Otto

The Otto group, or Otto (GmbH & Co KG), is traditionally the world's largest mail order company and currently one of the biggest e-commerce companies, mainly based in Germany and France but operating in more than 20 countries.

The family of executive board chairman Michael Otto owns the majority of the company. The company is based in Hamburg, Germany; it was founded by Werner Otto in 1950. The first, hand produced, catalog offered 28 styles of shoes. During the 1950s the range and the business expands rapidly. Otto introduced telephone orders in 1963 and went online in 1995.