The situation on the German market is currently difficult. Even large electronics chains such as Media Markt and Saturn have closed branches in recent months. Now another retailer is disappearing, who is completely withdrawing from the online and branch business in this country.
Conrad Electronic only recently announced that it intends to close all locations in Germany and Austria, with the exception of one branch each. However, the online business will remain. This is different with the provider AO. He withdraws completely from online trading in Germany. In this country, customers will soon no longer be able to order from electronics suppliers.
AO withdraws from Germany
AO is a German company with roots in the UK. The online retailer has been selling televisions, dishwashers, refrigerators and washing machines through its shop since 2014. The goods are distributed across the country via a total of 18 outbases, a mixture of warehouse and shop. But now the business has been shut down. On the AO website, customers see a notice that the web shop is no longer active. In addition, the retailer answers the most important questions in the FAQs that could be of interest in the course of the closure. These include, for example, the procedure for returns and the status of orders that are still open.
AO cited the corona pandemic as the reason for the closure. After initially providing an upswing in online orders, the numbers have recently plummeted. At the same time, however, the costs for marketing and deliveries rose enormously, while the global chip shortage caused long waiting times in some cases. All of these circumstances have led to AO now withdrawing from the German market.
While it is already no longer possible to place orders in the online shop, the 18 outbases in Germany are currently still open. It is not yet clear when they will be closed. AO explained that they wanted to enable “customers, suppliers and employees to have a structured and orderly closure”.
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Store with very good reviews
The end of AO in Germany should make some sad, after all, the online shop was praised by many. Among other things, the provider was able to score points with its promise to offer a lower price than other retailers. AO received top ratings of 4.75 stars on the Trusted Shops rating portal. Customers praised the mostly fast, uncomplicated and friendly deliveries as well as the good offers and the service of the shop.
But the good grades didn’t seem to help. At the beginning of the year, AO therefore announced that it wanted to monitor the German business more closely. While the figures in Great Britain remained relatively stable, sales in Germany fell by 24 percent. After the dealer had already withdrawn from the Netherlands in 2019, he now wants to concentrate fully on business in the home market.