We spoke to Helmut Mahringer, Director of Jelmoli Versand, Ackermann and Quelle

UNITO, the largest mail order group in Switzerland, has been an active presence in the country since 2010 with its brands Ackermann, Quelle and Jelmoli Versand. Helmut Mahringer, head of these brands, takes a look at the future and explains to us why sustainability is so important to them.

Founded in 2003, UNITO expanded seven years later to Switzerland with the buying-up of both the Ackermann and Quelle mail order brands. Jelmoli Versand joined the group in 2017. UNITO currently has 3.8 million customers. Helmut Mahringer, Director of Ackermann, Quelle and Jelmoli Versand, takes a look at the current e-commerce situation.

What impact has the coronavirus situation had on e-commerce? Has the mentality of customers changed in some way?

Here at UNITO Group, we are seeing big increases in the numbers of new customers, which is partly down to the push towards digitization since the outbreak of the pandemic. During the first half of the 2020/21 financial year, we were able to acquire nearly 400,000 new customers. This goes to show that, because people have been compelled to go digital in day-to-day life, they have also become less reluctant to shop online. What’s more, the pandemic has forced a lot of people to stay at home. Having a nice place to live is becoming increasingly important. This is why lots of people are currently investing in their own homes at the moment, rather than things like cars or holidays. As a result of this development, UNITO recorded a significant increase in turnover in the living and DIY segments.

How has the coronavirus crisis impacted the working environment at UNITO?

As with so many other companies, things that were unthinkable a year ago, even at UNITO, are now taken for granted and work very smoothly. Meetings and press conferences, for instance, take place almost exclusively online. We advise our staff to work from home. Yet in the long term, too, the pandemic will continue to have an impact on the UNITO Group working environment. Thanks to the increase in job satisfaction we’ve seen over the past few months, we can also envisage a 50:50 split between employees working from home and coming to the office in the long run. This, in turn, will have positive environmental effects.

What exactly is UNITO Group’s sustainability strategy? What action has been taken already?

UNITO has embraced its corporate responsibility in environmental matters for many years already. Over the course of the last decade, CO₂ emissions have been cut on site and for worker mobility by 75 percent. We are also setting an example in logistics: since the start of the year, Swiss Post has offset CO₂ emissions for all deliveries in Switzerland by means of the “pro clima” label. The principle of “Avoid, reduce, offset” is what guides our environmental activities. Given that logistics is a crucial factor when it comes to e-commerce, choosing logistics partners such as Swiss Post, who also strive to reduce, avoid and offset CO₂ emissions, is likewise a very important factor.

Has the pandemic helped raise greater awareness of sustainability?

We believe that every purchase decision is in some way motivated by environmental concerns. For a long time now, we have not been consuming as much as we used to. But this coronavirus year has got us thinking once again: the local origin of products is something that is becoming valued more and more, as the growth of our Swiss brands shows. People are also being more conscious and careful about what they buy, which is clear from the drop in the rate of returns. Other product ranges are also more in demand, as the growth in furniture, household goods and home textiles indicates. This is why we are currently in the process of making our living segment more and more sustainable. After all, it’s not just sustainable clothing that more and more people want, they’re also after sustainable living.

You aim to be carbon neutral by 2030. Isn’t that somewhat overambitious?

It is undoubtedly a very ambitious goal, but also one we have to set. There’s no Planet B. That’s why we all need to do our bit for the good of the environment, be that as individuals or companies. Climate protection measures right down to the last mile in the form of “pro clima” (i.e. carbon offset) deliveries with Swiss Post are the first step towards a wider objective that UNITO Group has, i.e. complete carbon neutrality by 2030. Within the Group we are working tirelessly to cut CO₂ emissions in our core processes. UNITO isn’t just a success story on a financial level: the Group sets itself apart from its competitors through its commitment to sustainability and its local focus.

How do you involve your customers in the issues of climate protection and sustainability?

We raise customer awareness by being very vocal about these issues. We are also putting a lot of work into rental concepts that are in keeping with the circular economy, and the range of sustainable products in our online shops keeps on growing. We are also constantly improving the way we promote these products, for instance by highlighting washing machines that use less water and electricity. In addition to this, by including better item descriptions and photos, we are also encouraging people to be more mindful about how they consume. The different features the delivery service has to offer also increase the likelihood of making a successful delivery to the recipient first time round..

Since the start of the year, all Swiss Post mail items have been given the “pro clima” label. This ensures that unavoidable CO₂ emissions are in fact offset. What does this mean for UNITO?

We can now guarantee all Swiss customers that for every single order placed with one of our Swiss-based brands, every single gram of CO₂ emissions down to the last mile will be offset. This is a step in the right direction. You will see the “pro clima” label on our parcels as long as this is technically possible.

What would you like to see from Swiss Post in the future as far as sustainability is concerned?

We would like Swiss Post not only to offset the CO₂ emissions of its deliveries, but to produce no CO₂ emissions whatsoever. Plans to switch over to a more environmentally friendly fleet of e-vehicles should ideally come about even sooner than planned. In this way, we would all be able to play our part in making e-commerce even more eco-friendly in future.