“Branding is not that relevant”
E-scooter brand Tier disappears – Dott comes
October 1, 2024, 11:35 a.m
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In January, the e-scooter provider Tier takes over the Dott company. A survey showed that the competitor’s brand awareness is greater, says Tier managing director Philipp Haas. Users will have to prepare for changes after the merger.
The turquoise e-scooters from Tier will soon receive a new paint job, and the brand itself will disappear. After the merger with the Dutch-French competitor Dott in January of this year, the vehicles will now have the same Dott design, as the company announced. The animal app will also be switched off.
Users must move to the Dott platform. The new app offers more choices, which make using the vehicles even more affordable and convenient, says Tier. “We surveyed a lot of customers and noticed that brand awareness at Dott is stronger across all 21 countries,” said Philipp Haas, Managing Director for the German, Austrian and Swiss markets. Animals are only better known in Germany.
But: “In Germany we noticed that the branding or the brand is not that relevant,” emphasized Haas. For users, the focus is on reliability in terms of the range and availability of vehicles. The changeover is scheduled to begin in Germany in mid-October and be completed in a few weeks. Dott and Tier merged in January. Dott is particularly well represented in the Benelux countries and France, while Tier was particularly active in German-speaking countries. In addition to e-scooters, the vehicle portfolio also includes e-bikes.
E-scooter market is highly competitive
Tier separated from the traditional rental bike business after taking over Dott. E-mopeds have also not been part of the range for a long time. The e-scooter market is considered highly competitive. After a strong growth phase in the first few years after approval in 2019, companies are now focusing on savings and profitability. Nevertheless, Haas assumes that the consolidation of the market is not yet complete. “We do believe that there will be further mergers,” he emphasized. “But we won’t be involved in that.”
There were no further large-scale job cuts at Dott and Tier as a result of the merger, he said. Tier had cut almost 200 jobs in 2022 as part of the strategy shift towards greater profitability. Dott wants to be in the black before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this year.