Online Extra: Q&A with Bertelsmann's Klaus Eierhoff
The new head of the German giant's DirectGroup unit on the importance of linking online and offline groups
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Last year, as the dot-com business model started to look shaky, German media giant Bertelsmann decided to try a new "multichannel" strategy. It combined its traditional direct-to-customers businesses, such as book clubs, with its Internet ventures such as bol.com, which sells books and music online. The man put in charge of the new entity, known as DirectGroup Bertelsmann, was Klaus Eierhoff, 47. Recently Eierhoff spoke with BusinessWeek Frankfurt Bureau Chief Jack Ewing about the future of e-commerce and the task of leading the money-losing businesses into the black. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation:
Q: How has Bertelsmann's approach to e-commerce changed in the last year?
A:
Two years ago, if I wanted to hire a young person, they would ask me if the job was based purely on the Internet business. That was all they were interested in. Today, they ask if the business is multichannel. The young people understand multichannel is the strategy that will succeed. There must be a strong interconnection between online and offline businesses. In the end, the success criteria are the same as in traditional business. Results count and nothing else. Just a market position and a charismatic chairman aren't enough.