion destination for discovering outfits, brands, and trends today reported results for its 2020/21 financial year, showing continued strong growth and substantial improvements in profitability. Defying an overall decline in the European fashion market due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe’s fastest-growing fashion platform expanded into 13 new markets and for the first time achieved more than €1bn in net revenues, ending the year with a 57% YoY increase in net revenues to €1.17bn (FY 19/20: €743m).
Wolfgang Jess is to retire and will step down as CEO of the Witt Group with effect from 31 December 2021. Patrick Boos, currently CEO of the Baur Group, also an Otto Group company, will become the new Chairman of the Executive Board of this Otto Group focus company from 01 January 2022. His successor as Baur Group CEO will be announced at a later date.
With effect from 01 April 2021, Beatrice Grünwald will become the second Managing Director of the digital fashion company Sheego, alongside Dr Torge Doser. The highly experienced fashion manager will hold responsibility for the Purchasing/Product Board Area. Dr Torge Doser is to be appointed Chairman of the Management Board.
The internationally active parcel service provider InPost S.A. intends to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Mondial Relay. As the previous owner of Mondial Relay, the Otto Group sees the new constellation as an outstanding opportunity to provide the French parcel logistics company with excellent prospects for sustainable and continued business success.
As of 01 April 2021 Kevin Kufs will become CEO of Hermes Fulfilment GmbH, Hamburg. Kufs succeeds Georg Rau, who after almost seven successful years has decided to take on a new professional challenge at another company.
Otto Group is committed to find job opportunities for ODC colleagues within the Group
Initial forecasts indicate that the Otto Group will close the 2020/21 financial year, ending 28 February 2021, with online revenues of about 10 billion euros worldwide, compared with around 8.1 billion euros in 2019/20. In German e-commerce, the retail and services group is expected to generate revenues of around 6.9 billion euros, up on the 5.7 billion euros in the same period last year.
Effective December 31, 2020, the Otto Group has sold the Group's own Quality Assurance and Product Safety service provider, the Hansecontrol Group headquartered in Hamburg, to Qima, a leading global provider of supply-chain compliance solutions, headquartered in Hong Kong.
powercloud, the leading platform provider for energy suppliers, and the fintech company, collectAI, are launching a cooperation. By doing so, they are combining their expertise and offering new added value to energy suppliers. The goal of the cooperation is to digitize energy supplier processes in their entirety – end to end.
With effect from 1 March 2021, Hamburg-based international trading and services enterprise Otto Group will be strengthened by the appointment of Dr Christoph Schulte. As Group Vice President Corporate Strategy and Development, he will be reporting to Alexander Birken, Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Otto Group. The recognised strategy expert boasts a wealth of experience in international on- and offline retailing.
Kevin Kufs and Eva Witte will strengthen the Executive Board of Hermes Fulfilment GmbH, Hamburg at the beginning of 2021, alongside CEO Dr Georg Rau. Former COO Andreas Stumpf is to leave the company on 31 December 2020 at his own request to take up a new professional challenge at another retail company.
Undeterred by the corona pandemic and the recent lockdown, Otto Group companies are well positioned to cope with the very high number of online orders expected in the run up to Christmas. Given the current situation, Group companies are not anticipating any major bottlenecks in product availability nor do they envisage any delivery problems. Nevertheless, early orders are advisable as is the case every year.
The Otto Group Executive Board has decided to bring selected activities of Otto Group Digital Solutions (OGDS) closer to the operational core of the Group’s various business models for strategic reasons.
During the pandemic, a fundamental change in consumer behaviour is triggering clear shifts in assortments and shopping channels. In the first half of the Otto Group’s 2020/21 financial year, online retail saw a strong rise in revenues – especially in the Living and Consumer Electronics segments.
As of 01 October 2020 Sebastian Walter will hold responsibility for the newly created Digital and Consulting Division as Vice President. In this position he will report directly to Sebastian Klauke, Otto Group Executive Board Member E-Commerce, Technology, Business Intelligence and Corporate Ventures.
After analysing all possible alternatives, planning for the closure in the mid-term of the last returns-processing facility in Germany operated by the Group company Hermes Fulfilment in Hamburg has begun. This inner-city facility is to be closed down in the second half of 2021, to give the 840 mainly part-time employees sufficient time for occupational reorientation.
With effect from 31 July 2020, the Otto Group has sold the Group company Otto Japan in a so-called management buy-out to the company Legego Inc. of the current CEO Seiki Maenosono. The Otto Group will remain active in Japan through the joint venture with the US outdoor specialist Eddie Bauer, Eddie Bauer Japan, which has existed for almost thirty years.
One of the largest and most experienced private equity investors Advent International (“Advent”) is taking a 25 percent shareholding in Hermes Germany and 75 percent in Hermes UK. This step opens up new opportunities for the Otto Group's parcel logistics companies to expand their current leading position in the two most important delivery markets in Europe.
Janet Hayes will be joining Crate & Barrel Holdings, Inc. on August 1st as its new CEO. A seasoned executive with over 25 years of retail experience, Hayes brings an outstanding track record of developing and repositioning brands with deep expertise in the home category. Between 2013 and 2019 she was President of the Williams-Sonoma brand where she led the successful turnaround of the San Francisco-based business.
After six successful years at the Otto Group - first as member of the Executive Board of the Otto Group responsible for Retail and later as CEO of Crate and Barrel - Neela has decided to leave the company on August 1st to pursue new opportunities. Neela informed the board of her decision late last year and the name of her successor will be announced shortly.
Effective from 15 June 2020, the Mytoys Group, an Otto Group company, will be led by Martin Schierer as CEO and Tobias Nieber as CFO. The long-serving Managing Directors of the successful Berlin-based e-commerce provider, Dr Oliver Lederle, Florian Forstmann (both also founders) and Alexander Lederle, will leave the company at their own wish.
As fastest growing fashion online shop,ABOUT YOU continues its successful international expansion and is now present in 14 European countries. In May and June, ABOUT YOU went online in four new markets: Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as an extension to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
In the past 2019/20 financial year the Otto Group exceeded its own revenue and earnings targets and thus secured a good basis from which to tackle the current challenging business environment. The internationally active retail and services group sees further growth opportunities in the current financial year but has lowered its earnings targets.
The Hermes Group continues to write its success story. In the financial year 2019/20, which ended on 29 February, the Group once again recorded profitable growth.
As of 01 March 2020 Dr Tobias Wollermann will lead the Vice Presidential Division Corporate Responsibility Otto Group. The long-serving Group Vice President Dr Johannes Merck is to take up an advisory role within the retail and services company at his own wish.
Through specific measures to avoid and reduce CO2 emissions in its core business processes, the retail and services company Otto Group wants to become carbon-neutral by 2030. The Executive Board has set this target for the Group’s own sites, transportation and employee mobility as well as its external computing centres and cloud services. The Otto Group considers carbon offsetting as a necessary but last-choice measure in achieving the goal.
According to preliminary forecasts the Otto Group will close the 2019/2020 financial year ending 29 February 2020 with global online revenues of around 8.1 billion euros, compared to 7.7 billion euros for the 2018/2019 financial year. In the German e-commerce market, the retail and services group generated revenues of approximately 5.6 billion euros, versus 5.3 billion euros in the previous year.
The internationally renowned top manager Sergio Bucher is to be appointed as a new Member of the Executive Board of the retail and services company Otto Group with effect from 01 February 2020, with responsibility for Brands and Retail.
The Otto Group has decided to sell its Sportscheck GmbH group company, headquartered in Unterhaching near Munich, to Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. With this step the Otto Group is giving the multichannel retailer the best possible chance of long-term business viability, having considered all the options very carefully. Both parties have already signed a corresponding contractual agreement. The sale remains subject to approval by the respective committees and the German Federal Cartel Office.
With effect from 1 January 2020, Bodo Kipper will take over responsibility for the "Retail and Marketplace" area, which will emerge from the Categories area. Dr. Michael Heller, the former Categories area executive, is leaving the Otto Group by mutual agreement to take on new challenges outside the Otto Group after many successful years.
With effect from 01 December 2019 the Hamburg-based international retail and services company Otto Group is to strengthen its management staff with Dr Hanna Huber. In the newly created post of Group Vice President Technology Strategy & Governance she will report to Sebastian Klauke, Executive Board Member, E-Commerce, Technology, Business Intelligence and Corporate Ventures. The proven digital expert joins the Otto Group from the Berlin-based online fashion platform Zalando.
On 01 December Dennis Kollmann will join the Management Board of Hermes Germany. The former Division Manager will hold responsibility for Sales. He succeeds Thomas Horst who is leaving the Otto Group at his own wish and has already worked his successor into the specific tasks of the new role.
Following the successful functional integration of Heinrich Heine GmbH in the Witt Group, the two Managing Directors Jürgen Habermann and Maximilian Lang are to step down. The Otto Group Executive Board expresses its appreciation of their performance.
At the Hanseatic Versicherungsdienst (HVD) a planned change in top management will be effected over the coming months. At the end of February 2020 the long-serving Managing Director Brigitte Stade will enter her well-deserved retirement. She will be succeeded by Sebastian Strache, who joins the HVD Management Board on 01 November 2019 and will be worked into his new role by Brigitte Stade up to the end of the financial year.
Sven Seidel, Member of the Otto Group Executive Board, Multichannel Retail, has requested the early termination of his contract for family reasons. From 01 November 2019 he will take up fresh challenges as CEO of a group of companies headquartered in southern Germany.
With ‘Life Hamburg’, Benjamin Otto and his wife Janina Lin are planning the construction of a new type of building for cross-generational learning, working and wellbeing close to the Otto Group Campus in Hamburg. While both Benjamin and Janina were inspired by the international initiative ‘Learnlife’, their concept goes much further, as both explain in the interview.
> New highs in revenue and EBITDA > Strong investment in debt purchases: another step towards becoming a global financial investor > “We will greatly expand our real estate-secured business, besides unsecured debt purchasing.”
e.ventures, the first tech-enabled global venture capital firm, today announced $400M in new capital across two oversubscribed early stage funds: a $225M US-focused fund based out of San Francisco and a $175M Europe-focused fund based out of Berlin. This sixth generation of e.ventures early stage funds will invest $1.5M to $10M into technology startups ranging from Pre-A with traction to Series A and early Series B. The firm will use this capital to continue to partner with entrepreneurs building rapidly scaling, category-creating consumer, SaaS, and fintech companies with global aspirations.
Digital technologies in the retail environment are a hot topic. The added value is evident to the retail companies – Artificial Intelligence, algorithms and their binary cousins all contribute to a better understanding of the customer and to making them precisely tailored offers. But what’s the plus for the customer? For them, these technologies above all need to add convenience and match the specific circumstances of their lives. All this is revealed in the new study entitled ‘Future Retail’ carried out by ECC Cologne and the Otto Group.
As of 01 July 2019 Thomas von Hake will join the executive management of collectAI, a company in the portfolio of Otto Group Digital Solutions (OGDS), the Otto Group’s own company builder. In the management team together with Sebastian Hoop he will hold responsibility for the Sales, Marketing and Customer Development Divisions.
Revenues rise 3.5 percent on a comparable basis to 13.4 billion euros + Comparable online revenues rise 4.5 percent to 7.7 billion euros + Focused growth strategy is paying off, with focus companies including the single company OTTO performing above average + High investments in OTTO’s online platform and logistics infrastructure + EBIT result declines to 222 million euros due to external factors and high investment + Successful cultural change and value-orientated company management strengthen Otto Group as European alternative in online commerce.
The Hermes Group as the strong No. 2 in Europe’s largest CEP markets profits from the continuously growing e-commerce. In the 2018/19 financial year Hermes increased its revenue by around 6.0% to EUR 3,20 billion. Especially the German market has been challenging due to increased costs on the last mile.
In the 2018/19 financial year now closed, according to preliminary forecasts the Otto Group raised revenues on a comparable basis by 3.5 percent to reach around 13.5 billion euros. While the internationally active retail and services group was not able to repeat the outstanding results of the previous financial year, it remains on its growth trajectory and has reconfirmed its objective of achieving a revenue figure of 17 billion euros on a comparable basis by 2022.
With its comprehensive Corporate Responsibility (CR) Strategy, the international retail and services group is pursuing ambitious goals in expanding a sustainable value chain in the key Textile and Furniture assortments. Institutional and private investors will be able to contribute to this strategy in future.
Preliminary forecasts see the Otto Group set to close its 2018/19 financial year (to 28.02.) with global online revenues of approximately 7.7 billion euros. This represents a rise of 5.1 percent on a comparable basis. The retail and services group generated revenues of over 5.4 billion euros in its online business in Germany, an increase of 5.9 percent.
After a long and impressive career in the Otto Group, Carole Walker, CEO Hermes Europe, will carry out a decision she took a long time ago and take early retirement in summer 2019. As of 01 March 2019, Kay Schiebur, Otto Group Executive Board Member Services, will assume some of her responsibilities.
As of 01 January 2019 Dr. Richard Gottwald is to become Chairman of the Bonprix Handelsgesellschaft Executive Board. The 59-year-old has already been one of the four Managing Directors of Bonprix since 2016, with responsibility for the company’s overall foreign sales activities. Furthermore, Dr. Richard Gottwald is responsible for the HR Area as well as Corporate Communications.
With effect from 1 January 2019, Frauke Mispagel will be joining the Executive Board at Otto Group Digital Solutions (OGDS) and will head the Otto Group’s own Company Builder unit together with Dr Björn Schäfers. In addition, the 37-year-old will also join the board of Liquid Labs.
As Germany’s largest textile retailer, the Otto Group has signed the newly established Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, whose objective is to reduce the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Under the umbrella of the United Nations, through the Climate Charter the international retail and services group advocates intensifying climate-protection measures in order to reach the targets set out in the Paris Agreement.
Today Fashion for Good and Otto Group with its companies OTTO and bonprix announce their partnership. The partners emphasise their commitment to a good fashion industry in their shared agenda, which drives the call for international and collaborative innovation within the circular apparel industry.
As of 01 May 2019 Sebastian Klauke will become a Member of the Otto Group Executive Board with responsibility for E-Commerce. The current Chief Digital Officer will succeed Dr Rainer Hillebrand, who after 28 years’ highly successful work for the international retail and services group has reached the stipulated maximum age for Executive Board Members.
As of 1 November 2018, the Otto Group’s E-Commerce Competence Center, an expert unit centrally located in the holding company, has in Andreas Assum a new Group Vice President E-Commerce.
Europeans have more in common than generally supposed. As well as cultural similarities and a passion for soccer, Europeans prefer conventional means of payment. So companies are meeting their customers' preferences when they continue to offer traditional payment methods. Overall, they offer on average 4.1 payment options, from the traditional to the modern.
hagebau KG and the Otto Group have reached a mutual accord to wind-up the successful Joint Venture baumarkt direkt on 30.06.2019. In future, both companies intend to manage the online sales of their respective DIY assortments independently. Driving the decision are the differing business models involved: the hagebau cooperation pursues a cross-channel approach, while otto.de follows a platform strategy. The Joint Venture’s workforce of approximately 200 at the Hamburg location will be reallocated across both parent companies.
Europe in the mood to spend. In June, the GfK Consumer Climate for the 28 EU member states reached 23.2 points, its highest level since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2007. Europeans are getting tired of saving and are spending more on consumption. Greater liquidity also means that companies are likely to benefit from improved payment practices.
Roberto Valerio, founder and Managing Director of Risk Ident, will leave the company at the end of the month after the successful establishment of the start-up in order to devote himself to new tasks in the future.
Heartland A/S, the investment holding company of one of Europe’s largest fashion retail groups, Bestseller A/S, is joining ABOUT YOU as a new investor. The investment is part of a financing round of around USD 300 million valuing ABOUT YOU with over USD 1 billion. Thus the Otto Group’s rapidly growing fashion-tech start-up becomes Hamburg’s first ‘unicorn’.
The Otto Group has successfully placed a so-called hybrid bond. The issue was marketed to large institutional investors such as asset managers, insurers and private banks in Germany and other EU countries. This finance instrument was very well received by investors, with the issue twice oversubscribed. The Otto Group has successfully raised 300 million euros with the bond and will pay a coupon of 4.0 percent over the next seven years.
At today’s meeting of Hermes Europe’s Supervisory Board, Olaf Schabirosky was appointed CEO of Hermes Germany with immediate effect. His previous responsibilities as Manager Services and Finance will be taken over by Hendrik Schneider as of 1 July 2018. Hendrik Schneider is currently Managing Director of OTTO Shared Services GmbH and in his new role he will also serve as Chief Financial Officer of Hermes Europe. The current CEO Frank Rausch and Chief Operating Officer Dirk Rahn have decided by mutual and amicable agreement to leave Hermes Germany.
collectAI, the digital receivables management company, has announced its collaboration with Hanseatic Bank today at the European fintech conference Money2020. Hanseatic Bank,a 75 percent subsidiary of Société Générale, is one of the first banks to deploy collectAI’s B2B2C white label solution for digital payment reminders in the segments of credit cards and consumer credits. In the first six months of the collaboration, collectAI’s modern customer communication approach improved Hanseatic Bank’s collection rate by 24 percent in total – 14 percent points up from the previous results. It also reduced the bank’s expenses for receivables management by 88.6 percent in this area.
Marc Opelt, previously spokesman of the OTTO Management Board, will be appointed chairman with effect from June 1, 2018. This is the first time that the four-member management board of the Otto Group's largest subsidiary has been given a chairman.
The international retail and services group continues on its growth track, increasing revenues in the past 2017/18 financial year (to 28 February) with a climb to 13.653 billion euros. This corresponds to an increase of 6.7 percent. At the same time the Otto Group further raised its profitability, clearly exceeding its own targets. Notwithstanding high investments in technology, logistics and new retail concepts, the Otto Group increased its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) by almost 11 percent to 405 million euros. The Group’s digitised retail saw particularly dynamic growth with a climb of 10.9 percent in online revenues to 7.9 billion euros.
In the 2017 financial year, the Hermes Group again achieved double-digit growth and was especially able to evidence profitable gains in central European parcel markets. In this way, adjusted for currency, Hermes increased its turnover by more than 12% to EUR 3.13 billion.
Hermes-OTTO International, the sourcing organisation of the Otto Group and Scan-Thor Group, one of the biggest buying offices in Europe, join forces. Both companies hold a 50 percent stake in the company Otto International Scan-Thor ApS with its head office in Herning, Denmark.
The international retail and services group has launched the 2017/18 financial year with a new growth strategy. The targets set by the strategy were already exceeded in the first financial year (28 February). According to preliminary figures, the Group, with headquarters in Hamburg, increased revenues more than planned by just under 7 percent. Growth in e-commerce was even more significant. Worldwide, the Otto Group increased its online revenues by 10.9 per cent to EUR 7.8 billion.
The internationally active retail and services company Otto Group raised its global e-commerce revenues in the 2017/18 financial year (to 28.02.18) to around 7.76 billion euros, according to preliminary estimates. This represents an increase of 10.9 per cent or approximately 760 million euros from existing business. The Group’s online revenues in Germany topped 5.4 billion euros, a rise of 10.2 percent.
With effect from 01 April 2018 the renowned retail and logistics manager Kay Schiebur will join the Executive Board of the retail and services company Otto Group as Member for Services. The 49-year-old succeeds Hanjo Schneider who is leaving the Group at his own wish.
collectAI today announced that it has partnered with Pay360 by Capita and with this its official UK launch. With collectAI as the technology provider, Pay360 will build a branded receivables management solution for its business and government clients.
Dr Christopher Heinemann (48), Executive Director of the Manufactum Group, has decided not to extend his contract in order to take up new career challenges outside the Otto Group.
55 per cent of Russians are ‘debt avoiders’, ahead of Germans (45 per cent) and US Americans (37 per cent). The ‘EOS Debt Survey’ 2017 shows how people deal with debt differently depending on the country they live in. On behalf of financial services provider EOS, social research institute forsa conducted a representative online survey in Germany, the USA and Russia.
With effect from 01 April 2018 the top manager from the Schwarz Group is to become Executive Board Member Multichannel Retail at the Otto Group. The 43 year-old succeeds Neela Montgomery, who has taken over as CEO at the Otto Group company Crate and Barrel at her own wish.
Long-time Chief of Hermes UK has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Hermes Europe, Hamburg. The experienced and highly successful manager takes over the leadership of all European logistics activities of the Otto Group from Donald Pilz.
Berlin-based operational VC Project A today announces its agreement with London-based private equity group 3i to invest in Lampenwelt, Europe's leading online retailer for lighting fixtures.
Together with other well-known companies, the Otto Group has signed the so-called Vancouver Declaration of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) to highlight the need for responsible forest management. Thus, Germany's largest online retailer for furniture emphasises its ambition to offer its customers only wooden furniture products that comply with the standards of the FSC.
In the first six months of the 2017/18 financial year (to 28 February) the Otto Group maintained its strong position in online retail and raised its e-commerce turnover by around 10 percent. The development of positive results for the retail and services group continued, with sales increasing by some 7 percent on a like-for-like basis. The Otto Group’s ambitious growth strategy is delivering initial success.
Around 60% of the Dutch population purchases clothing online, and starting on the 10th of October 2017, it will be even more fun and convenient for them to shop online, with the launch of the digital fashion shop ABOUT YOU in the Netherlands.
collectAI, the service for digital receivables, has processed receivables at a volume of 25m Euro since its foundation in 2016. collectAI automates and digitises invoices, dunning and debt collection processes and is the first digital end-to-end provider in receivables management.
SevenVentures, the financial investment arm of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group, has taken a stake in the form of a media-for-equity investment in the Mytoys Group, part of the Otto Group, Europe’s No. 1 online retailer for family shopping. With overall revenues of EUR 556 million in the 2016/17 financial year, the Mytoys Group is one of Germany’s most successful e-commerce companies. The media-for-equity investment secures SevenVentures GmbH a low single-digit percentage stake.
As a member of the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles initiated by the German Federal Government, the Otto Group has drawn up its own roadmap with individual targets for 2017. Following approval by external auditors, the international retail and services group has voluntarily published its own action plan, and has requested all Partnership members to secure the effectiveness and future viability of the Partnership.
The industry initiative CPI2, launched by the Otto Group in 2012, has established a partnership with the world’s most important platform for the sustainable management of textile supply chains, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC). The common goal is to create synergies and minimise the negative social and environmental impact in global supply chains. Both initiatives provide know-how via digital channels, which manufacturers can use to improve their production processes independently and effectively.
Otto Group, the globally active retail and services group, has successfully placed a bond issue totalling 300 million euros with a coupon of 1.875 per cent. The bond has a term of seven years.
The Otto Group, the international retail and services group, achieved a clear rise in profitability in the 2016/17 financial year now closed and raised revenue by 3.4 per cent to 12.5 billion euros. This is the equivalent of 5 per cent turnover growth on a like-for-like basis. On this basis, to drive the Group further on this strong growth track, the Executive Board has a focused strategy and an ambitious target: 17 billion euros annual turnover by 2022 on a like-for-like basis.
Neela Montgomery, Otto Group Executive Board Member for Multichannel Retail, takes over as her own decision and effective August 1, 2017 as CEO of the Group’s US-company Crate and Barrel, Northbrook, Illinois. Hanjo Schneider, Otto Group Executive Board Member for Services, will leave the Executive Board of the international retail and services group as planned at the end of the year. Both vacancies will be filled in due course.
The proportion of FSC-certified products in the overall Otto Group furniture range rose to 46 per cent in 2016. The proportion of FSC-certified paper also rose to 34 per cent, with more sustainable paper being used for catalogues and other advertising materials than in previous years.
Dr Michael Otto, entrepreneur and Chairman of the Otto Group Supervisory Board, has received the highly renowned ‘German CSR Award for outstanding CSR Engagement’ for his commitment to sustainable business. The award ceremony was held on 04 April as part of the 13th German CSR Forum in Ludwigsburg.
The Otto Group has signed an agreement with Advent International (“Advent”) and Bain Capital Private Equity (“Bain Capital”) to sell Ratepay GmbH for an undisclosed sum. It is planned that Ratepay will be integrated with Concardis, the Eschborn-based payment service provider acquired by Advent and Bain Capital in January 2017. The closing of the acquisition of Concardis is still pending. Ratepay will retain its brand and will be managed as an independent company within the Concardis Group.
Otto Group, the international retail and services group, increased revenues for the 2016/17 financial year now closed by 5 per cent on a comparable basis, according to preliminary figures. Online revenues rose to almost EUR 7 billion, representing an increase of just under 10 per cent.
In 2016, the Otto Group increased its share of sustainable cotton to 49 percent, thus achieving another success with its ambitious sustainability strategy. Through the use of the certified sustainable cotton with the “Cotton made in Africa” (CmiA) label, more than 33 billion litres of water were saved. With its long-term textile strategy, the international retail and services group also contributes to the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Customers who buy articles from the Otto Group with the CmiA label thus actively contribute, among other things, to saving the precious resource of water, combatting poverty and improving the future viability of millions of people in Africa.
In the current 2016/17 financial year (to 28.02) the Otto Group, the internationally active retail and services group, will raise its e-commerce revenues to almost € 7 billion (according to preliminary estimates). This represents revenue growth in its existing business of almost 10% or € 615 million. The Group’s online business in Germany generated almost € 5 billion, also seeing growth of almost 10%.
Sebastian Klauke is to strengthen the Otto Group, the globally active retail and services group. A proven digitalisation expert, Klauke will hold the newly created position of Chief Digital Officer (CDO) as of 01 July 2017.
Marwin Ramcke joins the EOS Group’s Board of Directors effective 1 January 2017 and will assume responsibility for the Eastern Europe region, where EOS is represented in 14 countries. Mr Ramcke succeeds Dr Helmut Hufnagel, who has headed the Division since 2015.
The Otto Group announces that, starting as of today, it will start purchasing part of its 150 million euro bond (Coupon: 4.625%, Maturity: 29 September 2017, ISIN: AT0000A0UJL6) up to a maximum repurchase amount of 30 million euros in the open market. The open market repurchases will end at the latest at the time of maturity of the bond on 29 September 2017.
In founding Otto Group Digital Solutions (OGDS) the Otto Group’s objectives are to identify and develop attractive new business models in the retail-related service sector and establish these in the market. Responsibility for the Group’s major digital service companies will be held under the OGDS umbrella from now on.
The Damartex Group and the 3SI Group announced that they have begun exclusive negotiations in view to the acquisition by the Damartex Group of 100% of the 3 Pagen’ shares. Negotiations are expected to conclude shortly, with a definitive agreement signed by the end of September 2016.
e.ventures, a leading global venture capital firm for almost two decades, today announced the appointment of Arnulf Keese as General Partner in its Berlin office, the firm’s European hub. Keese joins European partners, Andreas Haug, Christian Leybold, and Bernardo Hernandez, in addition to North American partners Mathias Schilling and Tom Gieselmann. As e.ventures continues to add subject matter expertise to its investment team, e.ventures’ core commitment to hiring the best and brightest is reinforced, thereby ensuring the firm's longevity and success.
EOS Consolidated, which is headquartered in Hamburg, recorded a successful performance in fiscal 2015/16. Its EBT of EUR 181.4 million was well above the previous year’s result. The international debt collection company was also able to increase its sales to EUR 596.1 million.
Owing to the current interest rate environment, where many banks are demanding penalty interest rates on their customers’ cash deposits, the Otto Group is offering institutional investors a safe haven for their liquidity with no loss of value. The global retail and services group has issued a 50 million euro bond with a three-month term and an annual interest rate of 0.14 percent.
On 1 July 2016, the international EOS Group acquired 100% of the shares in debt collection service provider Contentia in France and Belgium. The EOS Group already has a successful debt collection company in each of the two countries.
Following a private sale process, the 3SI Group today signed an agreement to sell its multichannel stock-clearance business, Cogemag-Excédence, to Artmadis, BtoB distributors and France’s leading tableware and cookware company.
The share of sustainable products in terms of the Otto Group’s overall furniture assortment increased to 43% in 2015. As the largest online furniture retailer in the German-speaking region, the Group is a leader in this segment.
Klaus Engberding, responsible for the region Germany on the EOS Group Board of Directors, will take over the CEO position of the international leading provider of receivables management effective 1 March 2017. Hans-Werner Scherer, the current long-time and extremely successful CEO, is leaving the Group of his own volition in order to retire.
Cologne-based start-up Homeday announced the successful closing of their Series A financing round today. In May this year, the renowned venture capital companies Project A and Paua Ventures committed among others to investing a seven-figure amount in the rapidly growing company, which is active in the field of property technology (called “PropTech”) and has chosen to specialize in particular in the data-driven pairing of real estate agents with appropriate customers.
With Bonprix CEO Dr Marcus Ackermann’s move to the Otto Group Executive Board as of 01 January 2017, the international fashion company will have a reshaped executive management team. Bonprix’s own Markus Fuchshofen and OTTO’s Dr Richard Gottwald will join the current Executive Directors Rien Jansen and Dr Kai Heck on the Bonprix Executive Board.
The internationally active retail and services company Otto Group has successfully placed a 250 million euro bond issue. The note carries a seven-year term and a 2.5 percent coupon.
Early stage investor and operational VC Project A has announced an investment of 4 million euros in Lost My Name, one of the leading creators of personalized children’s content. With this extension of the Series A round, Project A joins the circle of renowned international investors, including lead investor Google Ventures, Greycroft and Allen & Co. Project A’s founding partner Florian Heinemann will also join the company’s board. Lost My Name’s first personalized children’s book “The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost His/Her Name” was one of the bestselling children’s book globally in 2015. With their second book, “The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home”, they are well on their way to repeat this success.
Further to the approval of the French Competition Authority, 3SI Group has signed, on 30 May, the acquisition of Girard-Agediss, the French leader in the delivery of bulky items and furniture to professional customers, private individuals and internet users. Further to an open transfer process, 3SI Group has signed, on 31 May, the sale of Becquet to Domoti, a well-known distance seller headquartered in Marquette-lez-Lille.
In the 2015/16 financial year (as at 29 February 2016) the globally active retail and services company Otto Group, Hamburg, achieved the targeted turnaround in its major business areas. The strategic initiatives previously announced by Hans-Otto Schrader, Chairman of the Otto Group Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Otto Group, including the clear reinforcement of the Group’s core businesses, investments in digital transformation and new business models, the restructuring of some Group companies and the rationalisation of the company portfolio, were consistently and successfully implemented.
Today, e.ventures is announcing the closing of a new $150 million early stage fund to target Europe’s best businesses and entrepreneurs, bringing e.ventures’ total assets under management today to more than $1 billion. This new fund, focused on seed and Series A rounds, will be deployed alongside an already active $290 million global growth investment vehicle which targets subsequent financing rounds, allowing entrepreneurs to gain the full benefit of e.ventures’ expertise through the full investment lifecycle.
On 1 January 2017, Alexander Birken, Member of the Executive Board Otto Group, Multichannel Distance Selling, Spokesman OTTO, will take over as Chairman of the Executive Board at the international retail and services group. Long-serving CEO Hans-Otto Schrader is to step down at his own wish, having reached the age limit of 60 for Otto Group Executive Board Members.
The Hermes Group, continuing years of successful growth, also records impressive figures in the 2015 fiscal year. The trade and logistics services provider based in Hamburg has increased its turnover by 11% to €2,460 million (€2,230 million in 2014). A key contributor to this was the fast-growing international parcel and logistics business, driven by the booming e-commerce.
Digital Health startup launches platform providing global access to high quality medical treatments.
The retail and services company Otto Group, Hamburg, looks back on a successful 2015/16 financial year (to 29 February 2016), characterised by very satisfactory growth at the large core companies and a consistent reorganisation of the company portfolio.
As part of its new strategic course to focus on growing service activities, the 3SI Group has decided to sell all of its retail activities in France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.
BorderGuru, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Hermes Group, has become the official contractual partner of China's Alibaba Group. With a gross merchandise value (GMV) of 452 bn USD and access to over 280 million customers, the Alibaba Group is currently the world's leading online retailer. Through its TMall Global shopping platform, Alibaba offers its Chinese customers popular international brands. On behalf of Cainiao, the logistics provider of the Chinese trading giant, BorderGuru GmbH is managing the whole logistics cross-border shipping process for European clients looking to sell on the booming Chinese market.
As part of its divestment strategy announced in 2015, the globally active retail and services group is to sell its subsidiary Alba Moda GmbH to K-Mail Order GmbH & Co KG. The relevant anti-trust authorities have already approved the deal.
Order-picking logistics specialist Dispeo has just welcomed a new customer on board: Camaïeu. As part of a partnership due to begin in July 2016, France’s leading female clothing retailer will be availing itself of Dispeo’s services for its e-commerce activities and store flows management.
Otto Group, the internationally active retail and services group, is set to increase its global e-commerce revenues in the current financial year 2015/16 (to 29.02.16) by 400 million to 6.6 billion euros. According to the latest forecast the Group’s German online business has performed even better, with the Group generating a total of 4.4 billion euros, 10 per cent more than in the previous financial year.
Jan Kegelberg, who has taken over the newly created position of a Chief Digital Officer at SportScheck in Munich in August, joins the management board of the company on February 1, 2016. In this role, he will be responsible for e-commerce sales, marketing and customer intelligence.
The Mytoys Group, one of Germany's most successful E-Commerce companies, will open its first technology location outside Germany. MYTOYS plans to open a TechLab in Madrid.
The Otto Group has announced a partnership with Powa Technologies to secure and enhance their position in the modern retail market. This partnership will provide millions of customers of the Otto Group with a quick and simple way to shop and engage with its brands online, in-store and on the go. With mCommerce sales set to reach $626bn per annum in less than two years time*, the free mobile app PowaTag enables users to complete purchases in seconds by interacting with triggers including QR codes, beacons, audio signals as well as through links found on social media.
To support the strong growth of its subsidiary's activities and to enable it to increase its market share in a rapidly expanding sector, the 3SI Group has introduced a plan to mechanise all of its Mondial Relay branches.
Euler Hermes, the worldwide leader in trade credit insurance, and EOS, the international provider of financial services, announce today an agreement signed on Friday, 18 December 2015 with CRIF, a global company providing credit information services, credit and software solutions, headquartered in Bologna, Italy - for the share purchase of Bürgel Group (Bürgel). 100% of the shares will be transferred to CRIF.
The former Chief Financial Officer Everett Hutt (46) will take over as CEO of the 3SI Holding in December 2015. Denis Terrien (50), who has managed the transformation of 3SI Group since 2009, is leaving the company at his own wish and in best consent.
Otto Group, the retail and services group, has taken this step as a result of the highly competitive but slow-developing digital-payment business. While Yapital will no longer service the end-consumer market as of 31 January 2016, it will remain active as an e-money institution in the business-to-business (B2B) market.
The Otto Group and leading Chinese online marketplace JD.com have embarked on a joint venture that incorporates Otto’s subsidiary, Zitra GmbH. The purpose of this venture is to increase international e-commerce between Europe and China, with Zitra™ acting as an independent full-service provider to connect international brands with the leading marketplaces.
As of today another broad-based misconception is laid to rest, that ‘online retail is more climate-damaging than over-the-counter (OTC) retail. Transporting goods from the online retailer to the end-customer is more efficient and causes less climate-destabilising emissions – even if we include returns, which are a major factor in the retail sector’s parcel distribution. This is the result of the latest study carried out by the Deutsches CleanTech Institut (DCTI) under the heading: ‘Climate friendly shopping – a comparative perspective of online retail and over-the-counter retail’, commissioned by the Otto Group and Hermes.
A new website – with a brand-new feature: with its freshly-launched JobFinder app, from today the Otto Group provides a complete overview of job vacancies within the Group, in over 20 countries and in its 123 major companies. The app is available for download from the completely redesigned Otto Group homepage, which ensures optimal display on all end-devices thanks to Responsive Design.
Sportscheck, Germany's leading multichannel sports retailer, reorganises its Executive Board.
Global home furnishings retailer Crate and Barrel is pleased to announce that Steve Woodward will be joining the company as President and Chief Merchant effective August 24, 2015.
Dr Michael Müller-Wünsch (53) will assume the position of Member of the OTTO Management Board Technology (CIO) as of 1 August 2015. With this newly created position and the associated expansion of its independent IT organisation, the online retailer is taking another decisive step forward in the digitalisation of its business model.
In its Sustainability Report published today, the Otto Group has stated that it reduced its location-, transport- and mobility-related CO2 emissions in 2014 by 24 per cent compared to 2006. The international retail group is thus well on the way towards achieving its climate target of halving CO2 emissions by 2020 and achieving a 70 per cent reduction by 2040.
Blue Yonder, Europe's leading provider of predictive applications in the cloud, has launched Forward Pricing to ensure e-commerce retailers set the optimum price for individual items and understand the effects price changes have on sales.
Following an open divestiture process, ownership of Cité Numérique and its two brands – Quais de l’image and Naos Publishing – has been transferred to two industrial groups operating in the same sector of activity: ComClever, a group with three companies specialising in the production of digital communication solutions (ViewOn, Krealid and SVD) and Imalliance, a group specialising in image production – photos, videos, 3D images – with 3 studios under its name Studio Collet, Donkeyshot and Paul et Berthe.
The Executive Board of the Otto Group has decided to join the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles initiated by the German Federal Government. As a result, Germany’s largest textile retailer will transform its active role in co-shaping the negotiations into a formal membership. At the same time, prior to the G7 summit in Germany, the Otto Group calls for a textile alliance at international level.
The Otto Group is entering the data-driven advertising business in the current financial year. Otto Group Media, the newly-founded 100 per cent Group company, is to focus on user-based marketing and advertising-space selection. To do this it has appointed renowned industry expert Torsten Ahlers as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
The Otto Group, Hamburg, ended the 2014/15 financial year (as at 28 February) with a slight increase in revenue and a clear drop in earnings. Although the retail and services group increased revenue by 0.5 per cent to 12.057 billion euros (Germany: +1.1 per cent to 7.139 billion euros), EBIT fell from 401 to 79 million euros.
The Otto Group Supervisory Board has decided to extend Deputy Executive Board Chairman Dr Rainer Hillebrand’s contract, due to expire at the end of April 2016, for another three years. Petra-Scharner Wolff is due to become the international retail and services Group's Executive Board Member for Finance on 1 June 2015.
Entrepreneur Benjamin Otto has decided to take on an active role for the Otto Group as active Shareholder. With effect from 1 June 2015, the 39-year-old will hand over his tasks as CEO of Collins, the successful Otto Group startup, to joint Managing Director Tarek Müller, and help manage the ongoing transformation process for the international retail and services group from within various supervisory bodies and group companies.
Dr Michael Otto, the Otto Group’s majority shareholder and Chairman of its Supervisory Board, has transferred his shares in the Otto Group to a foundation. This secures the future of the international retail and services group as a family-owned business with its head office in Hamburg.
Premilinary figures of the Otto Group for financial year 2014/15: Overall revenues rise by 0.5 per cent to 12.057 billion euros +++ Double-digit growth in the Services segment +++ E-commerce revenues increase to just under 6.5 billion euros +++ Substantial investment in IT, logistics and new business models
Otto Group, the international retail group, was able to increase its order quantities for sustainable cotton last year by 50 per cent. Over 10 million articles were marketed within the “Cotton made in Africa” initiative alone.
In the coming financial year 2015/2016, the Otto Group plans a high double-digit million investment in the venture capital business. With this move, the international retail and services group will build on its position as one of the largest and most successful venture capital providers in Germany.
In line with its goals, 3SI Group subsidiary and e-commerce order-picking specialist Dispeo is pursuing its growth drive by taking Univers-Running.com on board. In the long term, this collaboration is intended to support the growth curve of France's second-ranked online trail running and racing retailer. Set to launch on 1 March 2015, this partnership will cover the entire logistics chain, from goods reception to distribution and returns management.
Blue Yonder, a leading provider of Big Data analytics and Predictive Applications, today announced that an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing, has committed $75 million to support the Company’s further growth and expansion.
Changes in the Otto Group Executive Board planned well in advance: Petra-Scharner-Wolff, Member of the Management Board for the single company OTTO, is set to become Executive Board Member for Finance for the retail and services group as of 1 October 2015. The current Executive Board Member for Finance, Jürgen Schulte-Laggenbeck, intends to accept a fresh career challenge outside the Otto Group. This decision is pending approval of the respective decision-making committees.
Hermes NexTec, specialist for international full-service e-commerce solutions, developed a new online shop concept for German adidas Group, global leader in the sporting goods industry. adidas specialty sports combines products of 9 different sports under one roof and has been launched in the 2nd quarter of 2014. Started in 15 European countries, a roll-out to further regions all over the world is planned.
A year after launching France's largest order picking centre for online retailers, Dispeo has announced that it has signed a major contract with a front-runner in Europe's e-commerce industry: showroomprive.com. This long-term collaboration constitutes a ringing endorsement of the 3SI Group strategy that is based on two key pillars: e-commerce and e-commerce services. This partnership will ultimately lead to the creation of around 400 jobs in Nord.
As of 1 November 2014 the internationally experienced manager Neela Montgomery will join the Executive Board of the retail and services company Otto Group, with responsibility for Multichannel Retail.
One of Europe’s biggest warehousing logistics sites is about to get even bigger. The Otto Group is set to make an investment in the mid-double-digit millions in the Haldensleben facility, thus creating more than 350 new jobs. Today the Hermes Fulfilment-operated logistics centre already picks and dispatches up to 300,000 parcels daily.
Today, leading home furnishings retailer Crate and Barrel announces a change in its top leadership. Following the recent resignation of CEO Sascha Bopp, the company’s COO and CFO Adrian Mitchell has assumed interim leadership of the company.
In the 2013/14 financial year now closed (as at 28 February) the Otto Group increased its turnover in line with planning to EUR 12 billion and achieved a clear improvement in earnings. EBIT improved by 1.5 per cent to reach EUR 392 million, with profit for the year rising by a strong 23 per cent to EUR 179 million. Thanks to numerous strategic initiatives and technology investments the internationally active group of companies continues to expand its position as the world’s second-largest online retailer.
Preliminary figures of the Otto Group for the 2013/14 financial year
2,900 children will get a chance at education with the ceremonial opening of six schools in Zambia. The schools are the result of a social project to promote educational infrastructure in Zambia the Otto Group launched in cooperation with the Aid by Trade Foundation in July 2011.
In the past financial year the Otto Group generated online turnover of over 6 billion euros worldwide according to initial forecasts, some 400 million more than in the previous year. Through its ‘Mobil First’ initiative the retail and services group intends to benefit from the growing trend towards smartphones and tablets and to generate half of its online traffic via these mobile terminals by 2016.
Dr Timm Homann, Member of the Executive Board, Multichannel Retail Otto Group, is to leave the globally active retail and services group at his own wish to take up a new professional challenge.
Christmastime is parceltime. Customers buying presents from Otto Group companies can order with a good environmental conscience: in the current financial year the Group’s logistics-services provider Hermes has once again reduced CO2 emissions per Otto Group delivery by some 1.6 per cent compared to the previous year − a total reduction of around 5,800 tonnes. The Group thus continues to make successful progress in CO2 emissions reduction, as this represents a notable reduction of 21.1 per cent compared to the 2011/12 financial year.
Ahmet Erten is appointed as new General Manager of Limango Turkey. Together with Umur Özkal, General Manager of OGLI, he is responsible for the activities of the Otto Group in Turkey. Gulfem Toygar, founder and the CEO of Limango Turkey, arabulvar and OGLI, decided to follow a different carrier opportunity.
After the board of directors of the 3SI group has accepted the offer of the Otto Group, to completely takeover the BtoC e-commerce and the service activities, a new organisation will take effect on 1st January 2014. Denis Terrien will become Chairman of the new 3SI Holding SAS. Paul Nijhof is announced as the CEO of the BtoC activities.
Axel Springer AG is engaging in Project A Ventures with 30 million euros. The company specializes in funding and establishing start-ups in the fields of internet, mobile and online advertising technologies. Project A Ventures was founded in January 2012 by its managing directors Florian Heinemann, Uwe Horstmann, Thies Sander and Christian Weiss in cooperation with the Otto Group. The Otto Group remains the leading investor with 50 million euros of committed capital.
The Otto Group can completely take over the BtoC e-commerce and the service activities of the French Groupe 3SI. The employees of the companies concerned agreed to the offer, so that the Board of Directors of the French e-commerce and services group gave green light for the takeover bid. The new organization will take effect on 1 January 2014.
In just seven years, the Otto Group has developed from being a newcomer to the market leader in the Russian distance retail. To maintain this strong position the worldwide-operating trade and services group plans to invest in addition 50 million euros in Russia. The focus is mainly in the development of logistics services. About 700 new jobs will thus be created.
Die Otto Group hat die Zertifizierung ihres betrieblichen Gesundheitsmanagements aktiv.net nach dem Regelwerk ISO 9001:2008 erfolgreich bestanden. Der Qualitätsnachweis gilt für die Umsetzung von Dienstleistungen in den Bereichen Arbeitssicherheit, Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialberatung und Gesundheitsförderung. Die Otto Group ist damit der erste deutsche Handelskonzern, dessen betriebliches Gesundheitsmanagement nach der weltweit anerkannten Norm zertifiziert wurde.
The Otto Group aims to fully acquire the BtoC e-commerce and services activities of 3SI Group and has therefore submitted a take-over bid. The objective is to further support the new step of BtoC development through a simplified shareholder structure and to lead them into a successful future as e-driven companies.
With immediate effect, the Otto Group has taken over the Hamburg-based NetImpact and Creative-Task digital service agencies. The entire team headed by Managing Directors Tarek Müller and Sebastian Betz will be supporting the world’s largest online retailer for fashion and lifestyle in the development of new e-commerce business models.
Project FOKUS plans to lead the OTTO, Baur and Schwab brands into a sustainably successful future. All three companies will also continue to operate independently in the market in future too, but will clearly benefit from synergies. To achieve this, as a first step the brands’ profiles are to be significantly sharpened and key investments for the future made. In line with the strategic orientation, the new organisational structures have now also been negotiated and agreed between employer and employee representatives.
The Otto Group is one of the supporters of the Building and Fire Protection Agreement developed by the worldwide trade union associations IndustriALL and UNI, the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), the Workers’ Rights Consortium (WRC) and the national trade unions in Bangladesh.
The Otto Group closed the 2012/13 financial year (as at 28 February) with moderate growth and a clearly improved profit result. The Group’s turnover rose by 1.6 per cent to reach 11.8 billion euros, while profit (EBIT) rose by 50 per cent to 388 million euros.
With FOKUS, last year the Otto Group launched one of the most important future-orientated projects in recent years. Negotiations between employee and employer representatives on the balance of interests and the social plan are now almost concluded. It already seems likely that the remaining number of full-time jobs to be shed will probably be less than half of the 700 originally announced.
The former retail platform quelle.de is relaunching as an online shop with a reengineered business model as of 2 May 2013. The focus will remain on the Consumer Electronics and Living assortments.
The Group aims to continue to benefit from the dynamic development of online retail and plans to invest some 300 million euros by 2015. On the one hand the Group aims to drive the development of promising start-ups, and on the other hand to further develop its existing multichannel retailers.
In the 2012/13 financial year (to 28 February 2013), according to preliminary calculations the Otto Group, Hamburg, increased its turnover by 1.7 per cent from 11.6 billion to 11.8 billion euros. “In a fiercely competitive global environment, the Otto Group had a successful year. The Group saw a twin benefit from the dynamic development of e-commerce: both the Group’s online retail turnovers as well as turnover in the Financial Services and Service business segments grew above average. Development in Russia was very positive, where market-leader Otto Group Russia once again achieved a double-digit turnover increase.
The Otto Group processes over 125 million deliveries annually for its customers through the Group’s own logistics service provider, Hermes. About 40 per cent of this is delivered as parcels. Now, the internationally active retail and service group has optimised the size of its boxes: this reduces the transport volume in the delivery of goods ordered from companies in the Otto Group by more than 500 truckloads per year. The benefit for the environment and efficiency means that some 170 tonnes of CO2 emissions can be eliminated.
The results of the ‘Stressreport 2012’ presented on 29 January, 2013 in Berlin reveal that an increasing number of employees are suffering from stress in the workplace. The Otto Group has already been investing for years in a long-term operational health-management system, in order to identify stress-related illnesses among employees in good time and to implement preventative measures.
Mobile recruiting is on the rise bringing with it an increase in mobile job searches. In-line with this latest trend, the Otto Group’s mobile career portal m.ottogroup.com/careers is now even easier to use, more informative and features many practical tools for job seekers. The smartphone versions of the Otto Group’s and multichannel retailer OTTO’s corporate websites have also been given a complete new makeover.
The Otto Group and the Aid by Trade Foundation launched a project in 2011 to support school infrastructure in Zambia. Now, locations for nine planned schools are settled and the expansion of the largest school is almost complete. Construction of additional schools has begun. OTTO supports this action before Christmas with an appeal for donations to the construction of a well.
The Otto Group has acquired the rights in the Neckermann.de GmbH insolvency proceedings to the Neckermann.de brand and its own brands in Germany. The trademark rights thus acquired include the use of the German brands, logos and Internet domains.
The Otto Group, a trading and services group based in Hamburg, is utilising the current attractive capital-market environment to issue an additional bond today with a nominal volume of 300 million euros. The bond has a maturity of seven years and a coupon of 3.875 percent. This bond issue represents a further milestone in the Otto Group’s long-term finance strategy.
From a position of strength the Otto Group is investing in the further development of the OTTO, Baur and Schwab brands with its future-orientated Project FOKUS. The current status of the project shows clearly what shape the future brand profiles, investments and organisational structures will take.
The online marketplace quelle.de with assortments from external brands and retailers undergoes a strategic reorganisation. Modelling the successful example of Quelle in Austria, Switzerland and Russia, quelle.de reboots as an attractive source of brand-name electronics and home-furnishing goods with its own product assortments.
The Otto Group distances itself from the move towards introducing a standard software package for the entire Group. Instead, all companies in the Otto Group will now plan and implement their own IT solutions.
On 1 October 2012 Benjamin Otto assumes responsibility as Chief Executive Officer for a new Otto Group start-up in the e-commerce sector. The entrepreneur becomes the third generation of the Otto family to join the executive management circle of the family-owned Group.
Retail commerce via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs is booming. At the Otto Group the number of website visits in Germany has trebled within a year, with gross turnover levels growing even more strongly, almost quadrupling. The leader in mobile commerce is the USA: at Crate and Barrel, an Otto Group company, nearly one in every four customers now browses the online shop using a mobile device.
Otto Group invests in core business, e-commerce and high-growth world markets
Otto Group, the international retail and services company, has given its Executive Board a new and clear allocation of executive functions. The goal is consistent separation of responsibility for the Group and for the company OTTO. Taking effect on August 1, 2012, the responsibilities of the Otto Group Board Members Dr Rainer Hillebrand, Alexander Birken and Dr Michael Heller will therefore change. In order to emphasise the autonomy and significance of OTTO's core business, a Management Board will be nominated below the Group Executive Board and will focus exclusively on the fortunes of the company OTTO.
The Otto Group has appointed home-shopping sector and Russia expert Martin Schierer as Chief Executive Officer for Otto Group Russia’s management team. Former CEO Josef Teeken leaves the Russian Group company for personal reasons.
Healthy, motivated and highly capable employees constitute the greatest potential in the German economy – and also the greatest challenge. With its ‘Health Index’, OTTO, the Hamburg-based mail order company, has created a new instrument that is unique nationwide in Germany. This index enables weak spots to be identified in the health promotion programme and preventive measures to be taken. This can raise the efficiency and wellbeing of employees at work and effectively reduce absenteeism. In the results now available for 2012, OTTO has achieved an above-average index value of 63.
The Otto Group has founded a joint company with the Brazilian mail order company Posthaus to drive forward the e-commerce business in the South American country. The Group subsidiaries Bonprix and Arqueonautas are spearheading the campaign. At the same time, the Web-enabling provider NexTec is starting up in Brazil to support retailers in their entry to the Brazilian e-commerce marketplace. The Otto Group is now active in Brazil with all three of its business segments, Multichannel Retail, Services and Financial Services.
The Otto Group exchanges all conventional external lighting at its headquarters in Hamburg for energy-saving LED lighting technology.
Preliminary figures of the Otto Group for the financial year 2011/2012
As of April, on Wednesdays the Otto Group’s Kochwerk canteen staff is to offer special climate-friendly dishes for lunch at three of the Group headquarters’ company canteens in Hamburg-Bramfeld and at bonprix. Known as Project Climate Dish, this joint venture between the Otto Group and Greenflux e.V. was initiated by Hamburg university students and doctoral candidates. The project supports the Group’s overall objective of reducing CO2 emissions in all of the company’s core processes, instead of simply compensating for it.
To coincide with OTTO Austria’s 20th anniversary this year, the Otto Group is issuing a EUR 150m corporate bond that will be placed on the Vienna Stock Exchange’s Third Market. The organisation’s controlling company, Otto (GmbH & Co KG), Hamburg, is the issuer.
The Otto Group is investing in innovative payment services. With the Yapital brand, consumers will be able to make payments easily and securely from next year.
A top quality career website, easy online application options, and cutting-edge social media and mobile communication – the Otto Group is one of the best companies for online communication in Germany. A Germany-wide comparison of the renowned Potentialpark Ranking reveals the company from Hamburg to be No. 3 in digital communication with applicants. In order to continue to meet optimally the requirements of modern recruitment in the future, the Otto Group is giving its career portal a new look from February 13th.
The Otto Group supports the ‘Hamburg Stands Up!’ campaign as the main sponsor. Events against right-wing extremism and misanthropy will take place from March 16 to 24 during the ‘International Weeks Against Racism’.
As of now, customers in Hamburg can order medication and healthcare products easily over the Internet at www.vitabote.de – and receive delivery in just a few hours from their local pharmacy. This service is unique in Germany at present.
The retail sector aims to eliminate several million tonnes of CO2 emissions from the international supply chain. The Carbon Performance Improvement Initiative (CPI2), to which eight large German retail companies and brand manufacturers including the Otto Group belong, has developed a management tool for CO2 reduction at suppliers. As a Founding Member of the Initiative, the Otto Group is thus once again among the thought-leaders in global climate protection.
The Otto Group is exploring new ways to advertise for staff. Job advertisements can be published on the ideal means of communication with a recommendation tool especially developed for recruitment in collaboration with the softgarden e-recruitment specialists. It simplifies recruiting and makes the search for staff more efficient.