Webmiles

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webmiles GmbH
legal form GmbH
founding April 23, 1999
Seat Munich , Bavaria Germany
GermanyGermany 
management
  • Dirk Kemmerer
  • Stephan Schierke
Number of employees > 30
sales k. A.
Branch Customer loyalty, direct marketing, online CRM
Website webmiles.de

Webmiles was a web-based customer loyalty program from webmiles GmbH based in Munich .

The business concept was based on the principle of reward. At partner companies, which include online shops , mobile phone providers and credit card companies as well as the in-house travel portal, so-called "Webmiles bonus miles" could be collected through purchases and other money transactions on the Internet and participation in surveys and later exchanged for rewards. The sales made were saved personally by Webmiles or commissioned companies.

With a total of more than 600 partner companies and branches in Switzerland and Austria, the company was considered the largest system for online-based customer loyalty in the German-speaking region.

On May 23, 2016, the company announced via the newsletter that it would no longer be possible to collect bonus miles from June 1, 2016. Existing credit could be exchanged for DeutschlandCard points at a ratio of 3: 1 from June 1, 2016 . Webmiles was finally discontinued on December 31, 2019. Since June 1, 2016, credit could only be exchanged for vouchers.

Companies

The company was founded on April 23, 1999 as a non-listed stock corporation and so-called " start-up " by Patrick Boos, Loretta Würtenberger and Dominik von Ribbentrop. In addition to the founders, the venture capitalist Wellington Partners mainly contributed to the financing .

In the wake of the enormous growth expectations on the part of Wellington Partners, Webmiles expanded just a few months later and in November 1999 opened branches in Great Britain, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden. At that point, about a year after the company was founded, Webmiles had 100 employees. At the beginning of 2000 the venture capitalist Goldman Sachs invested around ten million DM in Webmiles.

On October 18, 2000, the Bertelsmann Service Group (BSG) , which once belonged to Arvato AG, took a 70 percent stake in Webmiles. In addition to the company's founders, the remaining shares were held by the investors Atlas Venture, Goldman Sachs and Wellington Partners. Co-founder Loretta Würtenberger left the company on December 15, 2000. After her departure, the management consisted of the two remaining founders, Dominik von Ribbentrop and Patrick Boos, as well as Mario Schwegler, who was posted from the Bertelsmann mother’s environment and who rose to the Executive Board with the acquisition of the majority stake.

Webmiles ceased operations in Sweden at the end of December 2000. After ceasing almost all market activities in other European countries - with the exception of France - Webmiles founded a branch in Switzerland in March 2001. As a result of the massive cost and personnel reduction on the part of the new shareholder, the two founding members Dominik von Ribbentrop and Patrick Boos left the company in autumn 2001. Mario Schwegler took over her duties.

In May 2002, the name of Webmiles AG was changed to Webmiles GmbH. In February 2003 the company was in the black for the first time. On August 20, 2003, the Bertelsmann subsidiary Emil Deutschland GmbH, once located in Gütersloh, was transferred to Webmiles GmbH. In the same month, Webmiles expanded to Austria.

In the course of the restructuring measures within the Mohn Media Group, Markus Schmedtmann (Arvato Services, Webmiles) switched to the management of the Mohn Media Group. Effective May 20, 2008, Stephan Wolfram replaced him and moved up to the management of Webmiles GmbH. Since November 10, 2008, Webmiles GmbH has been operating under the name Arvato Online Services GmbH. In 2013 the company was renamed Webmiles GmbH again.

On May 23, 2016 it was announced that Webmiles will be discontinued as of December 31, 2019 and that it will no longer be possible to collect points from June 1, 2016. Collected webmiles could be exchanged at a ratio of 1: 3 for DeutschlandCard points.

Competitor

On the one hand, Webmiles was in competition with companies such as Payback and the DeutschlandCard, which is also part of arvato AG .

On the other hand, active cashback systems are becoming increasingly important in e-commerce . The discounts in the context of cashback programs are usually paid out in cash instead of in the form of bonus products. The consumer receives an online collective account and can have his credit paid out from a redemption threshold.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Facts & Figures. (No longer available online.) Website of webmiles GmbH, archived from the original on November 1, 2013 ; Retrieved November 4, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.webmiles.de
  2. ↑ a b Electronic Federal Gazette, February 20, 2008, annual financial statements as of December 31, 2006
  3. ↑ Entry in the commercial register of April 23, 1999, Munich District Court
  4. ↑ Diebold Management Report, No. 2/2000
  5. ↑ Financial Times Deutschland, December 27, 2000, Webmiles are not running in Sweden  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.tecchannel.de  
  6. ↑ Optimization and concentration on core markets ( Memento from September 11, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  7. ↑ Manager Magazin, No. 08/2002, From the wheel to the cog
  8. ^ New Business, February 12, 2003, webmiles is in the black
  9. ↑ Entry in the commercial register of August 20, 2003, Munich District Court
  10. ↑ Entry in the commercial register of May 20, 2008, Munich District Court