AO World plc will launch ao.de tomorrow. This is the new German
website of ao.com which will trade through a newly created subsidiary, AO
Deutschland Limited.
The site, promised at the time of the business’ IPOas being live before the end of financial year
(31 March 15) will be delivered 6 months ahead of schedule.It will initially be live for pre-orders
with deliveries commencing on the 14th October.
The AO.de proposition will focus on major domestic appliances initially,
but otherwise will largely mirror that of the UK operation, providing customers
with market leading availability, price and speed of delivery for a significant
range of products supported by major brands.From
the first day of delivery AO.de will offer nationwide next day delivery
services and additional services including installation and recycling.
To achieve this structural advantage AO World plc has invested in end to
end resource including head office, warehouse and outbase infrastructure and
its own last mile delivery capability to completely own the customer experience
as in the UK
The business’ financial half year ends today and results will show that
the UK business continues to perform well with overall UK revenue growth and
EBITDA on track to meet full year expectations.
Commenting on the launch of AO.de John Roberts, Founder and CEO said:
“I am extremely proud of our team at AO and the scale of what they have
achieved in our first step in our international strategy. Over the history of
our business we have invested in people we believe can make things happen and
then given them the confidence to try, learn and grow. The launch of AO.de is
testament to their ability to execute our promises and replicate our proven
business model overseas.
Of course we have work to do and we will relish the lessons that will no
doubt be forthcoming. We are as passionate about building the AO brand in
Germany as we are in the UK and can’t wait to start bringing German consumers a
better way to buy the category, as we have for UK consumers. Germany is our
stepping stone to realising our ambition to become the leading online retailer
in our categories in our target markets.
I would like to extend my personal thanks to everyone that contributed
to the ability to bring this live so quickly for consumers because this has
been a huge team effort across all our trading partners and the AO team.
AO Auf geht’s!”
Share