Mobility plays a crucial role in maintaining independence, confidence, and overall well-being. For seniors, individuals recovering from injuries, or those living with physical limitations, the right mobility equipment can significantly improve quality of life. Today’s mobility aids are no longer bulky or uncomfortable — they are thoughtfully designed to combine safety, comfort, and style.

The Importance of Proper Mobility Support

Limited mobility can affect daily activities such as shopping, visiting friends, moving around the house, or even enjoying a walk outdoors. Without proper support, the risk of falls and injuries increases. Modern assistive devices are designed to reduce this risk while encouraging users to stay active.

Types of Mobility Aids

1. Rollator Walkers
Rollators come with wheels, hand brakes, and often a built-in seat. They provide balance support while allowing smooth movement indoors and outdoors. Many models also include storage compartments for personal belongings.

2. Upright Walkers
Unlike traditional walkers that require users to lean forward, upright walkers promote better posture. They reduce strain on the back, shoulders, and wrists, making longer walks more comfortable.

3. Knee Walkers (Knee Scooters)
For individuals recovering from foot or ankle injuries, knee walkers offer a practical alternative to crutches. They provide greater stability, improved comfort, and easier maneuverability over longer distances.

4. Bathroom and Home Safety Aids
Slips and falls commonly occur in bathrooms and near beds. Bath chairs, safety rails, and bedside support aids enhance safety and help users maintain independence at home.

Key Features to Look For

When choosing a mobility aid, consider the following:

• Adjustable height settings
• Durable and lightweight frame
• Easy folding mechanism for transport
• Comfortable grips and seating
• Reliable braking system
• Smooth wheel performance on different terrains

Selecting the right equipment depends on individual needs, lifestyle, and level of mobility support required.

Improving Quality of Life

Mobility aids are not just tools — they are confidence boosters. They empower users to remain socially active, complete daily tasks independently, and maintain a sense of control over their lives. With advancements in design and technology, today’s options offer both functionality and comfort without compromising style.

For high-quality, reliable, and thoughtfully designed mobility solutions, visit Elenker Walker and explore their wide range of products designed to support safe and confident movement.

Electronics are among the most researched products online. Consumers rarely make impulse purchases when it comes to smartphones, laptops, or other gadgets. Instead, they carefully evaluate specifications, compare brands, read reviews, and look for the best balance between price and performance. Online platforms support this behavior by providing detailed product descriptions, technical specifications, and user feedback, allowing buyers to make informed decisions.

One of the most important advantages of online electronics shopping is transparency. Customers can easily compare similar products across different price ranges and brands. This transparency empowers users, reducing dependency on sales pressure and increasing confidence in purchasing decisions. Additionally, online stores often provide access to models or configurations that may not be available in local brick-and-mortar shops.

Another key factor behind the growth of online electronics retail is improved logistics and delivery systems. Faster shipping, order tracking, and reliable packaging have significantly reduced concerns about product damage or delays. Many platforms now offer flexible delivery options, making it easier for customers to receive high-value items safely and conveniently.

However, trust remains a critical element in online electronics shopping. Because these products are often expensive and technically complex, customers expect authenticity, warranties, and responsive customer support. Established online stores with a long operational history tend to gain more trust, as longevity often reflects reliability and consistent service. Clear return policies and transparent payment systems further strengthen consumer confidence.

Security is another major concern. Modern consumers are highly aware of online risks and prefer platforms that use secure payment gateways and offer multiple payment methods. A professional website design, clear company information, and accessible support channels all contribute to a perception of safety and credibility.

Regional online electronics stores also play an important role in the market. By focusing on specific countries or regions, these platforms can tailor their product offerings to local demand, pricing expectations, and service infrastructure. This localized approach often results in better customer satisfaction compared to generic global marketplaces.

As technology continues to evolve, online electronics shopping is expected to become even more personalized. Artificial intelligence, smarter product recommendations, and data-driven customer experiences will shape the future of e-commerce. Consumers will increasingly expect platforms to understand their needs and guide them toward the most suitable products.

For users in Ukraine who are exploring reliable online options for electronics and technology products, one platform worth visiting at the end of your research is https://touch.com.ua/ua/.

Amazon.com is a vast Internet-based enterprise that sells books, music, movies, housewares, electronics, toys, and many other goods, either directly or as the middleman between other retailers and Amazon.com’s millions of customers. Its Web services business includes renting data storage and computing resources, so-called “cloud computing,” over the Internet. Its considerable online presence is such that, in 2012, 1 percent of all Internet traffic in North America traveled in and out of Amazon.com data centres.

The company also makes the market-leading Kindle e-book readers. Its promotion of these devices has led to dramatic growth in e-book publishing and turned Amazon.com into a major disruptive force in the book-publishing market.

Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos from his garage in Bellevue, Washington, on July 5, 1994. Initially an online marketplace for books, it has expanded into a multitude of product categories: a strategy that has earned it the moniker The Everything Store. It has multiple subsidiaries including Amazon Web Services (cloud computing), Zoox (autonomous vehicles), Kuiper Systems (satellite Internet), Amazon Lab126 (computer hardware R&D). Its other subsidiaries include Ring, Twitch, IMDb, MGM Holdings and Whole Foods Market.

“Get Big Fast”

In 1994 Jeff Bezos, a former Wall Street hedge fund executive, incorporated Amazon.com, choosing the name primarily because it began with the first letter of the alphabet and because of its association with the vast South American river. On the basis of research he had conducted, Bezos concluded that books would be the most logical product initially to sell online. Amazon.com was not the first company to do so; Computer Literacy, a Silicon Valley bookstore, began selling books from its inventory to its technically astute customers in 1991. However, the promise of Amazon.com was to deliver any book to any reader anywhere.

While Amazon.com famously started as a bookseller, Bezos contended from its start that the site was not merely a retailer of consumer products. He argued that Amazon.com was a technology company whose business was simplifying online transactions for consumers.

The Amazon.com business strategy was often met with skepticism. Financial journalists and analysts disparaged the company by referring to it as Amazon.bomb. Doubters claimed Amazon.com ultimately would lose in the marketplace to established bookselling chains, such as Borders and Barnes & Noble, once they had launched competing e-commerce sites. The lack of company profits until the final quarter of 2001 seemed to justify its critics.

However, Bezos dismissed naysayers as not understanding the massive growth potential of the Internet. He argued that to succeed as an online retailer, a company needed to “Get Big Fast,” a slogan he had printed on employee T-shirts. In fact, Amazon.com did grow fast, reaching 180,000 customer accounts by December 1996, after its first full year in operation, and less than a year later, in October 1997, it had 1,000,000 customer accounts. Its revenues jumped from $15.7 million in 1996 to $148 million in 1997, followed by $610 million in 1998. Amazon.com’s success propelled its founder to become Time magazine’s 1999 Person of the Year.

The company expanded rapidly in other areas. Its Associates program, where other Web sites could offer merchandise for sale and Amazon.com would fill the order and pay a commission, grew from one such site in 1996 to more than 350,000 by 1999. Following Bezos’s initial strategy, the company quickly began selling more than books. Music and video sales started in 1998. That same year it began international operations with the acquisition of online booksellers in the United Kingdom and Germany. By 1999 the company was also selling consumer electronics, video games, software, home-improvement items, toys and games, and much more.

To sustain that growth, Amazon.com needed more than private investors to underwrite the expansion. As a result, in May 1997, less than two years after opening its virtual doors to consumers and without ever having made a profit, Amazon.com became a public company, raising $54 million on the NASDAQ market. In addition to the cash, the company was able to use its high-flying stock to fund its aggressive growth and acquisition strategy.

Beyond retailing

As noted above, Bezos claimed that Amazon.com was not a retailer but a technology company. To underscore the point, in 2002 the company launched Amazon Web Services (AWS), which initially offered data on Internet traffic patterns, Web site popularity, and other statistics for developers and marketers. In 2006 the company expanded its AWS portfolio with its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), which rents out computer processing power in small or large increments. That same year, the Simple Storage Service (S3), which rents data storage over the Internet, became available.

S3 and EC2 quickly succeeded and helped popularize the idea that companies and individuals do not need to own computing resources; they can rent them as needed over the Internet, or “in the cloud.” For example, in 2007, soon after launch, the S3 service contained more than 10 billion objects, or files; five years later, it held more than 905 billion. AWS is even used by Amazon.com’s rivals, such as Netflix, which uses both S3 and EC2 for its competing video streaming service.

COVID-19

At the end of March 2020, some workers of the Staten Island warehouse staged a walkout in protest of the poor health situation at their workplace amidst the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. One of the organizers, Chris Smalls, was first put on quarantine without anyone else being quarantined, and soon afterwards fired from the company.

The pandemic caused a surge in online shopping and resulted in shortages of household staples both online and some brick-and-mortar stores. From March 17 to April 10, 2020, Amazon warehouses stopped accepting non-essential items from third-party sellers. The company hired approximately 175,000 additional warehouse workers and delivery contractors to deal with the surge, and temporarily raised wages by $2/hour.

Acquisition of MGM

After months of speculation due to MGM’s poor financial performance from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the movie industry, Amazon entered negotiations to acquire MGM at an estimated $9 billion on May 17, 2021. The companies agreed to the merger deal on May 26, 2021 for a total value of $8.45 billion, subject to regulatory approval. The deal would allow Amazon to add the MGM library to the Amazon Prime Video catalog, with the studio continuing to operate as a label under the new parent company. The merger was finalized on March 17, 2022 following the expiration of the FTC’s review deadlineand having cleared the European Commission two days earlier on March 15th.^{[57][58][59][60][61][62][63]} Later that day, Amazon Studios and Prime Video SVP Mike Hopkins revealed that Amazon will continue to partner with United Artists Releasing (MGM and Annapurna Pictures’ joint distribution venture), which will remain in operation to release all future MGM titles theatrically on a “case-by-case basis,” while “all MGM employees will join my organization.” It was also revealed that Amazon had no plans to make changes to the studio’s production slate and release schedules nor make all MGM content exclusive to Prime Video, providing some hope that the studio would operate autonomously from Amazon Studios. These plans are expected to not impact the future of the James Bond franchise and its creative team. Two town halls further detailing MGM’s future post-merger took place on March 18, 2022, which included one for MGM employees and one for Amazon Studios/Prime Video employees.Both revealed the new interim reporting structure as part of Amazon’s “phased integration plan,” which would involve De Luca, Mark Burnett (Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television) and COO Chris Brearton reporting to Hopkins on behalf of the studio.^[65] On April 27, 2022, it was announced that De Luca and Abdy would leave the studio.

List of 90% OFF Amazon Promo Codes, Coupons, and Deals for August 2022

Amazon India Online Shopping – Promo Codes & Offers

Amazon India is a great place to shop for products from the best brands. You can find everything from clothing and accessories to home furnishings and electronics. There are also a variety of latest offers that you won’t find anywhere else. One of the coolest things about this eCommerce major giant is the fact that you can shop from the comfort of your home. You don’t have to leave your house to find the best deals. You can also use an Amazon Prime membership to get free two-day shipping on most items. Plus, you can enjoy exclusive offers and discount codes that are only available to Prime members. Furthermore, use GrabOn coupons to get up to 90% off on select products and brands. So, what are you waiting for? Start shopping today.

About Amazon

Amazon, one of the biggest shareholders of the e-commerce market in India was formed in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in a garage. Everybody knows this story. But did you know that this platform was first a bookselling portal that delivered books within a month of its launch that making it a huge hit? Today, the company provides a platform for millions of sellers to sell everything from fruits and vegetables to movies and books, and even items you didn’t know existed online.

The company never stops making people’s life easy with newer solutions. The company operates in over 200 countries and employs over a million people worldwide. It’s not only a haven for sellers and buyers but also for job seekers, entrepreneurs, and anybody who would like to do something different.

Top Categories On Amazon

Electronics dominates the top three Amazon India categories, followed by fashion and then home & kitchen. These are likely indicative of the fast-paced lifestyle that a majority of Indians live today. Electronics features products related to smartphones, cameras, laptops, and others. Fashion includes items such as women’s clothing, footwear, cosmetics, etc., while home & kitchen showcases goods such as furniture, cookware sets, dining, storage, etc.

How To Save On Amazon – Tips & Tricks

There are a number of ways to save, and the best way to find out is to start searching for deals today! Some of the most popular ways to save include using promo codes, coupons, and shopping during sales. Check out the website for daily deals, or use the mobile application to find cashback and free shipping on your favorite products.

Additionally, Amazon Prime members can take advantage of Prime Day, which is the biggest two-day sale of the year for massive savings. During this sale period, the company offers exclusive deals on a wide range of items, including electronics, home goods, and more. You can also find the best offers on the Kindle Store and AmazonBasics. The leading online shopping platform constantly updates its deals page, so be sure to check back often or stay connected to GrabOn for coupon codes, clearance sale updates, and much more!

Amazon Sales & Discounts

Amazon conducts various sales throughout the year. A renowned sale by Amazon, The Amazon Great Indian Festival, happens every year where users can bag products at never seen before rates. This sale is one of the best times for shopping on Amazon as you can enjoy heavy discounts on mobile phones, large appliances, clothing, furniture, and more. Other than that, Amazon has sales at all festivals and occasions that you must look out for. Let that be Father’s Day, Independence Day, or even Rakhsha Bandhan, you can expect some really good savings when you shop from Amazon during these times.

AmazonBasic – Raining Discounts Like Never Before

AmazonBasics is a private label that offers office supplies, home goods, and tech accessories at discounted prices. It offers competitive prices and a wide range of products that can be found nowhere else. The products are of high quality and often have superior design and function to branded products.

Some of the most popular products include electronics, home goods, and office supplies. Electronics include items such as smartphones, drones, and televisions. Home goods include items such as mattresses, curtains, and flooring. Office supplies include items such as printers, copiers, and scanners. All these products on do have a discount code or be it a voucher code that will surely leave a smile on your face.

Amazon Gift Cards

Amazon gift cards are an awesome way to wish someone a birthday, a wedding anniversary, and so on. You can buy a gift card that is worth up to Rs 10,000 from the gift card store. All cards can be customized with artwork and even a personal message. Gift cards are easy to redeem and are valid for 1 year. Receivers can use the gift card on all products, except the app, a few global store products, and for the purchase of other gift cards. Buying gift cards can also unlock special discounts on other brands like Ola, Chumbak, and more.

Amazon First Purchase Offers

On the first purchase on the Amazon eCommerce platform, new users will get offers worth Rs 4,450. The coupon codes will be sent to the email addresses of eligible consumers. In addition, this offer is available to consumers without having to make a minimum purchase.

Check Amazon Lightning Deals Every Day

At Amazon, you’ll never miss a chance to get instant bargains while shopping and saving on the items you buy. When you subscribe to Prime, you’ll get early access to lightning deals. In addition to exclusive deals of the day.

Amazon Prime Student Discount

Students can get Prime membership for half the price for six months straight. All you have to do is signup with your student’s identity details to avail of the offer. Once you become a member, you will get free shipping on all eligible items, and massive discounts on college essential items like bags, headphones, phone cases, video games, and even health and personal items. Students can also get discounts on Amazon music, and prime video channels and can enjoy Kindle reading free for two months.

Amazon Youth Offer – 50% Off

Customers between ages 18 to 24 can join Amazon Prime at 50% off when their signup for monthly, quarterly or annual membership. All you have to do is verify your age to avail of discounts on your plan or get Amazon Pay cashback up to Rs 750. Please make note that this offer can be availed using the mobile app. Please check the website for more details.

Amazon Prime Membership Benefits & Pricing

Amazon’s Prime membership entitles you to a plethora of exciting benefits that include the following:

• Free Delivery: With the membership, you get free one day, two days, and even scheduled delivery as per your address. Moreover, there is no minimum order value required for standard deliveries.
• Discounted Deliveries: Get discounted morning and express deliveries for just Rs 50 and Rs 49, respectively.
• Cashback: Get Rs 25 cashback with No Rush shipping, which is absolutely free.
• Special discounts on baby items: Get 15% off on diaper subscriptions and on other eligible baby products.
• Free access to entertainment: Enjoy free and unlimited access to hundreds of movies in various languages, and music, and get access to the Kindle app.
• Airtel Recharge: Win Amazon Prime Free Trial for 1 month when you recharge with Airtel.

Pricing Details:

Here’s the list of new Amazon Prime membership plans:

• Monthly Membership Fee: Costs Rs 179; Validity: 1 Month.
• Quarterly Membership Fee: Costs Rs 459; Validity: 3 Months.
• Annual Membership Fee: Costs Rs 1,499; Validity: 1 Year.

Amazon App Download

The app is the best way to shop for millions of products and find what you’re looking for. You can browse by categories, view everything that shoppers have bought, and even read customer reviews. It features items from thousands of sellers so that you don’t have to go anywhere else to find something great. Whether you have android or iPhone devices, having an Amazon app makes your shopping experience enjoyable. Download it today to start making the best purchases you ever did.

Check out the following benefits associated with the mobile application:

• Track your purchased items in real-time.
• Set up notifications to know the delivery status.
• Chat with customer support to know about offers, deals, and new product launches.
• Pay bills and transfer money using Amazon pay.
• Interactive voice assistance with the Alexa feature.
• Make safe and secure payments online.
• Barcode scanner to know the product pricing details.

Renewed Products On Amazon – Daily Deals

Amazon is a great place to get refurbished and renewed items. Not only are they affordable, but you can be sure that the products are of high quality. You can save up to 70% when you buy renewed products here. Browse through their extensive selection of refurbished items like laptops, headphones, mobile phones, fans, cameras, smartwatches, tablets, monitors, and more. All these products are inspected and tested by professionals before they are sold on the platform. In addition, Amazon offers a 6-month warranty on all products, so you can be confident in your decision to buy from them.

Gaming with Prime – Free Content

All Prime users can avail of free in-game content on the latest and top mobile games that are refreshed on a daily basis. You can get free in-game content such as characters, themes, in-game currencies, power-ups, and more. Just log in with your Amazon account to claim the benefits and in-game content deals. Furthermore, you can subscribe to the company’s newsletter for free and exclusive in-game content drops.

Amazon Return Policy

• In order to avail of the return benefits, you need to check the return window on your product page before placing the order.
• The items are returnable in either 7 days or 10 days depending on what you order.
• Some items like jewelry and luggage bags have a 30-day return day window.
• If you receive a non-returnable product in a damaged condition, you can contact the support team within 10 days. You may get your order replaced.
• If the exact same product is not available with the seller during an exchange, the total amount would get refunded.
• In case of some damaged items, you do not even need to return them, but you could still enjoy a refund.

Amazon Shipping Policy

The delivery of your order changes as per the type of product, your location, and the seller. Some orders qualify for free shipping as well. In order to know your exact shipping charges and the delivery time, simply place the product in the cart and proceed to checkout.

Amazon India – Latest News

Amazon creates 1.6 million jobs in India

eCommerce giant, Amazon has said that it has created a total of 1.16 million (11.6 lakh) direct and indirect jobs in India. According to a release, the company has enabled about $5 billion in exports and has digitized 4 million MSMEs in the country, so far. By 2025, the company aims to digitize 10 million MSMEs, creating 2 million jobs and enabling $10 billion in exports.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Amazon Offer Discounts?

Yes, Amazon does offer discounts on a variety of products, including essentials, groceries, and many more.

How to get Amazon promo codes?

There are a few ways to get Amazon coupon codes. One way is to sign up for the company’s promotional email list.

Can I earn reward points on all purchases on Amazon?

Yes. Earn unlimited 5% reward points when you shop on Amazon.

Are there any Amazon Kindle books coupons available?

Yes. You can save more on Kindle books using codes available on our platform or check Amazon for the latest offers.

How can I find a hidden Amazon promo code?

Get up to 70% by clicking on Today’s Deals section on Amazon’s coupon page. You can find it under the search bar on the homepage.

What is the Amazon voucher code today?

Using the latest code, you can save up to 80% on fashion, electronics, home, kitchen products, and other categories.

Can I apply multiple coupons on Amazon items?

No. Amazon does not allow using multiple coupons on a single product. You can choose the best deal from the available options to maximize saving and use it for further purchases.

What is the eligibility for free shipping?

Free Shipping is applicable on subscription purchases, on select products, or for Prime users.

Wish is operated by ContextLogic Inc. in San Francisco, United States. The platform personalizes the shopping experience visually for each customer, rather than relying only on a search bar format. It allows sellers to list their products on Wish and sell directly to consumers. Wish works with payment service providers to handle payments and does not stock the products themselves or manage returns.

History

Wish was started by Piotr Szulczewski, a former Google engineer, as a software company called ContextLogic. In September 2010, ContextLogic received $1.7 million in investments and involved Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman.

In May 2011, Szulczewski invited college friend Danny Zhang to relaunch the company as Wish. It was created as an application that allowed shoppers to create wish lists of their favorite products before matching them with merchants. They also earned revenue with a Pay-per-click model by advertising on Facebook.

In 2013, Szulczewski met with Hans Tung, an investor with GGV Capital in Menlo Park, California, and noted that a large number of sales were coming from Florida, Texas and the Midwest rather than New York or California. Wish became an e-commerce site after asking merchants to host their products directly on the Wish application, with Wish taking a portion of each sale.

The Wish marketplace is accessed by the Wish.com website or by a mobile application that is available for iOS and Android.

In 2017, Wish was the most downloaded e-commerce application in the United States. It signed a multi-year partnership with the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers. Wish conducted a World Cup campaign in 2018, that featured Neymar, Paul Pogba, Tim Howard, Gareth Bale, Robin van Persie, Claudio Bravo and Gianluigi Buffon.

In 2018, Wish was the most-downloaded e-commerce application worldwide and the company doubled its revenue to $1.9 billion.

As of 2019, Wish was the third-biggest e-commerce marketplace in the United States by sales. In August 2019, ContextLogic received a Series H funding round, led by equity firm General Atlantic, taking the company’s valuation to $11.2 billion.JD.com is an investor in Wish. ContextLogic went public via an IPO in 2020.

In France in November 2021, the Wish e-commerce system, including the website and smartphone applications, were delisted from Google’s search results and from Google’s French app store, after French authorities claimed that many items sold on the platform do not comply with European regulations. The same authorities also accused the platform of selling counterfeit items In January 2022, Wish appointed Vijay Talwar as the new CEO.

Services

More than 1 million merchants list their products on Wish’s platform to sell directly to consumers. The bulk of the merchandise available through the app in the United States comes from China and other non-U.S. distributors. The products are usually smaller items that are cheaper to ship, aided by an agreement between China Post and the U.S. Postal Service that lowers costs of shipping for goods weighing less than 2 kg. Wish offers express shipping in 5 days, or 6–8 days in some cases, as well as standard shipping that takes 2–3 weeks, for customers who prioritize savings over speed of delivery.

Wish’s “Wheel of Fortune”-style game, Blitz Buy, integrates a layer of gamification to offer consumers additional discounts on top-selling items.

Criticism

Wish has been criticized for listing poor quality or counterfeit goods, a common concern among major e-commerce sites which feature independent sellers.^[22][23][24] Customers have complained about lack of communication from sellers and quality. In response to the criticism, Szulczewski hired an executive from Facebook to organize a community of about 10,000 Wish users to expose unsatisfactory dealers in exchange for free goods and discounts.

It is often possible to purchase items from Wish that are not legal in the purchaser’s country. In January 2020, a man from Nelson, Lancashire, United Kingdom, was sentenced to 11 months in prison for purchasing a stun gun using Wish.

Type of site	Public
Available in	English and other languages
Founded	July 4, 2010; 12 years ago
Headquarters	San Francisco , U.S.
Country of origin	United States
Area served	Worldwide
Founder(s)	Piotr Szulczewski Sheng Zhang
Key people	Vijay Talwar, CEO
Industry	Online shopping
Revenue	$2.1 Billion
Employees	1100
Parent	ContextLogic Inc. (Nasdaq: WISH)
Subsidiaries	Wish Outlet Wish Express Wish Local for Partner Stores
URL	www.wish.com
Advertising	Yes
Commercial	Yes
Registration	Required
Launched	May 2011
Current status	Active

ASOS originally stood for AsSeenOnScreen with the tagline “Buy what you see on film and TV” because it exclusively sold imitations of clothing from those mediums (for example, Brad Pitt’s red leather jacket from the 1999 film Fight Club). However, it no longer has that meaning and is generally stylised as an uppercase acronym, although the company’s logo represents it in lower case.

ASOS’ headquarters are in Camden Town, at Greater London House, with additional offices in Berlin and Birmingham. As of 2013, their main fulfilment centre is in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, where they employ 3,500 workers. The customer care department is based in Leavesden. The Danish company Bestseller A/S, owned by the business magnate Anders Holch Povlsen, is ASOS’ largest stakeholder, with a 26% share.

History

2000–2004: Founding and listing

ASOS was established on 3 June 2000, by Nick Robertson, Andrew Regan, Quentin Griffiths, and Deborah Thorpe. In 2001, ASOS was admitted to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on the London Stock Exchange. In 2003, ASOS shareholders agreed to change the names of AsSeenOnScreen Holdings PLC and AsSeenOnScreen Limited to ASOS plc and ASOS.com Limited. In 2004, the company reported a maiden profit, with sales almost doubling in its first half. In 2004, ASOS introduced their own label for women’s clothing.

2005–2012: Development

In 2005, the Buncefield Fuel Depot explosion led to the closure of the business for six weeks and £5m of stock was lost. In 2008, ASOS debuted kidswear on its site, however the branded market subsequently suffered declines at the expense of fast-growing own-label kidswear offers. In 2010, ASOS announced it would no longer offer kidswear, to concentrate on its core young adult fashion market.

In the final quarter of 2010, ASOS launched three international online shops in Germany, France and the US. In November 2010, ASOS launched its marketplace platform for boutiques, vintage collectors, individuals and designers to trade from virtual market stalls to customers globally.

In September 2011, ASOS launched three more sites in Australia, Italy and Spain. In 2012, ASOS opened its first international office in Sydney, Australia, followed by an office in New York.Later on, the company launched its first drama-game show series, called #DIGIDATING, starring AJ Odudu. It was billed as an Internet dating show with backstage drama.

2013–present: Global expansion

In 2013, ASOS opened its first office outside the South East, in Birmingham. Later in 2013, ASOS recalled belts contaminated with radioactive cobalt-60. ASOS Russia and China were launched in the same year. In 2014, a fire in the Barnsley warehouse prevented them from taking orders for almost three days. During the 2014 Formula One season, ASOS was a sponsor of the McLaren Formula One team. In 2015, ASOS had over 4,000 employees and was the UK’s largest independent online and fashion beauty retailer.

In September 2016, an investigative report from Buzzfeed News alleged poor working conditions at ASOS’ warehouse. However, company spokespersons contended that the isolated complaints reported in the Buzzfeed article were not reflective of the general working conditions there.^[25][26]

In April 2019, ASOS informed its clients through email that the company is looking into ways of changing its easy returns policy, after research showed customers were manipulating the easy return process. The company also admitted that the previous return policy was environmentally costly.

In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, ASOS was accused by some staff and workers unions of “playing Russian roulette with people’s lives” by failing to adequately enforce preventative measures in their Grimethorpe, Barnsley site. It was claimed that warehouse staff could not safely operate whilst maintaining social distancing, that the staff felt unsafe and that ASOS’s product was not actually essential, thus not meeting the UK Government’s recommendation that only essential workplaces remain open. The company refuted these claims, claiming they had sufficiently changed their operation to comply, Barnsley Council also inspected the site and found that the company was complying.

In October 2020, ASOS Marketplace announced that it would not be charging commission rates on small business transactions to provide support through the COVID-19 pandemic for sellers.

In April 2021, ASOS has partnered with delivery company DPD of DPDgroup to allow shoppers the option to donate unwanted clothing to charity.^[34] In June 2021, ASOS launched a partnership with Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics.

In February 2021, it was announced that ASOS was to acquire the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, and HIIT brands from collapsed Philip Green’s Arcadia Group. On 4 February, the three former Arcadia Group brands became wholly owned subsidiaries of ASOS with 300 head-office staff members from Arcadia and Topshop/Topman Limited.

In November 2021, Ian Dyson became Chair.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, ASOS suspended operations in Russia.

Digital marketing

In November 2009, ASOS claimed a ratio of one Twitter follower to eight Facebook fans to 100 active e-mail subscribers. Their 2008 report pointed out that nearly 10% of sales could be directly attributed to email marketing.

In 2017, ASOS launched a campaign intended to take full advantage of the Instagram Stories feature, encouraging users to upload videos of purchased ASOS products. 3 million people interacted with the video in the UK. ASOS uses the #AsSeenOnMe hashtag and any use of the hashtag adds the photos to an ASOS online database.

The company also has some outlets in Ireland. Shops in China were unsuccessful, and closed down in 2015.

History

1969 to 1979: Early growth

B&Q was founded in March 1969 in Southampton, England, by Richard Block and David Quayle, following the purchase and fitting out of a former furniture warehouse in the Southampton suburb of Portswood. Originally called Block & Quayle, the duo soon shortened the brand to B&Q as stock delivery notes and invoices were already unofficially abbreviating the name.

By each working over sixty-hour, six-day weeks, they were able to repay their bank overdraft within six months of opening, with turnover reaching £1million within the first five years of operating. Following the departure of co founder Block in 1976, the chain quickly expanded, and by 1979, there were twenty six shops across the United Kingdom.

1980s: Buyout and further expansion

B&Q grew rapidly through a combination of mergers, acquisitions and expansions, such as the acquisition of Scottish based company Dodge City at the beginning of the 1980s. The chain was itself acquired by the F. W. Woolworth Company for £16.8m at the beginning of the 1980s, coinciding with David Quayle selling his share, who by that time had a personal wealth of £4 million.

Two years later, F. W. Woolworth’s United Kingdom subsidiary (Woolworth’s Ltd.) and B&Q were purchased by Paternoster, now known as Kingfisher plc and still B&Q’s parent company.

B&Q developed two new trading formats: HomeCentres, retailing furniture, bathrooms, soft furniture, flooring and lighting; and AutoCentres, being similar to a Halfords, the first launch taking place at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol, at the end of the 1980s. The concept being to have a HomeCentre, AutoCentre and DIY Superstore with one communal car park.

The forays into these new markets were relatively short lived, and the various sites were sold on a couple of years later. The AutoCentres becoming in the main ‘Charlie Browns’, the HomeCentres being sold off individually.

1990s to present

In the mid 1990s, B&Q opened a new format of shop known as the Depot (later changed to B&Q Depot), a forerunner of a new class of shop known as the B&Q Warehouse. The company also began to expand outside the United Kingdom. In 1995, the retailer opened their first overseas subsidiary in Taiwan, and in January 1996, the first overseas large home improvement centre in Taoyuan City, Taiwan.

In September 1998, it acquired NOMI, Poland’s leading chain of DIY shops, and later that year, merged with France’s Castorama.

The following year, B&Q opened a shop in Shanghai. In December 2000, Kingfisher plc acquired twenty eight development sites, intended to house future shops of rival chain Homebase from Sainsbury’s, who sold the chain. The development sites instead housed shops of B&Q. In August 2001, B&Q opened its first shop in Shanghai, when it hoped to increase outlets from four to 58 by 2005.

B&Q opened its first shop in Hong Kong on 1 June 2007, but was scheduled to close it on 13 September 2009. In December 2007, Kingfisher sold its 50 per cent stake in B&Q Taiwan to its joint venture partner. The $106.5 million (£51.6 million) sale, producing a profit of £25m was used to reduce debt.

In March 2009, B&Q closed twenty two of its then sixty three shops in China, blaming the housing slump. In May 2011, B&Q agreed to acquire thirty one shops in the United Kingdom, from the administrators of Focus DIY for £23 million. During 2011, B&Q opened a new regional distribution centre, at G.Park in Swindon.

In 2020, B&Q announced a sales increase of 17.6pc to £3.5bn for the quarter to October 31, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic during which people spent money on home improvements.

In March 2021, B&Q said that it is expected to open in Saudi Arabia by fall introducing home improvement products.

Customers

B&Q were reported to have a customer base of seven million in July 2016, of which it was estimated 75% use the retailer’s website to research their desired products, prior to purchasing in shop. B&Q have customer loyalty schemes, such as the Diamond Club scheme which entitles members over the age of 60 to a 10% discount on Wednesdays on many garden products. However, no new customers are able to join the scheme, after changes were announced on 2 August 2018.

Corporate affairs

The retail chain offers over 40,000 products across their three hundred shops and through their online presence. Reports in May 2007 suggested it was the second largest in Europe, and the fourth largest in the world (behind the Home Depot, Lowe’s and OBI).

Shops

By 2000, B&Q had fifty one large warehouse shops; this had doubled by 2003. By May 2014, B&Q in the United Kingdom had 359 shops, and 20,887 employees; and eight shops in Ireland.

In March 2015, Kingfisher said it would close sixty shops of B&Q in the United Kingdom and Ireland over the next two years. It would also close a few loss making shops in Europe. It also said that B&Q UK and Ireland could adequately meet local customer needs, from fewer shops, and some shops should be smaller.

Financial performance

B&Q account for around a third of their parent company’s revenues, seeing like for like sales increase by 5.6% in August 2016. In the year ending 31 January 2007, sales were £3.9 billion despite overall sales falling by 1.7% compared to the previous year, whilst profit was £162.9 million, a fall from £208.5m during the previous year. Profit fell further in the year ending 31 January 2008, to £131million.

Shopee Pte. Ltd. (Shopee) is a Singaporean multinational technology company which specialises in e-commerce. A subsidiary of Sea Ltd, Shopee was first launched in Singapore in 2015, and later expanded its reach abroad.

As of 2021, it is widely considered as the largest e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia with 343 million monthly visitors, and the company also serves consumers and sellers throughout several countries across East Asia (Taiwan), Latin America, and Europe (Poland) who wish to purchase and sell their goods online.

Shopee is the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan.

Launched in 2015, it is a platform tailored for the region, providing customers with an easy, secure and fast online shopping experience through strong payment and fulfillment support.

shopee believe online shopping should be accessible, easy and enjoyable. This is the vision Shopee aspires to deliver on the platform, every single day.

shopee believe in the transformative power of technology and want to change the world for the better by providing a platform to connect buyers and sellers within one community.

To Internet users across the region, Shopee offers a one-stop online shopping experience that provides a wide selection of products, a social community for exploration, and seamless fulfilment services.

shopee believe in simplicity and integrity, ensuring a life that’s honest, down to earth and true to self. shopee are friendly, fun-loving and bursting with heaps of energy, spreading the joy with everyone we meet.

shopee enjoy spending quality time together while shopping online with friends and family – doing the things we love as one big unit.

History

In February 2015, Shopee launched in Singapore as a social-first, mobile-centric marketplace where users can browse, shop and sell products. the asset-light platform is integrated with logistical and payment support, and claims to make online shopping easy and secure for both buyers and sellers.

The app-based platform launched a website to compete with other e-commerce companies such as Coupang, Lazada, Tokopedia and AliExpress. To differentiate itself, Shopee offers online shopping security through its own escrow service called Shopee Guarantee, which can be used to withhold payments from sellers until buyers have received their orders.

On 3 September 2019, Shopee officially opened its six-storey regional headquarters at Singapore Science Park. The new building spans 244,000 square feet (22,700 m²) of space, which can accommodate 3,000 employees and is six times larger than Shopee’s previous headquarters at Ascent Building. The building was leased by weWork before it was relinquished to Shopee.

Shopee aims to continually enhance its platform and become the region’s e-commerce destination of choice via ongoing product optimisation and localised user-centered strategies. Shopee, a Sea company, was first launched in Singapore in 2015, and has since expanded its reach to Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Sea is a leader in digital entertainment, e-commerce and digital financial services across Greater Southeast Asia. Sea’s mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology, and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol SE. The Shopee team is rapidly expanding across the region and we are constantly on the lookout for talents who have the passion and drive to become part of a fast-moving and dynamic team.

Shopee started as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace but it pivoted into a C2C and business-to-consumer (B2C) hybrid model.^[14]

The company partners with over 70 courier service providers across markets it serves to provide logistical support for users.^[15] In Singapore, Shopee collaborates with logistics startup Ninja Van for item pickup and delivery.^[16] Other delivery partners in the region include Pos Malaysia and Pos Indonesia.^[17][18] Shopee also partnered with Delivery and Ecom Express for deliveries in India before it exited the domestic market.^[19]

In its early phases of growth, Shopee offered subsidies and free shipping to its users while delivery services were still expensive in the areas it serves

Market share

As of 2019, Shopee’s app has recorded 200 million downloads. Gross orders also grew 92.7% to 246.3 million in Q2 2019, compared to 127.8 million a year ago. Its gross merchandise value (GMV) also surged 72.7% to US$3.8 billion in Q2 19, compared to US$2.2 billion a year ago.

According to a report by iPrice in Q2 2019, Shopee was the top shopping app base on monthly active users, total downloads and website visits, ahead of its competitors, Lazada and Tokopedia.^[22] These GMV claims led to backlash from Lazada. Lazada’s former CEO, Max Bittner asserted that GMV numbers can be easily inflated “by subsidy schemes and history shows that GMV falls away as unhealthy subsidies are removed.”

In Malaysia, Shopee became the third most visited e-commerce portal in Q4 2017, overtaking Lelong, and replaced Lazada as the top app on iOS and Google Play app stores.

Among consumers in Indonesia, a survey conducted in December 2017 revealed that Shopee is the top shopping platform for Indonesian mothers (73%), ahead of Tokopedia (54%), Lazada (51%) and Instagram (50%).

In 2019, Shopee entered the Latin America market when it launched a localised site in Brazil. It later started operations in Mexico, Chile and Colombia in 2021. In September 2021, Shopee introduced its marketplace in Poland. Launches in Spain and France followed over the next two months. Shopee exited France and Spain on 6 March and 17 June 2022 respectively, leaving only Poland with operations in Europe.

Shopee started operations in South Korea as of 2020 to help local merchants reach customers in markets where the former operates. However, Shopee does not have a consumer-facing platform in South Korea.

New launches

In 2016, Shopee launched an initiative called Shopee University, a series of workshops and tutorials to aid local entrepreneurs and businesses in setting up their online businesses in the Philippines.

In 2017, Shopee launched Shopee Mall with 200 brands in Singapore and the Philippines.The dedicated portal features thousands of products sold by leading brands and retailers in the region. Shopee Mall was created to offer a more diverse online shopping experience, and to better cater to larger brands looking to pursue an omni-channel approach.

In 2018, Shopee launched the China Marketplace portal that offers shoppers easy access to products from Chinese merchants, without any shipping and agent fees in Singapore and the Philippines. The portal competes with Lazada’s Taobao Collection option.

In 2021, Shopee launched a social media customer service arm in the Philippines, known as Shopee Cares PH. The same year, Shopee launched a food delivery service called ShopeeFood, in partnership with over 500 merchants

Brand ambassadors

In 2018, Shopee appointed South Korean girl group Blackpink as its inaugural regional brand ambassador, as part of its partnership with YG Entertainment. Bambam from South Korean boy band Got7 was also appointed as the brand ambassador in Thailand in October of the same year.

In 2019, Shopee appointed professional footballer Cristiano Ronaldo as its regional brand ambassador. The partnership was announced in line with Shopee’s signature annual shopping event, 9.9 Super Shopping Day.

In the Philippines, Shopee has engaged nine local brand ambassadors: actresses Anne Curtis, Kim Chiu and Marian Rivera, singer Jose Mari Chan, boxer senator Manny Pacquiao, as well as television personalities Sarah Geronimo, Kris Aquino, Willie Revillame, and Alex Gonzaga.

In August 2020, Gurmit Singh became Shopee’s first Singaporean brand ambassador and reprised his character as Phua Chu Kang from a Singaporean sitcom for the role.

More About Shopee

Shopee is a Singaporean multinational technology company which focuses on e-commerce. Headquarters uber sea Group, Shopee was first launched in Singapore in the year 2015 and later expanded its reach to Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and Malaysia. Now Shopee has its own exclusive Indian online store where Indians can buy everything from and get deliveries in way less time. Due to an Indian based operation, Shopee can extend its services to maximum customers and you can be the one to gain the benefit of the earliest discount on the ecommerce site. We have uploaded the latest promo codes here which can help you to gain maximum benefits like free shipping, flat discounts on fashion, home essentials, beauty, groceries, electronics items, baby products, phones and many other categories.

About Shopee.in

Shopee India is a one stop destination for many items you end on a daily basis. You can not only get electronics like cameras and phone accessories like high quality headphones, but also automobile accessories like helmets and more. It is a leading online shopping platform in Southeast Asia with its main operations from Singapore. Some other products that you can apart from clothing and fashion accessories are beverages, books, electronics, and home appliances. You can buy from this international ecommerce store and be assured of the quality of items you get. Because it is a multinational company, you can find some really cool brands and warranty on the products. And now you can get it all directly from your home without any extra shopping or delivery hassles that many international brands require. All thanks to its India exclusive store which was recently launched.

Shopee in India

Shopee was launched in India in November 2021 and has clocked 100000 orders in a day. Not just that, its Google Play store has been downloaded over a million times in India.

Shopee India Shopping Tips

Before buying an item, be sure to view product ratings and reviews from other users. Browse through the various categories well placed on the home page of the site until you find your favorite products –

• Once you find a needed product you have two options before checking out
• You can offer a different price to the seller. For this, click on “Chat Now” on the product page, then click “Make an Offer” and state your offer price and quantity. If the seller agrees to your offer, the product will be automatically added to your Shopping Cart
• Click on “Buy Now” to place an order directly.
• Select shipping option and fill in the shipping address correctly
• Now, select the payment method and tap on “Place Order” to proceed with payment

Download Shopee App

Shopee is an ecommerce platform that offers everything from groceries to fashion and beauty. Since the launch in 2015, it has emerged as a global marketplace for buying all sorts of products suitable for kids, men, and women. Check out the easy steps given below to start downloading the Shopee app on your smartphone:

Android Devices

• On your smartphone, open Google play Store and browse for Shopee.
• Now click on the “Install” button and complete the installation process.
• Again click on “Open” to register with your personal details.

Apple Devices

• On your smartphone, open the App Store and browse for Shopee.
• Now click on the “Install” button and complete the installation process.
• Again click on “Open” to register with your personal details.

Sell Your Products At Shopee

If you are looking for a perfect online marketplace for your handcrafted products, then Shopee could be the right fit for you. The best part is you will be charged zero commission fee, hidden charges, and shipping costs. Also, the payments are made with 100% transparency within the specified guidelines. All you have to do as a seller is to register yourself for the GST identification number, shipping address, and mobile number activation.

How to Use Shopee Coupons at GrabOn?

• Firstly, visit the GrabOn homepage and enter Shopee in the search bar.
• You will be redirected directly to the Shopee merchant page.
• From the list of available deals and coupon code, pick one that best suits your requirement.
• Now click on “Show Coupon Code” or “Get Deal” buttons.
• Again you will be navigated directly to the official Shopee website.
• Select and add items to the cart as the coupon gets automatically applied.

Shopee India Payment Options

• All major credit and debit cards are accepted
• You can opt for net banking too and pay online with is secure payment mode
• Cash on delivery is accepted.
• Other ways to pay via your Shopee order is via Shopee pay account or Shopee coins.

Shopee.in Shipping Policy

You have the freedom to choose which courier partner you want to opt for. Two options can be found viz. Delhivery and ECom Express. Just select the suitable one at the time of checkout and your order will be delivered by that particular shipping company. You can also visit the shipping companies website in order to track the package.

Shopee.in Return/ Refund/ Cancellation Policy

Shopee.in offers hassle-free 7 Day Free Return from top sellers. Returns can be made if you have received a wrong delivery, a damaged or faulty product, or it simply does not meet your expectations. You can raise a return request by logging into your Shopee.in account and selecting return against the order which you want to return. You would also need to select the reason for return to process your request.

Refund policy with Shopee

Refund requests will be initiated within 24 hours. However the time it takes to reflect back into your account depends on the payment mode which you had used. Here is the refund period that applies to your payment mode.

• Credit / Debit Card – 7-14 days
• UPI – 5-7 days
• Netbanking- 7-14 days

If you had used COD for your delivery, then the money will be credited back through either UPI or bank transfer.

How To Save More At Shopee.in

• You can avail super-saving discounts through coupons and use them during every purchase.
• Make use of multiple sales and promotions that more often happen in this site.
• By shopping on sale days that offers amazing deals for their top-selling items in specific brands
• Through the Free-Vouchers offered during sales periods and flash deals
• You can also follow Shopee on social media to get the latest offer details and subscribe to their newsletter in order to get the latest sale and discounts’ details.

How to save using Shopee voucher codess?

There are 2 ways to save with a voucher on Shopee. First, you can use a pre-loaded vouch which is basically applied automatically to your order in case one applies. You don’t have to do anything. Second, you can choose from a range of Shopee vouchers and apply them manually based on the order which you are placing. These second types of vouchers are called claimable vouchers. Both can be obtained either from the Shopee official website, or from this page as we frequently update all the vouchers for the ecommerce company with their terms and conditions.

Shopee customer care details

Email: You can sending an email through the help form on the Shopee website to gain information or to report a complaint

Call: The other simple way to reach out to them is by calling them at 1800 203 8899 which is available from 9am to 10pm from Monday to Thursdays.

Shopee Social media following:

Are you super-excited to buy all home, kitchen, electronic, beauty, fashion items at one place? Look nowhere! Shopee has got you covered. They have come with thousands of products across all the categories. So, you can start buying your favorite items without any trouble. Further, if you wish to stay connected with the Shopee platform online, do follow them on the below listed social channels. Have a look:

• Instagram: 112k followers
• Facebook: 2.3 crores
• LinkedIn: 1.3 Million followers

Trendyol is an e-commerce platform based in Turkey, with its headquarters located in Istanbul. Trendyol operates in Trendyol Group structure. Founded in 2010 by Demet Mutlu, Trendyol is a private company, specialising in the fashion and retail sector.

In August 2021, Trendyol entered into agreements to raise $1.5 billion from a number of high-profile investors, valuing the company at $16.5 billion. With this new funding, Trendyol becomes Turkey’s first decacorn (the term given for start-up companies which have a valuation of over $10 billion). The round was co-led by General Atlantic, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, as well as Princeville Capital and sovereign wealth funds, ADQ (UAE) and Qatar Investment Authority.

The platform was approved as a research and development centre in 2019 by the Ministry of Industry and Technology. Trendyol Tech specialises in the following: native language processing; real-time data analysis; machine learning; deep learning; image processing; data visualisation; text simulation and big data.

Dolap was founded in 2016 as a second-hand product trading platform and acquired by Trendyol in 2018. 1.4 million individual sellers are currently active on Dolap.

Investors

Founded with an initial capital of 300 thousand USD, Trendyol received investment from Tiger Global and Kleiner Perkins in 2010-2011 and EBRD in 2014. Alibaba Group became a shareholder of Trendyol in 2018. Following the investment made by Alibaba, Tiger Global, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, and EBRD were withdrawn. Alibaba became a shareholder of the company by acquiring the shares of 3 international shareholders in Trendyol. In August 2021, Trendyol had entered into agreements to raise $1.5 billion from a number of high-profile investors, valuing the company at $16.5 billion. The round was co-led by General Atlantic, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, as well as Princeville Capital and sovereign wealth funds, ADQ (UAE) and the Qatar Investment Authority, the company said in a statement. Thus, while Trendyol’s valuation increased to 16.5 billion dollars, the company was upgraded to the ‘decacorn’ category, which is used for companies with a valuation exceeding 10 billion dollars.

trendyol.com, operated by DSM Grup Danışmanlık İletişim ve Satış Ticaret A.Ş., is an online store with nationally-focused sales. Its eCommerce net sales are generated almost entirely in Turkey. With regards to the product range, trendyol.com is an all-round online store, with products on offer that cover different categories, such as “Fashion”, “Furniture & Appliances” as well as “Electronics & Media”.

SHEIN is a global fashion and lifestyle e-retailer committed to making the beauty of fashion accessible to all. We use on-demand manufacturing technology to connect suppliers to our agile supply chain, reducing inventory waste and enabling us to deliver a variety of affordable products to customers around the world. From our global offices, we reach customers in more than 150 countries.

Consumers no longer follow a unified standard of what is considered “fashionable” or “beautiful”. We believe that the clothes we wear reflect our personalities and we want to empower everyone to explore and express their individuality. To do this, SHEIN creates a wide range of options to fit any mood or occasion.

SHEIN’s mission is to serve as a leader in the industry and bring fashion into the modern era. We employ cutting-edge technologies and processes in our design and sourcing to stay well-informed of what is in-demand by consumers, produce goods in a timely manner and deliver the products quickly to anywhere in the world. By developing proprietary logistics and ecommerce technology, we are disrupting the fashion space and improving outcomes for manufacturers, suppliers and consumers.

 

Digitally Empowered Agile Supply Chain

To meet demand, we have built a fully digital supply chain that seamlessly and quickly delivers products to our customers worldwide. We use proprietary software to track sales and communicate with our factories in real time to order in small batches. Our digital supply chain is the core of our business model and empowers us to offer a wide range of on-trend styles without creating excessive inventory waste or making customers wait weeks for their orders to be fulfilled.

Lidl is the chief competitor of the similar German discount chain Aldi in several markets. There are Lidl stores in every member state of the European Union as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Lidl also announced that it will open its first store in Ukraine in the future in October 2021, but due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine there was no progress.\

History

In 1932, Josef Schwarz became a partner in Südfrüchte Großhandlung Lidl & Co., a fruit wholesaler, and he developed the company into a general food wholesaler.

In 1977, under his son Dieter Schwarz, the Schwarz-Gruppe began to focus on discount markets, larger supermarkets, and cash and carry wholesale markets. He did not want to use the name Schwarz-Markt (Schwarzmarkt means “black market”) and wanted to use the name of his father’s former business partner, A. Lidl, but legal reasons prevented him from using that name for his discount stores. When he discovered a newspaper article about a painter and retired schoolteacher Ludwig Lidl, he bought the rights to the name from him for 1,000 German marks.

Lidl is part of the Schwarz Group, the fifth-largest retailer in the world with sales of €104.3 billion (2018).

The first Lidl discount store was opened in 1973, copying the Aldi concept. Schwarz rigorously removed merchandise that did not sell from the shelves, and cut costs by keeping the size of the retail outlets as small as possible. By 1977, the Lidl chain comprised 33 discount stores.

Lidl opened its first UK store in 1994. Its grocery market share in the UK was 5.9% in 2019.

Sven Seidel was appointed CEO of the company in March 2014, after the previous CEO Karl-Heinz Holland stepped down.^[10] Holland had served as chief executive since 2008 but left due to undisclosed “unbridgeable” differences over future strategy. Seidel stepped down from his position in February 2017 after Manager Magazin reported he had fallen out of favour with Klaus Gehrig, who has headed the Schwarz Group since 2004. Seidel was succeeded as CEO by Dane Jesper Højer, previously head of Lidl’s international buying operation.^[11]

In June 2015, the company announced it would establish a United States headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.^[12] Lidl has major distribution centers in Mebane, North Carolina, and Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The company initially focused on opening locations in East Coast states, between Pennsylvania and Georgia, and as far west as Ohio. In June 2017, Lidl opened its first stores in the United States in Virginia Beach, Virginia and other mid-Atlantic cities. The company planned to open a total of one hundred U.S. stores by the summer of 2018. In November 2018, Lidl announced plans to acquire 27 Best Market stores in New York and New Jersey. In December 2018, Lidl opened its first location in New York City, in the Staten Island Mall. The company has continued to expand throughout the eastern U.S., with over 100 stores by the end of 2020. In August 2020, Lidl announced that it planned to open up another 50 stores in the U.S. by the end of 2021.

Business model

Like fellow German supermarket Aldi, Lidl has a zero waste,no-frills, “pass-the-savings-to-the-consumer” approach of displaying most products in their original delivery cartons, allowing the customers to take the product directly from the carton. When the carton is empty, it is simply replaced with a full one. Staffing is minimal

In contrast to Aldi, there are generally more branded products offered. Lidl distributes many low-priced gourmet foods by producing each of them in a single European Union country for its whole worldwide chain, but it also sources many local products from the country where the store is located. Like Aldi, Lidl has special weekly offers, and its stock of non-food items often changes with time. In contrast to Aldi, Lidl advertises extensively in its homeland of Germany.

Just as Aldi, Lidl does not play mood music in most countries, including Germany. Exceptions include stores in the United States, Croatia, Spain (not all), Poland and Lithuania. Additionally, in two stores in Denmark music is played as a test. Lidl stores have PA systems for important announcements but do not broadcast commercials.

The Lidl operation in the United Kingdom took a different approach than in Germany, with a focus on marketing and public relations, and providing employee benefits not required by law, including paying the independently verified living wage and offering a staff discount.^[21] Upmarket products were introduced, especially in the lead-up to Christmas. This required significant investment in marketing to produce sales growth but had an effect on Lidl’s logistical operation and pressure on profits. Ronny Gottschlich, who had run Lidl GB for the six years to 2016, was responsible for this approach, which led to friction with head office, due to the cost involved. In September 2016, Gottschlich unexpectedly left and was replaced by the Austrian sales and operations director, German-national Christian Härtnagel.^[22] Lidl continued to have ambitious investment plans in the United Kingdom, ultimately doubling the number of stores to 1,500. In the financial year of 2015, Lidl Great Britain’s revenue from its over 630 stores throughout Britain was £4.7 billion.

Criticism

In 2008, Lidl was accused by journalists of spying on their workers, listening to private phone calls, and sometimes even following them home or to doctor’s appointments.In one instance, an employee’s file was supposedly annotated to note that most of her friends were “drug users”. In another instance, a female worker at a Lidl store in the Czech Republic was allegedly forbidden from using the toilet during working hours. An internal company memo from the incident was made public as part of a court case, in which the company is alleged to have advised management “Female workers who have their periods may go to the toilet now and again, but to enjoy this privilege they should wear a visible headband”. Some trade union activists have compared this behavior to that of American companies which engage in union busting, drawing the comparison to surveillance techniques used to proactively detect and stop union organizing activity within a place of business. Lidl responded to these claims, stating that the surveillance was intended to prevent shoplifting, and to detect “abnormal behavior”.

Other services

In October 2009, Lidl Movies was launched in the United Kingdom, undercutting Tesco DVD Rental, which had previously been the United Kingdom’s cheapest online rental service for DVDs. The service was powered by OutNow DVD Rental. OutNow went into liquidation in October 2011, taking Lidl Movies with it.

In January 2012, Lidl launched bakeries in their stores across Europe. They consist of a small baking area with a number of ovens, together with an area where bread and pastries, such as croissants, are displayed for sale. The bakeries were initially trialed in a limited number of stores, to determine whether there was a demand for freshly baked products in-store.