Digitec Galaxus AG[2] is the biggest online retailer in Switzerland.[3] The company is 70% owned by Migros and operates the Digitec and Galaxus online stores in Switzerland and neighboring EU countries. Galaxus is an online department store with a wide range of products, while Digitec specializes in IT and electronics. The company generated sales of 2.7 billion Swiss francs in 2023.

Digitec Galaxus AG
IndustryRetail
Founded8 May 2001
HeadquartersTechnopark Zürich, ,
Number of locations
10
Area served
Switzerland (2001), Germany (2018), Austria (2021), France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands (2023)
Key people
Florian Teuteberg (CEO, President of the board of directors)

Oliver Herren (CIO, board of directors) Martin Walthert (CMO) Thomas Fugmann (CFO) Michael Stolle (COO) Hendrik Blenken Blijdenstein (CPO) Stefan Mueller (CTO)

Rebekka Fricke (CPCO)
Services10 stores, telephone orders and online distribution
RevenueCHF 2.7 billion (2023)[1]
Number of employees
2350 (December 2020)
ParentMigros
WebsiteOfficial website Official website

History

edit

Digitec was launched in April 2001 by the three young entrepreneurs Oliver Nägeli (now Oliver Herren), Florian Teuteberg and Marcel Dobler under the name Nägeli Trading & Co.[4]

 
Galaxus shipping boxes

On 13 June 2005, they converted the company into an Aktiengesellschaft (corporation). The business then traded under the name Digitec AG until 2014.

Fast-forward to May 2012 and Digitec AG was taking its Galaxus e-commerce site online to expand its product range beyond consumer electronics. Extending their product line to include day-to-day items was the company's response to shrinking margins and meagre growth in the electronics trade.

In June 2012, Migros acquired a 30% share in Digitec for an estimated 42 million Swiss francs.[5][6] And since 2015, Migros has been a majority shareholder in Galaxus AG with a stake of 70%.[7][8][9]

On 2 September 2014, Digitec AG changed its name to Galaxus (Schweiz) AG. And on 28 July 2015, Digitec Galaxus AG was born, thereby making a clear link between the two brands digitec and Galaxus.

In April 2017, Digitec Galaxus AG started focusing on gamification, making it the first Swiss online retailer to do so.[10]

As of August 2017, Digitec Galaxus AG extended the time customers have to return products from 14 to 30 days.[11]

Meanwhile, September 2017 saw Digitec Galaxus AG decide to expand its warehouse.[12]

October 2017 marked a milestone for the company when it was announced Galaxus would be expanding to Germany in 2018. The exact launch date has not yet been confirmed.[13] This move ensures the company has access to the Digital Single Market.[14] If Digitec Galaxus AG has success in Germany, it intends to expand to other countries.[15]

In November 2017, the company launched a recommerce feature. This allows customers to resell products purchased from Digitec Galaxus products through Digitec Galaxus.[16]

In November 2018, Galaxus announced the launch of its German online shop galaxus.de.[17]

Digitec Galaxus offers a filter for sustainable products since 2020.[18][19]

 
Digitec Galaxus warehouse in Wohlen, Aargau, Switzerland

In November 2021, Galaxus expanded to Austria with galaxus.at.[20]

In 2022, a new warehouse with almost four times the storage area is to be opened at the logistics site in Krefeld.[21]

In 2023, the company entered the French, Italian, Belgian and Dutch markets.[22]

Since 2023, Digitec Galaxus has displayed the warranty and returns rate for all products in its range.[23]

In 2023, more than four million customers shopped at Digitec Galaxus, three million of them in Switzerland and one million in the EU.[24]

Since 2024, Galaxus and Digitec have indicated the radiation exposure of all smartphones.[25]

Revenue

edit

Tabular development of revenue in millions of Swiss francs.[26]

Year 2001 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Revenue 4 9 18 32 37 62 140 225 316 359 429 509 551 601 694 726 866 992 1146 1826 2122 2427 2744
 
Sales development Digitec Galaxus

Galaxus generated sales of 286 million euros in the EU in 2023.[27]

Product range

edit

The online department store Galaxus offers the full product range of Digitec Galaxus AG, while Digitec specializes in electronics.[28]

At the end of 2023, the Swiss product range of Digitec and Galaxus included around 6.3 million products.[29] As part of a marketplace model, external retailers have also been offering their products via Galaxus in Switzerland since 2016 and in Germany since 2023, and re-commerce is also offered.[30][31]

Digitec Galaxus offers a cell phone subscription for customers in Switzerland under the name Galaxus Mobile.[32]

Stores and collection options

edit
 
digitec shop Technopark Zürich

Digitec Galaxus AG has ten stores in German and French speaking parts of Switzerland. These stores act as showrooms, collection and return points for products as well as places to purchase and ask questions about them. Therefore, the company is not purely an online retailer. Digitec Galaxus AG follows an approach that is known as a multichannel or omnichannel strategy in the industry.

The company has stores in Basel, Bern, Dietikon, Geneva, Kriens, Lausanne, St. Gallen, Winterthur, Wohlen (AG) and Zurich.[33]

Logistics

edit
 
Storage space of Digitec Galaxus

From 2006 to 2009, Digitec Galaxus operated a warehouse in Kleindöttingen in the canton of Aargau,[34] and since 2009 Digitec Galaxus has operated a warehouse in Wohlen on the site of the former Ferrowohlen steelworks. A new, fully automated small parts warehouse went into operation there in 2020 and was expanded in 2023.[35] An EU hub in Weil am Rhein was put into operation at the end of April 2018.[36] Foreign consignments are collected and cleared through customs there fully automatically before being handed over to Swiss Post for delivery. In 2019, a warehouse for large products was put into operation in Dintikon.[37]

Galaxus has been operating a warehouse in Krefeld, Germany, since 2018. In 2023, the online retailer moved into a new warehouse at the same location with almost four times the storage space. The EU countries are supplied from Krefeld. In 2022, Galaxus employed around 100 people there.[38]

Digitec Galaxus plans to build a new distribution center on the former site of the Utzenstorf paper mill,[39] and is planning another warehouse in Rafz.[40] At the beginning of 2024, Digitec Galaxus announced that it would be opening a warehouse in Neuenburg am Rhein in southern Germany. The warehouse area is around 90,000 m². Commissioning will take place in stages between 2025 and 2028.

Delivery

edit

For shipping, Digitec Galaxus works with Swiss Post, among others, and products are delivered to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.[41] The second shipping partner in Switzerland is Planzer.[42] In the first quarter of 2024, the option was created to give preference to either Planzer or Swiss Post as a supplier.[43] The products in stock in the warehouse are shipped on the same day from Monday to Friday and generally arrive at the delivery address the next working day. The availability of each product can be viewed in real time.[38] Same-day delivery was introduced in the city of Zurich in 2020.[44] Same-day delivery was expanded to 60% of Swiss households by 2023.[45]

In the EU, DHL is Digitec Galaxus' shipping partner.

Digitec Galaxus has been offering its customers “slow delivery” since August 2022.[46]

Awards

edit
  • Digital Commerce Champion 2018[47]
  • Swiss Poster Award 2017 in the category "Commercial National"[48]
  • Digital Marketer of the Year 2018[49]
  • Swiss Marketing Society (GfM) marketing prize 2017[50]
  • Swiss E-Commerce Award 2017[51]
    • Galaxus: Swiss E-Commerce Champion 2017
    • Galaxus: Winner of the B2C - Home & Living category
    • Galaxus: Winner of the Curation, Social and Content Commerce category
  • Best of Swiss Web Award 2015: Swiss Web Award[52]
  • Third place in the SVC enterprise award 2011 for Zurich[53]
  • Swiss Economic Award 2008[54]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Digitec Galaxus wächst zweistellig" (in German). 20min.ch. 2024-01-11. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  2. ^ "Digitec Galaxus AG - Galaxus".
  3. ^ Sergio Aiolfi (2018-01-10), "Einkaufstourismus ist im Schweizer Detailhandel eine feste Grösse | NZZ", Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German), ISSN 0376-6829, retrieved 2018-01-10
  4. ^ "Digitec Galaxus AG - digitec".
  5. ^ "Bilanz: Digitec-Kauf durch Migros - 42 Millionen für die Gründer". Archived from the original on 2012-12-23. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  6. ^ Carpathia: Die Hintergründe zum Digitec-Migros-Deal: Das Interview mit der Geschäftsleitung
  7. ^ "Migros neuer Mehrheitsaktionär von Digitec und Galaxus - Berninghaus wird VRP". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 22 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Inside-IT: Migros steigt bei Digitec ein". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  9. ^ "Finanz und Wirtschaft Migros neuer Mehrheitsaktionär von Digitec und Galaxus". Archived from the original on 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2018-03-23.
  10. ^ "Digitec macht Kunden zu Gamern" (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  11. ^ "Digitec und Galaxus verdoppeln Rückgabefrist" (in German). 23 August 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  12. ^ www.20minuten.ch, 20 Minuten, 20 Min, www.20min.ch (20 September 2017), "Das Digitec-Lager macht sich selbstständig", 20 Minuten (in German), retrieved 2018-01-10{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Digitec Galaxus wagt Deutschland-Abenteuer". 20 Minuten (in German). 5 October 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  14. ^ "Geoblocking-Verbot: Online-Shopping ohne Grenzen auch bald in der Schweiz?". Luzerner Zeitung (in German). 10 December 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
  15. ^ awp/stric; galc (5 October 2017), "SRF News: Schritt nach Deutschland – Onlineshop Galaxus testet Chancen im Ausland", Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German), retrieved 2018-01-10{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Walter Oberli (2017-11-03), "Re-Commerce - Gebrauchte Produkte auf Digitec Galaxus wiederverkaufen | Carpathia Digital Business Blog", Carpathia: E-Business, E-Commerce, Cross-/Omni-Channel, Digital-Transformation Blog (in German), retrieved 2018-01-10
  17. ^ "Galaxus celebrates its launch in Germany". www.digitec.ch. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  18. ^ GmbH, Swiss IT Media. "Nachhaltigkeits-Filter bei Digitec Galaxus". Swiss IT Reseller (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  19. ^ evelinezumbuehl (2021-06-25). "Von Stammtisch-Diskussionen, Sneakers und Provokation – das Interview zum Nachhaltigkeitsfilter von Digitec Galaxus". IKM-Blog (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  20. ^ ""Treue Kundschaft aufbauen": Galaxus startet in Österreich - mit hohen Zielen". Neuhandeln.de by Versandhausberater - Der Online-Service für die Zukunft des Handels (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  21. ^ "E-Commerce : Schweizer Migros-Konzern will im deutschen Onlinehandel angreifen". www.handelsblatt.com (in German). Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  22. ^ "Nach Deutschland: Jetzt geht der Migros-Onlinehändler Digitec Galaxus auch nach Frankreich". Handelszeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  23. ^ "Digitec Galaxus verrät neu die Retouren-Quote bei Produkten und mehr". Watson (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  24. ^ "Zunahme in den EU-Märkten – Ein Viertel der Galaxus-Kunden bestellt aus dem Ausland". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 2024-01-23. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  25. ^ Computerworld.ch. "Digitec Galaxus gibt Strahlenbelastung bei allen Smartphones an". Computerworld.ch (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  26. ^ "Galaxus grew 13.1 per cent in 2023". Galaxus. 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  27. ^ "Migros-Onlinehändler Galaxus erzielt 2023 Rekordumsatz von 2,7 Milliarden Franken". Handelszeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  28. ^ "Online-Shops sind besser als Detailhändler". Handelszeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  29. ^ "Digitec Galaxus verdoppelt Sortiment innerhalb von zwei Jahren (fast) | Netzwoche". www.netzwoche.ch (in German). 2023-11-07. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  30. ^ "Qualipet spannt mit Galaxus zusammen". Handelszeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  31. ^ "Marktplatz-Start: Galaxus öffnet deutschen Shop für Handelspartner". Neuhandeln.de by Versandhausberater - Der Online-Service für die Zukunft des Handels (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  32. ^ Beyeler, Ralf. "Neue Handy-Abos von Galaxus Mobile im Test". www.moneyland.ch (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  33. ^ "Standorte - Galaxus" (in German). Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  34. ^ "20 Jahre digitec – eine Zeitreise in Zahlen". digitec (in German). 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  35. ^ "Onlinehandel unter Kostendruck - Jede Sekunde zählt: Wie Roboter Lagerangestellte antreiben". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  36. ^ "Digitec Galaxus vereinfacht Shopping im EU-Raum | Netzwoche". www.netzwoche.ch (in German). 2018-05-04. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  37. ^ "Digitec Galaxus eröffnet neues Lager für grosse Produkte". Galaxus (in German). 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  38. ^ Zeitung, Westdeutsche (2022-08-10). "Krefeld: Zweites Logistikzentrum startet - Galaxus will weiter wachsen". Westdeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  39. ^ moneycab (2020-01-29). "Digitec Galaxus und Post wollen in Utzenstorf zusammenspannen". Moneycab (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  40. ^ "Neues Center in Rafz – Digitec Galaxus will mit Megaprojekt 500 Arbeitsplätze schaffen". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). 2022-10-01. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  41. ^ Galaxus. "Lieferung und Abholung".
  42. ^ Kleinreport. "Planzer statt Post: Digitec Galaxus will bei Zustellung sparen".
  43. ^ GmbH, Swiss IT Media. "Digitec Galaxus lässt Kunden die Post anstelle von Planzer als Lieferanten bevorzugen". Swiss IT Magazine (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  44. ^ "Digitec Galaxus führt Expresslieferung ein". 20 Minuten (in German). 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  45. ^ "Kaum bestellt, schon da – Same-Day-Delivery im Aufwind". 20 Minuten (in German). 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  46. ^ Budimir-Bekan, Stefica (2022-11-06). "Schneckenpost auf Wunsch: Warum Galaxus auch mal langsam liefert". absatzwirtschaft (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  47. ^ "Galaxus ist «Digital Commerce Champion 2018»". www.galaxus.ch (in German). 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  48. ^ "Swiss Poster Award: Kampagne "Soziale Kontakte" ist Poster of the Year", Horizont (in German), retrieved 2018-03-23
  49. ^ Digitec Galaxus wird Digital Marketer of the Year 2018 – iab Switzerland (PDF) (in German), 2018-02-01, retrieved 2018-02-06
  50. ^ "Der GfM Marketingpreis 2017 geht an Digitec Galaxus AG - GfM – Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Marketing", GFM – Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Marketing (in German), 2017-10-31, retrieved 2018-01-10
  51. ^ Thomas Lang (2017-05-31), "Swiss E-Commerce Awards 2017: Galaxus.ch ist neuer Champion | Carpathia Digital Business Blog", Carpathia: E-Business, E-Commerce, Cross-/Omni-Channel, Digital-Transformation Blog (in German), retrieved 2018-01-10
  52. ^ "- Best of Swiss Web" (in German). Retrieved 2018-01-10.
  53. ^ Bekanntgabe SVC Unternehmerpreis Wirtschaftsraum Zürich 2011.
  54. ^ http://www.swisseconomic.ch/archiv/award/item/digitec-ag Archived 2012-09-18 at the Wayback Machine Porträtseite
edit