With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.
I was surprised to learn that the world's second largest e-commerce company, behind Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), is Germany's Otto Group. I interviewed Thomas Voigt, Vice President Corporate Communications for the Otto Group, who said, "The Otto Group companies focused on multichannel sales at an early stage and added E-Commerce to their traditional mail-order operations, in order to plan for the future."
Voigt described Otto Group's e-commerce history as follows. "For example, as far back as 1995, the individual company, OTTO, went online with its range of products at www.otto.de. Since then, it has consistently extended its leading position and is now transferring its long-standing experience to new business models."
He continued, "In 2000, the Otto Group founded discount24.de, travelchannel.de, Obi@Otto, and has a share in myToys.de. www.otto-office.com is going online. For the first time, it is possible to place orders from mobile phones using WAP technology. The Otto Group is now the second largest B2C online retailer in the world, after Amazon."
And Otto Group is not standing still. According to Voigt, "Two current examples of the innovative strength of the Otto Group in E-Commerce are the foundation of the group's own shopping community, www.smatch.com in 2007 and the take-over of the private shopping community limango at the beginning of 2009."
And e-commerce is a significant money maker for Otto Group. As Voigt said, "E-Commerce is a significant growth driver of the Otto Group. Online demand increased in the fiscal year March 1, 2007, to February 29, 2008, by 26% to €5.1 billion. In the current fiscal year, the Otto Group will again achieve significant double-digit growth in E-Commerce."
Otto Group is the biggest e-commerce company I had never heard of. But thanks to Voigt, I learned something new.
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.
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