New location for luxury fashion retailer Mytheresa in Leipzig
Mytheresa is one of the world’s leading e-commerce platforms for luxury fashion, delivering its products to over 130 countries. Founded in 1987 as a boutique in Munich, Mytheresa went online in 2006 and has since offered clothing, shoes, bags and accessories in women’s, men’s and children’s fashion. In 2022, Mytheresa expanded its luxury offering to include home accessories and lifestyle products with the introduction of the “Life” category. The high-end selection of over 200 brands focuses on true luxury brands such as Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Dolce&Gabbana, Gucci, Loewe, Loro Piana, Moncler, Prada, Saint Laurent, Valentino and many more. Mytheresa’s unique digital experience is built on a strong focus on high-end luxury customers, exclusive product and content offerings, leading technology and analytics platforms, and premium services. The NYSE-listed company reported GMV of €747.3 million in FY2022 (+21.3% YoY).
In the immediate vicinity of one of DHL’s three aviation hubs worldwide, the DHL Hub Leipzig, a new 55,000-square-metre green-build logistics building has been constructed, which can be seen from afar with its “Mytheresa” lettering. The first employees are expected to start work here in mid-2023.
Interview mit Sebastian Dietzmann, Chief Operating Officer & Managing Director Mytheresa
Mr Dietzmann, what reasons led to the decision for the new location in the north of Leipzig?
Our capacities at the current location in Heimstetten near Munich will soon be exhausted and we no longer have the possibility to expand further here. To support our constant and profitable growth, the decision was made to build the second warehouse in Leipzig, where we are located in the immediate vicinity of the international Cargo Airport. We are confident that this will further strengthen our unique customer-oriented approach.
In the competition between the locations examined, which location factors were most decisive for the decision in favour of the Leipzig region?
The Leipzig location offers us the necessary framework conditions to be able to optimally map the future growth of Mytheresa in terms of logistics. The airport has developed into an international hub and the immediate proximity to the DHL hub and thus shorter distances for the transfer of shipments enable us to serve customers all over the world and here in Germany even more efficiently and quickly. Of course, the status of the current real estate development with regard to expansion of the warehouse in due course also played an enormous role, as did the prevailing labour market. We will employ about 1000 people at the new location, and it will be important to hire them. An advantage of the new location is therefore certainly also the good connection to public transport.
What potential do you see in the Leipzig region as a European location for the next 10-20 years?
Leipzig is a European metropolitan region that can boast a great success story with great development in recent decades and will continue to do so in the long term. There are already strong local companies and exceptionally good universities. The quality of life in the Leipzig region is high, coupled with affordable and available housing, which is quite attractive for workers of all kinds.
What plans/vision does Mytheresa have for the Leipzig location?
First and foremost, long-term growth in the region and for Mytheresa globally. We want to create around 1,000 local jobs by 2024. However, the primary goal is to further improve our service level and the associated customer satisfaction while maintaining high quality standards.
What qualifications should candidates have or what kind of staff are you looking for?
We will soon be looking for several hundred employees to start working with us at the Leipzig location next year. We are primarily looking for skilled workers, but also for staff without experience in logistics, as well as a wide range of other skilled workers – from IT specialists and photographers to tailors, logistics staff and experts in e-commerce. With a wide variety of jobs and a very pleasant working environment, there are some jobs that don’t require much exertion of strength, such as packing products in our iconic gift boxes.
What opportunities does Mytheresa offer interested future employees?
We can say with confidence that the opportunities for further development at Mytheresa are diverse. Not only for graduates and professionals, but also for motivated career changers in the commercial environment. You should be motivated and enjoy working in a dynamic team with attractive working conditions. E-commerce is a forward-looking industry and Mytheresa is one of the few winners, especially in the luxury segment.
Mr Dietzmann, what experiences have you had so far in the course of the project in terms of cooperation with regional actors?
We are grateful for the great and continuous support from all regional stakeholders in the course of the project so far. Not only the Free Saxony of Saxony and the Saxon state government, but also Saxony Trade and Invest and the airport company of the municipality of Schkeuditz have contributed a great deal to making everything as uncomplicated as possible. The short communication channels and the personal support of the job centre, the transport association and also the public utility company make it much easier for us to get started.
How satisfied are you with the support provided by Invest Region Leipzig GmbH?
We have experienced broad and competent support throughout the construction of the new site and are very happy about it. With the topping-out ceremony this year, we have come a big step closer to our goal and also thanks to the good local cooperation, we are still on schedule.
Thank you very much for this interview!