The Otto Group achieved a 1.5 percent increase in its total revenues in the financial year ended Feb. 28, breaking the €10 billion hurdle and reaching a level of €10.1 billion. The management did not give any specific figures for the group’s profitability, but said it was clearly higher than the year before.
Its sales in Germany grew by 6.8 percent to nearly €5.8 billion, whereas the rest of the world recorded a 4.9 percent decline to around €4.3 billion. In particular, sales in other European countries fell by 5.7 percent to €3.1 billion, but those in Russia grew by 126 percent to €183 million. Sales dropped by 2.2 percent in North America and by 4.9 percent in Asia.
The group sells sporting goods in different ways, including the SportScheck chain of stores and a variety of online platforms and mail-order catalogs. SportScheck increased its turnover by 4.8 percent to €277 million before VAT last year.
Otto claims to be the world’s largest distance retailer overall and the biggest online retailer after Amazon. Conducted through otto.de and more than 50 other internet platforms, the group’s online sales increased last year by 22 percent to €3.63 billion, representing 41 percent of its total retail sales. The number of company-owned websites has been growing, one of the latest being Mirapodo, a new e-commerce operation for footwear.
The company points to a recent survey conducted by GfK among 10,000 private German internet users, which shows that the otto.de web shop enjoys first place in the growing market for fashion products and home furnishings sold online, with a share of 13.6 percent in 2009. It is also in a top position in sporting goods, with a share of 8.2 percent in the online market, excluding eBay. This may or may not include purchases made directly from SportScheck or from hosted websites such as fahrrad.de.
