Why a big corporation like Otto Group collaborates with a coworking space? (2011)

This 2011 conference deck described Otto Group’s collaboration with a coworking space and presented the corporate rationale for engaging with external working communities. It introduced Otto Group as a worldwide retail and services business comprising 123 companies of primary significance in 20 countries. The deck divided its activities into multichannel retail, financial services and other retail-related and travel services. It also reported consolidated revenue of €11.4 billion in 2010/11, compared with €10.1 billion in 2009/10, representing growth of 12.6%. The presentation said the collaboration responded partly to a shortage of specialised workers and to the growing appeal of freelancing and start-ups among people the company wanted to employ. It argued that innovation should also come from outside the company and portrayed coworking spaces as places where early adopters could provide insight into developing market trends. Coworking environments were also presented as settings for trial-and-error experimentation with tools and working practices without substantial initial investment, as well as an incentive for Otto Group employees. The visible slides included an agenda covering the collaboration model and requirements for coworking spaces and independent workers seeking to work with a large company.

Key findings

• Otto Group comprised 123 companies of primary significance operating across 20 countries.
• Consolidated revenue increased from €10.1 billion in 2009/10 to €11.4 billion in 2010/11, a rise of 12.6%.
• Otto Group linked its coworking collaboration to specialist recruitment, external innovation and access to early adopters of market trends.
• The deck presented coworking spaces as settings for testing tools and work environments without heavy initial investment.

Presented at Coworking Europe 2011