SinnerSchrader

In 1996, the company was founded as a civil law company by Oliver Sinner and Matthias Schrader. One year later, it was turned into a limited liability company, and finally in 1999, it became a stock corporation to facilitate participation of outside investors.[10] Headquarters were established in the former Johannes Krause tanning machinery factory in Hamburg-Ottensen.[11] One of SinnerSchrader's main areas of business was e-commerce.[12]

To finance further growth, SinnerSchrader went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in November 1999.[4] As a result, the company raised some €28 million, which in the aftermath of the dot-com bubble was redistributed to the shareholders.[13] SinnerSchrader bore the severe brunt of the new market's collapse: Revenues plummeted, though due to sufficient liquidity, the company’s status as a going concern was never in jeopardy.[14] Amid other measures, SinnerSchrader responded to the sector crisis by cutting staff and reducing working hours.[15] In 2002, Oliver Sinner left the company.[16]

The austerity program had the desired effect,[17] and in the 2004/2005 financial year, SinnerSchrader once again turned a profit.[18] Since that time, the survival of the company in the era after the dotcom crash is considered exemplary for the former new economy.[19] Nonetheless, SinnerSchrader was inducted into the 2005 ranking of the greatest capital destroyers by the Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz, Germany’s leading association for private investors, which SinnerSchrader called into doubt due to its unfair methodology.[20]

In the years to follow, e-commerce remained an important line of business for SinnerSchrader.[21][22] From 2007, the company made the best of the global financial crisis to grow through acquisitions.[23] Moreover, in 2010, an advertising agency was established, specializing in brand communication in the digital field.[24] In 2012, it received the Red Dot Design Award in the category of communication for its corporate design.[25] In the 2010s, SinnerSchrader expanded its range of activities into additional areas such as business intelligence and data management.[26] The company ascended in the ranking of the Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft, the German association for the digital economy, to the leading agency in the segment of "business transformation".[27] In 2017, the portfolio was expanded to include data analytics and data science, along with advisory services.[28][29]

Also in 2017, the international management and technology consulting firm, Accenture, announced the takeover of the majority of shares in SinnerSchrader.[30][31] This was favorably received in the media, as it enabled Accenture to expand its digital expertise and unveiled additional growth opportunities to SinnerSchrader.[32][33][34] The company gained the opportunity to fortify its international presence and to become known worldwide.[35] In the first step, Accenture Digital Holdings secured some 62% of the equity capital and the voting interests of SinnerSchrader, and subsequently expanded its participation even further.[36] The new owners seek to squeeze out the minority shareholders. The business units of Accenture Interactive and SinnerSchrader are operated separately for a transition period.[37]

SinnerSchrader is a stock corporation under German law. The subject matter of the company is essentially "developing and implementing concepts (including software) for the sales of goods or services over the Internet or other new media" and all related activities and investments.[38] Since 2003, the shares of SinnerSchrader have been traded in the Prime Standard of the German Stock Exchange.[39] The company has applied for a change to the General Standard segment.[40] In November 2017, 65.9% of the shares were owned by Accenture, 5.2% were held by the capital management firm Hansainvest, and 2.2% by the private equity firm Sparta. The remaining shares (26.7%) were owned by diverse shareholders.[41]

By statute, the Management Board of SinnerSchrader consists of at least two persons. Management is currently headed up by company founder Matthias Schrader (CEO) and Thomas Dyckhoff (CFO). The Supervisory Board comprises three people: Frank Riemensperger holds the position of Chairman, Philip W. Seitz and Daniel Schwartmann are ordinary members.[41]

SinnerSchrader's consolidation group in the 2016/2017 financial year encompassed seven companies. As the key business unit, SinnerSchrader Deutschland is responsible for business in the German home market. There is an additional regional branch office in the Czech Republic. The subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have no operative business activities.[41]

SinnerSchrader Commerce is specialized in e-commerce, SinnerSchrader Content in content-driven communication and SinnerSchrader Swipe in mobile products such as apps.[41] With its subsidiaries and shareholdings, SinnerSchrader forms the so-called SinnerSchrader Group, which is in turn part of Accenture Interactive. The shares of the company are held by Accenture Digital Holdings. A control and profit transfer agreement is in effect.[42]

Next Conference at Schmidts Tivoli

In 2006, marking a company anniversary, SinnerSchrader established the Next Conference.[43] The event explores the ramifications of technological innovations on human behavior and the resulting consequences for companies and society. The Next Conference had developed into an important sector rendezvous for the Internet industry. The main areas of focus are in the fields of artificial intelligence, product design and consumer behavior.[8][9]

From the year 2010, the Next Conference was staged in Berlin, and in 2015, it returned to Hamburg.[44][45] Since then, SinnerSchrader has been organizing the event jointly with the communications agency, Factor 3, within the scope of the Reeperbahn Festival. Prominent speakers in past years have included Tim Ferriss,[46] Bruce Sterling,[47] David Weinberger and Stephen Wolfram.[48][49]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SinnerSchrader.

• Official website of SinnerSchrader