History of Michael Otto

Michael Otto

Michael Otto was born on April 12, 1943 in Chelmno (Kulm) in Nazi-occupied Poland, is the head of the German Otto Group, the world's largest mail-order, with 24 billion dollars in sales in fiscal 2003. Thanks to a 30% increase in Internet sales last year, Otto also maintains its position as the second largest retailer in the Web, behind Amazon.com.


They were the former owners of Spiegel Inc., (the parent company of Eddie Bauer and Spiegel Catalog former owners), which filed for bankruptcy on March 17, 2003. On May 25, 2005, Spiegel Inc., emerged from bankruptcy Eddie Bauer Holdings name and is now owned mainly from Commerzbank. Otto Group and has no stake in the company.


Otto and his family own a large amount of real estate in Canada and the United States, shopping in Germany and part of the home furnishings chain Crate & Barrel. Known as a committed environmentalist, his company has advertised products are not harmful to the environment. In 1993, he created the Michael Otto Foundation (German: Michael Otto Stiftung). The foundation has played and continues to play an important role in promoting multi-stakeholder dialogue on relevant environmental issues.