Otto GmbH
Encyclopedia
The Otto group, or Otto (GmbH & Co KG) (formerly Otto Versand), is the world's largest mail order
company, operating in more than 20 countries. The family of executive board chairman Michael Otto
owns the majority of the company. The company is based in Hamburg
, Germany
. Founded by Werner Otto in 1950.
They were the former owners of Spiegel, Inc., (the parent company of Eddie Bauer
and former owners of Spiegel catalog), which filed for bankruptcy on March 17, 2003. On May 25, 2005, Spiegel, Inc., emerged from bankruptcy renamed Eddie Bauer Holdings and was primarily owned by Commerzbank
.
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
company, operating in more than 20 countries. The family of executive board chairman Michael Otto
Michael Otto
Michael Otto , is the head of German Otto Group, the world's largest mail order company, with US$24 billion in sales in fiscal year 2003...
owns the majority of the company. The company is based in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Founded by Werner Otto in 1950.
They were the former owners of Spiegel, Inc., (the parent company of Eddie Bauer
Eddie Bauer
Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. is a holding company that operates the Eddie Bauer clothing store chain, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, United States. EBH was formed after Eddie Bauer's former parent company, Spiegel, Inc., went bankrupt in 2003...
and former owners of Spiegel catalog), which filed for bankruptcy on March 17, 2003. On May 25, 2005, Spiegel, Inc., emerged from bankruptcy renamed Eddie Bauer Holdings and was primarily owned by Commerzbank
Commerzbank
Commerzbank AG is the second-largest bank in Germany, after Deutsche Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main.-Activities:Commerzbank is mainly active in commercial bank, retail banking and mortgaging. It suffered reversals in investment banking in early 2000s and scaled back its Securities unit...
.
Subsidiaries
Individual companies of the Otto Group:- Alba Moda
- Baumarkt Direct
- Baur
- bonprix
- Crate and BarrelCrate and BarrelCrate & Barrel is a 170+ store chain of American retail stores, based in Northbrook, Illinois, specializing in housewares, furniture , and home accessories. Its corporate name is Euromarket Designs, Inc. The company is wholly owned by Otto GmbH.-Founding:Gordon and Carole Segal opened the first...
(100%) - EOS
- Frankonia
- Freemans Grattan Holdings
- FreemansFreemansFreemans is a British catalogue clothing retailer.Freemans was founded in 1904 with four staff, and acquired by Otto GmbH in 1999. In 2000 its administrative department was merged with Grattan plc, under the banner of Otto UK....
- GrattanGrattan plcGrattan is a British catalogue clothing retailer based in Bradford, UK with 18 stores and 2 main catalogues and a number of specialty catalogues. Grattan has approximately 2,600 employees....
- KaleidoscopeKaleidoscope (retailer)Kaleidoscope is a catalogue and online based retailer specialising in women’s fashion and accessories, but also stocking homewear and electricals...
- Oli
- Freemans
- Hanseatic Bank (25%)
- Hanseatic Versicherungsdienst
- Hansecontrol
- Hansecontrol-Cert (49%)
- Heine
- Hermes Europe
- Hermes-OTTO International
- Küche&Co
- Lascana
- Limango
- ManufactumManufactumManufactum GmbH & Co. KG is a German retailer with nine full-sized stores in Germany and an online store that serves primarily Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the UK. The main focus of the company are household and garden goods made with traditional manufacturing methods and materials...
- Mirapodo
- MyToys.de (74.8%)
- OFT
- OTTO
- OTTO Doosan Mail Order
- OTTO Group Russia
- OTTO Japan
- Eddie BauerEddie BauerEddie Bauer Holdings Inc. is a holding company that operates the Eddie Bauer clothing store chain, headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, United States. EBH was formed after Eddie Bauer's former parent company, Spiegel, Inc., went bankrupt in 2003...
Japan
- Eddie Bauer
- OTTO Office
- Phi-t products & services (50%)
- Schwab
- Shopping24
- Smatch.com
- SportScheck
- 3 Suisses3 Suisses3 Suisses is a French mail order company. Otto GmbH has owned a 51% stake in the company since 1981. In 1987, 3 Suisses and L'Oréal founded Le Club des Créateurs de Beauté specializing in mail order sales of cosmetic products....
International Group (51%)- CofidisCofidisCofidis is a French company, one of the Otto Group's financial services providers.Founded in 1982 by 3 Suisses International in cooperation with Cetelem, Cofidis specializes in the consumer credit business of the 3 Suisses Group....
(49%) - VencaVencaVenca is a spanish trademark within the textile industry, CIFDSA, which belongs to 3 Suisses International, specialising in mail order in 14 different countries....
- Cofidis
- Witt WeidenWitt WeidenWitt Weiden is a mail-order house, located in Weiden, Germany.The company is a 100% subsidiary of the Otto Group.- History of Witt Weiden :Witt Weiden is the oldest mail-order house for clothes in Germany. The company was founded in 1907 by Josef Witt...
- Fegro/Selgros