This year, we are celebrating a quarter of a century of e-commerce: 25 years ago, we launched our online shop in Germany, which today invites and inspires countless beauty enthusiasts to shop. What was considered a bold move at the time is now an integral part of our omnichannel success. That's why we're taking a look back at how we grew from a small online shop to a leading beauty platform with more than 150,000 products in 22 countries.
In the year 2000, the clocks were set for change: the turn of the millennium was not only an exciting event for society, it also marked a turning point for the DOUGLAS Group. While the world celebrated the new millennium, it also witnessed the beginning of a digital revolution that would permanently change the economic structure. The Internet, still uncharted territory for many at the time, offered new opportunities - but also challenges. In the midst of this upheaval, the first websites were created - including the DOUGLAS online shop. What began as a bold decision became the first step toward the omnichannel model that is central to our strategy today.
From Vision to Reality: The Birth of the DOUGLAS Online Shop
At the beginning of the century, we ventured onto the Internet at the behest of Dr. Jörn Kreke, the company's then CEO, who was convinced by the vision of e-commerce. A team from various departments, including purchasing and logistics, set about creating the first online shop. Benita Dörken joined the team in 1999 after completing an traineeship in store logistics. "It was an exciting time because the idea of e-commerce was new to all of us and no one knew how it would develop. As a team and with the support of the Executive Board, we believed in the idea," says Benita Dörken, Head of Supply Chain Management Operations DOUGLAS DACH.
Strong Partners for E-Commerce Success
One challenge was to win over industry partners for the idea. The team traveled to the respective companies to personally convince them of the idea of becoming part of the online assortment - and their efforts paid off. Since then, the product range has been continuously expanded. Tatjana Lindszus, Professional Supply Chain Management Operations DOUGLAS DACH Returns & Sustainability, was also part of the team 25 years ago and adds: "At that time, we still entered all incoming and outgoing goods into the system manually - with today's technology, it's hard to imagine that this worked". The partnership with logistics company Arvato was already in place when 21 orders arrived in the warehouse in the first week of the online shop - a lot has happened since then in terms of order frequency and logistics processes.
The Evolution of Logistics: From Manual Labor to Automation
Logistics presented another challenge in the implementation of online retail. What began with manually sorting and packing products has evolved into a highly sophisticated system: In the early days, about 85,000 shipments were processed annually; today, that number of packages is packed in a single day. With more than 550 shuttle robots and around ten kilometers of conveyor technology, Arvato ensures that DOUGLAS can meet online demand for premium beauty products at the Hamm warehouse. This is only possible with the help of modern processes that have been thought through down to the last detail.
From our First Online Shop to our Omnichannel Model - How We Deliver a Cross-Channel Shopping Experience
Today, we view our online and offline presence as a single entity. In both our brick-and-mortar and online stores, our customers enjoy a shopping experience that combines inspiration and advice. While our diverse range of products and brands can be touched and tried on in our stores, special tools such as digital skin analysis provide advice online. An AI tool analyzes skin type and texture and then provides the customer with product recommendations. For the DOUGLAS Group, a consistent brand experience and uniform customer activation across all channels is of central importance. Seamless omnichannel services such as Click & Collect or in-store ordering underscore this. The connecting element for all channels is our customer loyalty program - the Beauty Card - which offers attractive benefits.
The decision to enter e-commerce at an early stage shows that visionary thinking and shared determination can lead to long-term success and the development of expertise that lasts for years.
