Sales soar as bonprix’s online operation clicks

The firm, which has its UK base in Bradford, posted sales of £950m for the 2010/11 financial year – up 17 per cent on £842m the previous year. Sales grew more than 30 per cent in the UK during 2010.

Bonprix, is a division of Freemans Grattan Holdings (FHG), which is owned by the Otto Group.

Britta Bahlmann, business unit director of bonprix, said the sales boost was due to the brand’s online presence. “The internet is the fastest growing channel within FGH; in the last fiscal year alone more than 60 per cent of UK sales resulted from online purchases meaning that bonprix is out-performing in industry terms,” she said.

February 2011 saw the launch of bonprix UK’s Facebook page, which sought to build on the success of the brand’s website by engaging with consumers. It features video content, trend predictions, customer offers and competitions, as well as a forum for obtaining customer feedback.

Earlier this year bonprix revealed plans to grow its Yorkshire operations as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.

It appointed Ms Bahlmann in Bradford as part of a strategy to increase its market share. Bonprix was launched in Germany with three employees and a 32-page catalogue in 1986.

It entered the French, Polish and Italian markets in 1991 and 1992.

Its online operation was started in 1997 and, seven years later, it secured a market entry in Belgium, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

The bonprix UK team currently comprises five members of staff working at the Ingleby Road site in Bradford, who form part of Freeman Grattan Holdings’ extended workforce of more than 1,000 employees based in and around the Bradford area.

The Otto Group was founded in Germany in 1949 and is today a global supplier of goods and services with almost 48,000 employees.

The group has 123 companies across 20 countries in Europe, North America and Asia.