Frank Hasselmann is Managing Director of Galaxus Deutschland
Swiss online department store Galaxus is expanding to Germany this year. Frank Hasselmann has recently joined the daughter company, Galaxus Deutschland, as Managing Director. He and his team are working at full steam towards the launch of Galaxus.de.
Frank Hasselmann has been appointed Managing Director of Galaxus Deutschland. Bremen-born Frank is moving from the international industrial group Linde to the Swiss online retailer. He spent the last five years in a managing position at Linde. In his last role as Head of Retail for Central Europe, he was responsible for the development of the trading business.
«We are pleased to have Frank on board as Managing Director of our German start-up,» says Florian Teuteberg, CEO of Digitec Galaxus AG. «His know-how of business set-up and expansion, trade and digitalisation as well has his engaging personality perfectly match our growth plans for Germany.»
Website and logistics approaching the finishing line
Meanwhile, the largest Swiss online retailer’s expansion to Germany is coming on in leaps and bounds: Establishing office and logistics infrastructure and recruiting the team are well advanced. «In just a few weeks, we will be moving into our headquarters in the Hamburger district Ottensen – and then the countdown is on,» says Frank Hasselmann. He adds that the website is almost fully ready for the launch, too.
Frank Hasselmann studied Business Administration and Philosophy in Tübingen and at Yale University. He launched his career as a business consultant at A.T. Kearney and McKinsey & Company, focusing on mobile communications, consumer electronics and IT. The 39-year old is married and father of three.
Q&A: Frank answers the most pressing questions
When will German customers be able to shop at Galaxus.de?
Frank Hasselmann: There’s no exact start date just yet. But it won’t be long now: The webshop is almost complete and we’re currently working on fine-tuning the supply chain. It will all be ready around the end of the year. This is when we’ll be starting off with a manageable electronics range. Bit by bit, we will then add further product segments to our online department store. Although we have ambitious plans for the German market, we want to start off small and use this first step to understand what German customers think of our range.
How will Galaxus outperform its competitors in Germany?
Our customers are never alone when they shop with us. We help them find the product that is right for them. Although this may sound mundane, this kind of service is practically inexistent on the German online market and customers are flooded with products. Galaxus, on the other hand, is more like a product search engine with clever filters and comparison tools: Our experts focus on articles that suit our customers – with personalised recommendations or interesting daily deals, for example. What’s more, our editorial team provides ubiased test reports, guides and reports from trade fairs, thereby creating an informative and inspiring shopping experience. So it’s no surprise that we have the most active shopping community in Switzerland: 70 per cent of all technical questions are answered by our Community within three hours. That’s over 10,000 questions and answers a month on a market that is relatively small, after all. And then there’s our multilingualism: German-, English-, French- and Italian-speaking customers will enjoy Galaxus.de. My personal goal is to become Germany’s liveliest online department store.
Will Galaxus have a warehouse in Germany?
Yes, we'll be supplying customers straight from our own warehouse. Stay tuned for more information in the next few weeks.
What will Galaxus’ pricing strategy be?
We will position ourselves similarly to Galaxus in Switzerland. In other words, neck and neck with relevant competitors. However, as we’ll be purchasing our range directly from retailers and manufacturers in Germany, there will be price differences to our Swiss shop.
Will Swiss customers benefit from the expansion to Germany?
Absolutely. German retailers will be able to export their ranges to Switzerland via our EU hub in Weil am Rhein. This means that Swiss customers will have access to an even wider range and lower prices.
Will Galaxus.de be launched with a marketplace feature?
Not initially. We will be starting with our very own range. In future, however, we will open up to external providers – as is already the case in Switzerland.
Images for free use
Managing Director for Germany, Frank Hasselmann:
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Digitec Galaxus headquarters in Zurich:
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Contact for media representatives
Digitec Galaxus AG
Corporate Communications
Pfingstweidstrasse 60, CH-8005 Zurich
Phone: +41 44 575 96 96
E-mail: media@digitecgalaxus.ch
Internet: digitec.ch galaxus.ch
At Digitec and Galaxus, I’m in charge of communication with journalists and bloggers. Good stories are my passion – I am always up to date.