Intershop Communications AG explained

Intershop Communications AG
Type:Public company
Isin:DE000A0EPUH1
Foundation:1992 (as "NetConsult")
Founder:Stephan Schambach, Karsten Schneider, Wilfried Beeck
Location City:Jena
Location Country:Germany
Locations:15 (Germany: Jena, Hamburg, Ilmenau, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, USA: San Francisco, Australia: Melbourne, China: Hong Kong, Brazil: Rio de Janeiro, Bulgaria: Sofia, France: Paris, Italy: Milano, Netherlands: Amsterdam, Sweden: Göteborg, United Kingdom: London)
Area Served:Worldwide
Key People:Board of Management: Markus Klahn (CEO), Supervisory Board: Christian Oecking (Chairman of the Supervisory Board), Ulrich Prädel (Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board) Prof. Dr. Louis Velthuis (Member of the Supervisory Board)
Industry:E-Commerce, Computer Software, IT Services
Products:Intershop Commerce Suite
Services:Supplier Management, Fulfillment, Professional Services, Training, Support
Num Employees:380[1]
Homepage:http://www.intershop.com/

Intershop Communications AG is a public e-commerce company headquartered in Jena, in Thuringia, Germany. Their clients include corporations such as HP, BMW, Würth, and Deutsche Telekom. Intershop operates in Europe, the United States of America, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Company history

Intershop was founded in 1992 as NetConsult by Stephan Schambach, Karsten Schneider, and Wilfried Beeck. In 1995, the company created the first German online store.[2] That same year, they created "The first standard software for e-commerce applications."[3] marketed in the U.S. one year later [4] (see also Online shopping) and continued to be one of the leading software developers for this early time of the market.[5]

Intershop is one of the best examples of the "New Economy bubble" in Germany. The company value rose to $11 billion (US$) in 2000, and fell to penny stock levels in a short time. Low earning warnings by Intershop caused widespread losses for other tech companies; in one instance, SAP's stock fell by 8%. In 2001, an Intershop earnings warning spread through the sector, causing the Stock exchange segment Neuer Markt (NEMAX 50) to slump nearly 10%.[6] The company barely survived the crash, but was able to keep operating and continue development of products. In the process, about 30 spin-offs were founded, including Pixaco (later acquired by Hewlett-Packard), ePages and Demandware (later acquired by Salesforce.com).[3]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.intershop.com/investors-financial-reports?file=files/Intershop/media/downloads/en/investors/financial-reports/2015/2015-Annual-Report.pdf
  2. Web site: Overview from German History Docs . December 17, 2003 . April 14, 2012.
  3. Web site: B2C - bubble to cluster: the dot.com boom, spin-off entrepreneurship, and regional industry evolution . MPI für Ökonomik . Papers on Economics and Evolution . 2006 . April 14, 2012 . Buenstorf, Guido . Fornahl, Dirk .
  4. Web site: Historical NetConsult Press Release . NetConsult . May 29, 1996 . April 14, 2012.
  5. Web site: Early customer's press release . Dec 11, 1996 . April 14, 2012.
  6. Web site: January 3, 2001 . Guardian article on consequences of Intershop profit warning . April 14, 2012 . The Guardian.