UNITO Versand & Dienstleistungen GmbH

UNITO Versand & Dienstleistungen GmbH is an Austrian e-commerce and services company that operates the Otto Austria Group, a portfolio of online shops serving Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The company was founded in 2020, when the brands Universal and OTTO were brought together under one roof. It is headquartered in Salzburg, with a second location in Graz, and employs around 345 people across those sites. UNITO is part of the Baur-Gruppe, which in turn belongs to the Hamburg-based Otto Group, one of the world's larger trading and services groups, founded in 1949. The Otto Austria Group describes itself as one of Austria's leading online players. Its consumer-facing brands cover distinct segments: OTTO Österreich is a broad e-commerce retailer with more than 2 million articles across living, lifestyle, fashion and technology; Universal is a home and interiors specialist offering affordable furnishing trends and a broad range of services; Quelle is positioned as a generalist for home and household, with a customer-service-first ethos, and also serves Germany with home, technology and fashion; Lascana specialises in swimwear, lingerie and clothing, emphasising fit, quality and a wide size range under the motto "It's our world"; and Ackermann is a Swiss all-rounder for home and lifestyle. A further Swiss-facing brand, Jelmoli-Versand, focuses on fashion and lifestyle with an emphasis on swimwear. Beyond retail, UNITO runs two additional business fields. It provides B2B customer-service services, handling customer care both for its own brand customers and for companies within the Hamburg Otto Group (such as Bon Prix, Hermes and Witt) as well as external firms including Sport Scheck. It also owns one of Austria's largest debt-collection companies, OKO Inkasso-Auskünfte GmbH & Co. KG. This combination of consumer e-commerce and business services defines the company's positioning within the Otto Group structure. The company's history is tied to the transformation of traditional catalogue mail-order businesses into online shops. The Otto Austria Group notes that although the catalogue era is long over, former catalogue mail-order companies such as OTTO, Universal, Quelle, Lascana and Ackermann have successfully converted into online shops. UNITO was established in 2020 to consolidate the Universal and OTTO brands under a single organisational roof, and the group has continued to develop its online shops from its Salzburg and Graz locations.

UNITO Versand & Dienstleistungen GmbH was founded in 2020, when the brands Universal and OTTO were brought together under a single corporate roof. The company emerged from the long tradition of German-language catalogue mail-order, in which OTTO, Universal, Quelle, Lascana and Ackermann were well-known catalogue senders. Over time, as the catalogue era ended, these businesses transformed into online shops, and UNITO became the organisational vehicle for that transition in Austria. The company operates as part of the Baur-Gruppe, which itself belongs to the Hamburg-based Otto Group. The Otto Group traces its origins to 1949, when it began as a mail-order house in Hamburg, and has since grown into an internationally active trading and services group comprising around 30 major corporate groups. Within this structure, UNITO runs the Otto Austria Group, whose brands are active in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. UNITO is headquartered in Salzburg and also has a location in Graz. Across these sites it employs roughly 345 people who develop and operate its online shops. The group describes itself as one of Austria's top online players. Its brand portfolio covers a range of consumer segments: OTTO Österreich as a broad e-commerce retailer with over 2 million articles in living, lifestyle, fashion and technology; Universal as a home and interiors specialist; Quelle as a home and household generalist with a customer-service-first approach that also serves Germany; Lascana as a swimwear, lingerie and clothing specialist; and Ackermann as a Swiss all-rounder for home and lifestyle. Jelmoli-Versand is another Swiss-facing fashion and lifestyle brand with a swimwear focus. In addition to retail, UNITO has expanded into services. It provides B2B customer-service operations, serving both its own brand customers and companies within the Hamburg Otto Group, such as Bon Prix, Hermes and Witt, as well as external firms including Sport Scheck. It also owns OKO Inkasso-Auskünfte GmbH & Co. KG, described as one of Austria's largest debt-collection companies. This dual focus on e-commerce and business services distinguishes UNITO within its parent group and supports its position as a diversified Austrian commerce and services company.

• 2020

  UNITO Versand & Dienstleistungen GmbH is founded; the brands Universal and OTTO are brought together under one roof.

• 1949

  The Otto Group, UNITO's ultimate parent, begins as a mail-order house in Hamburg.

Austrian e-commerce and services group operating multiple online retail brands and B2B customer-service and debt-collection businesses, part of the Otto Group.

• OTTO Österreich

  Broad e-commerce shop with over 2 million articles in living, lifestyle, fashion and technology.

• Universal

  Home and interiors specialist offering affordable furnishing trends and a broad range of services.

• Quelle

  Generalist for home and household with a customer-service-first approach; also serves Germany with home, technology and fashion.

• Lascana

  Swimwear, lingerie and clothing specialist emphasising fit, quality and a wide size range.

• Ackermann

  Swiss all-rounder for home and lifestyle.

• Jelmoli-Versand

  Swiss fashion and lifestyle brand with a focus on swimwear.

• B2B customer service

  Customer-service operations for own brands, Otto Group companies (Bon Prix, Hermes, Witt) and external firms (Sport Scheck).

• OKO Inkasso-Auskünfte GmbH & Co. KG

  One of Austria's largest debt-collection companies, part of UNITO.

• 2020-09-15

  Unito unveils workflow management platform[4]Unito推出工作流管理平台prweb.com

  Reported: 2020-09-15

  Unito unveiled a workflow management platform with a no-code workflow builder and new integrations with monday.com, ClickUp, and Teamwork.

  Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.

1. 1Otto Austria Groupottoaustriagroup.at
2. 2Über uns, unsere Kultur und Nachhaltigkeitottoaustriagroup.at
3. 3UNITO Versand & Dienstleistungen GmbHwikidata.org
4. 4Unito推出工作流管理平台prweb.com