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The Interview
Albert Sch founder of mysportgr
mysportgroup raises €13.5m from Nauta Capital, Cipio Partners and Boost & Co.
mysportgroup was founded in early 2010 by Albert Schwarzmeier and Erik Pfannmöller. Erik was active for years in the German national canoe slalom team and was able to win three world titles in kayak. Albert is an experienced e-commerce founder, avid skier and also an enthusiastic sportsman like Erik.
Q
Can you give an overview of mysportgroup and its
organisational structure?
mysportgroup GmbH operates on a dual strategy: on the one hand we run the online shop mysportworld, which is full-price, highly service oriented and addressed to the quality-conscious buyers in the sports and outdoor segment. On the other hand we run the shopping club mysportbrands that appeals to the budget-conscious, smart shoppers with its great value for money position. Within a very short timeframe of 1.5 years, our shopping club mysportbrands became the No. 1 shopping club in Sports in the German and Austrian market.
Because of that, we pursue a hybrid model. Both platforms complement excellently and enable synergies for all involved parties. If you have a look on the revenues of mysportgroup, it becomes clear why our twoplatform-strategy is so successful: we grew over 800% in 2011 and are on a two digit million run rate in September 2012. Almost a third of our customers use both platforms and this proportion is in continuous growth.
Q
What are the main areas of mysportgroup’s expertise?
mysportgroup is specialized with both shops, mysportworld and mysportbrands, in the areas of sports and outdoor activities. Our pure passion and our outstanding e-commerce experience are set in these projects. Erik, for example, has been active for years in the National Canoe Slalom Team, winning the World Championships in kayak singles in three years. I am a passionate skier. Before I founded mysportgroup I set up the procurement controlling system for Zalando and was managing director for Citydeal in Germany/Austria until it merged with Groupon. Due to our dual positioning in the market we can also enjoy various synergies. According to an independent study by the German Institute for Service Quality, mysportbrands is offering its members “the best shopping conditions” compared to all other shopping clubs in Germany. Furthermore, the premium online shop mysportworld has received awards several times during the recent months; e.g. mysportworld received the “Best Pure Online Player” award of the Internet World Business.
According to Google page speed, mysportworld is the fastest e-commerce sports shop in Europe, overtaking Zalando, Sportscheck, Wiggle and others. Next to a full range of sport products, clients benefit from a free and fast delivery within 24 hours, as well as from a 111-day money back guarantee, the longest and therefore most customer oriented policy for returning goods in the sports retailing sector in Europe.
But this is far away from being satisfying for us! There are always new ways of how to meet the customer’s wishes and needs. For a young, smart and dynamic company like mysportgroup, there’s obviously still a lot in mind for the future.
other investors. How does this fit into mysportgroup’s strategy?
Q
As previously mentioned, further growth of mysportgroup is the natural aim after our strong development in the last two years. I have a clear vision: we strive to be the No. 1 European e-commerce sports player through
You recently raised €13.5m from Nauta Capital, Cipio Partners and
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