The two-wheel courier service Delivery Hero replaces the scandalous Wirecard in the Dax. Is it getting calmer again in Germany's elite index? One thing is certain: the days when the Dax served as a reflection of the old economy are over.
The waves around the Dax expulsion of the scandalous company Wirecard have not yet subsided, as new waves are already emerging. Reason: Ironically, the bicycle courier service Delivery Hero is advancing in Germany's first stock market league. A delivery service, of all things, will in future be part of the club of the leading 30 German companies. The business idea of the Berlin-controlled company that has sold all of its German activities and is active in 43 countries sounds simple: the DAX newcomer lists restaurants on its website. Order hungry customers. Restaurants pay a commission of up to 30 percent of the purchase. Most of the 25,000 employees then deliver the meals, often by bike.
The delivery service founded in May 2011 was only listed on the stock exchange three years ago. All too great course successes were a long time coming. The management around the Swedish CEO Niklas Östberg is betting on the future. He wants to become the global market leader and, in addition to food, increasingly also deliver other goods such as food, flowers and medicines. Market power is important in the business – because then you can no longer negotiate conditions with business customers, but dictate them to them. The current market value of just under 20 billion euros reflects Östberg's imagination.
At some point Delivery Hero should become what Karstadt, Kaufhof and Otto Versand were in the economic boom: the new generation of retail, so to speak, a kind of Amazon to the power of two. Sounds great! Doubt? They are entitled. If more providers force their way into the market, this will ruin the margins of the established providers. If consumer behavior changes and people again prefer to eat out rather than at home, this reduces sales and profits. Oh yes: Delivery Hero has never made any operating profits.
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