Company news

Galaxus says hello Austria!

11.10.2021

Online department store Galaxus has just launched in Austria. The company with Swiss roots aims to join the five leading Austrian online retailers on the strength of its wide range of products at fair prices and focus on community and honesty.

Galaxus is expanding into neighbouring country Austria. Customers from Bregenz to Eisenstadt can now shop at Switzerland’s e-commerce market leader.

Galaxus.at is entering the market with half a million quality products – from laser printers to vacuum cleaners to bondage accessories. The range includes the product categories «IT + Multimedia», «Office», «Home + Kitchen», «Toys», «DIY + Garden», «Health + Beautyt» as well as «Love + Play». Further categories will follow. Galaxus ships orders both from its German warehouse in Krefeld and directly through suppliers. Shipments arrive to any address in Austria within two days.

«All of Europe needs Galaxus,» says Florian Teuteberg, CEO and founding member of Digitec Galaxus. «Expanding to Austria is an obvious next step – not least because of the linguistic and cultural proximity,» he continues. Galaxus also sees lots of potential for online retail in Austria.

Controversy? No problem

Galaxus is particularly focused on community and honesty. The online retailer’s editorial team counts 27 members that provide quality information on products from the Galaxus range. Their specialist articles, reviews and features are written according to journalistic criteria, express a clear opinion and aim to inspire online shoppers in their search for products. «Our editors are independent and write their reports without worrying about controversy. This occasionally leads to in-house spats with our category management department,» says Teuteberg. The Galaxus Community is equally committed, rating and commenting on products and posts. «We offer a lively platform where our customers can exchange views and opinions before and after each purchase,» says Teuteberg.

Galaxus is also transparent when it comes to sustainability, carbon emissions and price developments. For example, climate gas emissions are just one of many specifications displayed below all products available in the online shop. The stated emissions take into account the entire value chain – from sourcing the raw materials to doorstep delivery. If customers want to shop in a climate neutral way, their emissions can be offset by voluntarily paying a fee at checkout. In Germany and Switzerland, this is now done for about one in ten purchases.

Galaxus also provides its customers with filters to help them search for products with quality seals including «Fairtrade» or «FSC». «With the help of this filter option, customers can now shop even more consciously,» says Teuteberg. Digitec Galaxus is also committed to good working conditions, fair wages and protecting the environment.

Galaxus also shows the price development of their products over long stretches of time. «This makes the company the most honest online retailer in Germany, Austria and Switzerland,» Teuteberg concludes.

The goal? Joining the top 5

«We aim to win over enthusiastic online shoppers in Austria with our concept and to build up a loyal customer base through the Community,» says Teuteberg. «We’ll start off humbly. After all, when it comes to service quality, we can learn a lot from our neighbours, who happen to be world-champion hosts.» Galaxus’ goals are definitely ambitious: «We want to be one of Austria's top 5 online retailers.» In Switzerland, Digitec Galaxus generated sales of 1.83 billion Swiss francs last year. Apply this number to Austria, and the company would be the uncontested number one. «We’ll continue to stay true to our Swiss virtues in any new country markets: we’re innovative and focus on quality that needn’t be expensive,» Teuteberg adds.