We visited Internetstores in Stuttgart.
Internetstores welcomed us to their headquarter in the heart of Stuttgart, and also gave us a tour at their logistics center in Esslingen.
Check out the interview and have a glance at their office.
Thanks for having us. Would you tell us more about the idea that’s evolved into Internetstores?
We’re proud to say that we’re Europe’s leading multi-channel supplier for bike and outdoor with around 40 online specialist shops across 14 countries, including fahrrad.de, Brügelmann, Bikester, ProBikeShop, Campz and Addnature.
Our team provides customers with a comprehensive range of products aimed at recreational athletes and pros alike. Bike and outdoor fans will find exactly what they need from a selection of more than 900 brands and 100,000 products.
They’ll also benefit from expert advice provided across all channels. In addition to bike and outdoor brands of partners, the range also includes our exclusive own brands such as Ortler, Serious, Fixie Inc. and Votec.
Our multi-channel strategy means that we’re exactly where our customers want us to be: online, in store or even at home.
Your Business
When was your company established and what is Internetstores’ core business?
The father of our founder René Köhler, Rolf Köhler, was a long-established bicycle retailer in Stuttgart. He ran a classic bicycle shop in a typical specialist location just outside the city centre.
That’s where his son got in about 15 years ago and started selling bikes on Ebay. This went so well that father and son decided to buy the URL fahrrad.de together.
The entire Internetstores group has gradually grown out of this.
After Rolf Köhler unfortunately died much too early, the shop was closed. Today, our new store in Stuttgart is exactly the same property in which Köhler Senior used to have his bicycle shop for over 20 years.
In which countries you are active?
We operate around 40 online specialist shops across 14 countries, including fahrrad.de, Brügelmann, Bikester, ProBikeShop, Campz and Addnature.
Where do you see your company in five years?
Our goal is to be the most trusted partner for bike and outdoor customers in Europe. Having grown around 20% on a yearly basis with significant profitability we are confident to achieve this within the next 5 years.
Are you using Venture Capital? And if – who are your Venture Partners?
Internetstores is a strategic investment of SIGNA Sports United. SIGNA Sports United is Continental Europe’s leading sports E-commerce platform, operating around 80 webshops in 17 countries across the fast-growing categories of bike, tennis, outdoor, team sports & athleisure.
Your Team
How many employees work at your company at the moment? Are you planning to expand?
We currently employ around 800 people in Stuttgart, Berlin, Lyon and Stockholm. Due to our rapid growth we’re always looking for talented people. Take a look at our open positions!
What’s the average age of your team members?
Currently the average age is approx. 33 years.
What kind of attitude should new employees bring, in order to work at your company?
We are looking for new colleagues that want to create an impact and are willing to put forward their best effort to get more people on bikes every day and enable everyone to explore the great outdoors.
“We want to make fans, not customers”
That’s why a customer centric view on things is very important for us. Interest in the topics bike and outdoor is always appreciated for sure. From development to logistics, athletics are in our DNA.
How does your recruitment process look like?
Our application processes are as individual as the exciting positions we offer 🙂
Why is it fun to work at your company? Do you offer any employee benefits?
We’re offering a future-proof, varied job with plenty of scope for creativity.
At Internetstores, you’ll work with people from all over the world, with diverse professional backgrounds and personalities, who share the common goal of making our company as successful as possible.
We welcome every new addition to the team with open arms, so it’s therefore very important to us to offer every new colleague a varied job as well as a comfortable professional home with a great atmosphere.
Of course, we also offer great benefits: employee discounts on our complete product range, great deals on a wide range of sports activities and discounted public transport.
Your Office
Where is your office located, and how big is it?
The space of our headquarter in the center of Stuttgart is 2.200 square meters spread over 2 floors. We are located directly next to the Stuttgart central station so easily accessible via public transport.
Did you get help from an interior designer to design your office?
The design our headquarter in Stuttgart was created by Internetstores staff in cooperation with external interior designers.
What is special about your office?
It all started amongst the vineyards of Baden-Württemberg and that’s exactly where Internetstores’ headquarters has stayed. All strategic decisions are made from central Stuttgart.
This is the beating heart of the company, especially in a technical respect – all our online shops are planned, designed and maintained from here.
Thank you Internetstores team for the interview and photoshoot!
Location: Stuttgart, Germany Website: Internetstores
Photos: Andreas Lukoschek