Germany’s Otto is the second largest e-commerce company in Europe after Amazon. It has reported a 4.3 per cent rise in sales in 2015/16, which equals to 12.6 billion euros ($14.32 billion). The success was helped by the thriving online trade in its home market but was also held back by the instability it saw in France and Russia.
A family run mail order firm, Otto was established in 1949; later it stepped into online business and today runs more than 60 websites all round the globe. The sales have increased up to 6.5 per cent at 6.6 billion euros in the fiscal year to February 29 as reported by Reuters.
The company’s online growth was quite strong in Germany, it saw a rise upto 10 per cent at 4.4 billion euros. Its sales though fell in Russia at 35 per cent due to the weak rouble and was further down in France at 8.5 percent, where it is struggling with its troubled business.
Otto’s logistics business Hermes, which takes care of the deliveries for competitor e-commerce firms and players like Deutsche Post, saw a rise in its turnover at 16.6 per cent which accounts for 1.743 billion euros.
Otto Chief Executive Hans-Otto Schrader predicts a revenue growth for the group of 4 per cent towards FY2016/17, as well as an undefined advancement in profits.
