The Otto Group as a business

Integrity, credibility and trustworthiness are values that are very important to me personally. I also consider social commitment, environmental protection and fair cooperation to be fundamental pillars of our society. With regard to the Otto Group, these values are reflected in our business activities. The Otto Group stands for tradition, continuity and responsible entrepreneurship. “Responsible commerce that inspires” is the shareholders' mission. I consider these values to be the best imaginable basis for any company, especially when it comes to the question of how to shape lasting change. At the same time, it is essential to question existing methods and replace them with new ones where applicable, to drive innovation and permanently improve the present. It is this continuity of change which has become the core quality of our company; it drives our corporate culture and we will stay faithful to it.

India and China are and will remain the major growth markets, both for us, as well as being driven by our platform business. This is why we are involved in joint ventures and business cooperations. But the European single market will certainly become more interesting in the future.

We are the number two in European end-customer online retail after Amazon, are gaining market share like them and are also managing our growth in this area based on economic criteria. We are increasingly focusing on the intrinsic values of the products, and on partner and distribution channels, which is one way we differ from so many of our competitors. What drives us, rather, is to reach as many people as possible with our selling proposition and to satisfy them. The Otto Group sees itself first and foremost as a retailer with personal customer service.

The catalog business now only plays a marginal role. Alongside mail order, over-the-counter retail is an important mainstay for us, which we will expand in the medium term. After all, over-the-counter is the dominant sales channel for the retail sector, by a long shot. We are looking particularly for concepts we can use internationally and which are multichannel-ready.

We focused earlier and much more strongly on the Internet and on internationalisation, and we appealed to different customer groups with our various company brands. All of this gives us greater stability. The other important thing was that we always had a high degree of continuity in our management.

Entrepreneurs, in my view, should not only think of their own freedom, but they must also be conscious of their responsibility towards society and for the environment. If we want to work sustainably, we not only need determination, but also the entrepreneurial freedom to think of the long term. However, listed companies in an age of “shareholder value” are often under pressure to think and act only for the short term. I think family companies have a clear advantage here.

We have sound financial resources. Our activities center on the customer, because it’s their wishes we want to fulfil. Therefore, on the one hand our focus is on a high degree of continuity, and on the other also on progress and change. This starts with very specialized and creative product ranges in the growing e-commerce sector. But it stands and falls for us with the service which we offer in our group, and which we continuously optimize.

Even though we now operate with 30 major business groups in Germany, Europe and the USA, the Otto Group is still a family business. Power is not what we emphasise. We think that responsible economic activity is more important. Of course, we have to turn a profit. However, I think that the long-term increase of business value is more important than short-term profit. That’s why I pay a lot of attention to the sustainable development of my company, which means striking a balance between economic, environmental and social interests. And an adherence to values.

I don’t see any conflict here at all. As a businessman, I stand for particular values. What matters to me is that the economy must serve the common good – not the other way round. This is why I think that adhering to defined environmental and social standards is particularly important. We ensure that as we import merchandising goods, we also implement environmental and social standards with our suppliers at the same time. Our customers increasingly demand these values – and that’s why maintaining these standards is a prerequisite for sustainable growth.

Our employees are really the bedrock of entrepreneurial success. This is nothing new, although currently it is a highly relevant topic. The whole German economy is desperately hunting for good specialist and managerial staff. In addition, we also have to be more active than before in looking after three groups of staff. First, we have to ensure that well-qualified women can strike a balance between leadership roles and bearing children. Second, we must pay more attention to the integration of employees with immigrant backgrounds. And third, due to demographic changes, we have to retain older members of staff for longer in the employment process and create a smart symbiosis between the strengths of younger and older people.