Otto Group
German online retailer (OTTO.de) with its own Hermes parcel delivery network.
On the record
Checkpoint: New OTTO board chair, Foundation chair, and CEO all take their posts
The call
Otto is profitable again and OTTO.de is growing, but group revenue keeps shrinking as Amazon, Zalando, and AI shopping agents all pull from different sides.
Otto Group runs Germany's second-biggest online shopping site and owns Hermes, a package delivery company. It is hard to replace because it has years of customer data and its own trucks and warehouses, but Amazon dominates German online shopping, Zalando leads in fashion, and new AI shopping assistants from Google and OpenAI let people search and buy without visiting any store website at all. This last threat is the biggest: if AI agents become the main way people shop online, Otto could shrink from a store customers visit to just a warehouse that fulfills orders for whoever the AI picks, making its data and logistics worth much less. Watch whether Otto's warehouse and delivery network become so useful to AI agents that those agents need to use Otto, or whether the AI companies just build their own networks and cut Otto out entirely.
Why
01
AI pressure: Google Universal Commerce Protocol and OpenAI shopping agents. AI shopping agents could search, compare, and buy without ever loading OTTO.de, cutting Otto out of a sale it used to own end to end. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Amazon.de and Zalando (now with About You). Amazon's scale in general goods and Zalando's bigger fashion footprint after buying About You both pull shoppers away from OTTO.de. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Otto runs its own delivery arm, Hermes, and sits on years of first party German shopper data that a new entrant cannot buy overnight.
What would change this call
Google Universal Commerce Protocol rolls out in Germany within the next year. Would show whether AI agents route purchases through or around OTTO.de.
Otto Group's FY2026/27 annual report shows revenue stabilizing vs. still declining. Tests whether the revenue slide from Amazon and Zalando competition is ending.
Hermes Germany buyback closes with disclosed terms by end of 2025. Clarifies whether Otto is doubling down on owned logistics as its defense.
Otto Group's FY2026/27 annual report shows revenue stabilizing vs. still declining. Tests whether the revenue slide from Amazon and Zalando competition is ending.
Hermes Germany buyback closes with disclosed terms by end of 2025. Clarifies whether Otto is doubling down on owned logistics as its defense.
Key numbers
- Group revenue fell to €13.75bn
- OTTO.de GMV rose to €7.5bn
- Group EBIT turned positive at €312m
Named risks
- Agentic commerce protocols like Google UCP could disintermediate OTTO.de storefront and strip customer ownership.
- Group revenue has contracted from €16.2bn to €13.75bn across FY2022/23 to FY2025/26 despite OTTO.de GMV growth.
- Loss of About You to Zalando removes a fashion e-commerce asset and strengthens a direct competitor.
- Data and logistics moat claims are vendor-stated and unproven against live third-party AI shopping agents.
- Simultaneous leadership transitions in CEO, Foundation chair, and OTTO board chair by March 2026 create execution uncertainty.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.de | losing to | Amazon.de estimated at €15.68bn German revenue vs Otto Group's €13.75bn total group revenue, FY2025/26 |
| Zalando | losing to | Zalando acquired Otto's About You stake for about €1.1bn, announced December 2024, absorbing a former Otto fashion asset |
| Shein | contesting | Fast fashion entrant cited as pressuring both Zalando and Otto-family brands in 2025 reporting |
| Google (Universal Commerce Protocol) | contesting | Otto tracking UCP rollout, live in US as of 2026, as a potential storefront bypass threat |
| eBay.de, Kaufland.de, MediaMarkt | contesting | Named as ongoing DACH e-commerce competitors in April 2026 industry roundup |
Questions people ask
- Is Otto Group profitable in 2026?
- Yes. After two consecutive loss years (-€413m FY2022/23, -€426m FY2023/24), Otto Group returned to profit with EBIT of about €312m for FY2025/26, reported by the company on 27 May 2026, even as group revenue fell to roughly €13.75bn.
- Who owns Otto Group?
- Otto Group is privately held by the Otto family through the Michael Otto Foundation. Benjamin Otto formally became chair of the Foundation and Shareholders' Council on 1 March 2026, succeeding his father Michael Otto, with no public stock listing involved.
- Could AI replace Otto Group's OTTO.de storefront?
- Otto executives publicly warn that agentic commerce, such as Google's Universal Commerce Protocol live in the US, could disintermediate the storefront layer. Otto counters with a vendor-claimed data and logistics moat, but this is unproven against live AI shopping agents as of mid-2026.
- Is Otto Group losing ground to Zalando?
- Yes. Zalando acquired About You from Otto Group for about €1.1bn in a deal announced December 2024, taking Otto's former fashion subsidiary and expanding Zalando's 62.2 million active customer base, while Otto has retreated from markets like the Netherlands.
- How big is Amazon compared to Otto Group in Germany?
- Amazon.de generates an estimated €15.68bn in German revenue per third-party analysis, larger than Otto Group's entire FY2025/26 group revenue of €13.75bn (as of February 2026), underscoring Amazon's dominant position in German e-commerce.
- What is Otto Group's biggest competitive threat?
- Otto Group faces Amazon's scale dominance in Germany, Zalando's fashion leadership after absorbing About You in 2024/2025, and emerging agentic commerce protocols like Google's UCP that could route shoppers around OTTO.de entirely, per the company's own 2026 commentary.
Timeline
- 2026-03Dr. Boris Ewenstein becomes OTTO Management Board chair, succeeding Marc Opelt
- 2026-03Benjamin Otto assumes chair of Foundation and Shareholders' Council
- 2026-02FY2025/26 group revenue reported at approximately €13.75bn, EBIT about €312m
- 2025-11Advent International agrees to sell minority stake in Hermes Germany back to Otto Group
- 2025-10Evri (former Hermes UK) merger with DHL's UK e-commerce delivery unit completed
- 2025-03Petra Scharner-Wolff becomes Otto Group CEO, succeeding Alexander Birken
- 2024-12Zalando agrees to acquire About You from Otto Group and others for about €1.1bn
- 2024-07Evri (former Hermes UK) sold by Advent and Otto to Apollo
- 2024-03Otto Group announces multi-year leadership and generational succession plan
Revision history
22 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Revenue and profit of the Otto Group 2025/26 (2026-05-28)
- German retailer Otto reports losses for second year in a row (2024-05-29)
- powered by people and tech (2026-05-27)
- OTTO generates approximately 6.3 billion euros in revenue in 2022 (2023-03-21)
- OTTO, Gross merchandise volume in Germany 25/26 (2026-05-28)
- At a glance
- Top 10 ecommerce shopping platforms in the DACH region (2026-04-21)
- Ready for Takeoff?
- Employee Count & Headcount Data (2026-06-29)
- Otto Group Solution Number of Employees 2026 (2026-06-29)
- Zalando brings About You under its wing in €1.1 billion acquisition (2024-12-11)
- Petra Scharner-Wolff becomes CEO (2025-03-03)