TAKKT expands Management Board and forms additional division to develop new business models

Stuttgart, Germany, December 21, 2017. In a meeting yesterday the Supervisory Board appointed Heiko Hegwein to the Management Board of TAKKT AG beginning February 1, 2018. Furthermore, the formation of an additional division called newport group has been adopted with effect from January 1, 2018. This will provide a more flexible environment for specific business models and thus create a basis for additional growth.

After the 2017 filling of the function of Chief Digital Officer in all divisions of the TAKKT Group, as well as the establishment of a department at the TAKKT AG level for Group-wide coordination of the digitalization activities, a member of the Management Board with distinctive digital expertise was appointed for TAKKT AG. Heiko Hegwein (43) comes from Lidl Group, where in his last function as divisional board member he managed the digital transformation as well as the development of the e-commerce business. He also possesses in-depth industry knowledge in trade. In his new role, he will be responsible for implementing the digital agenda in the TAKKT Group as well as managing the new division. The appointment will be initially for three years.

The division with the name newport group bundles the existing solely web-based businesses Certeo and BiGDUG of the Business Equipment Group (BEG) as well as the July 2017 acquired Mydisplays under a single roof. This reorganization will provide an environment for the younger, fast-growing web-focused business models in which they can more powerfully and independently position their branding, their product assortments and their technology infrastructure in the market. This will enable them to more easily focus on the requirements of smaller business customers, which have different needs than those of medium-sized and large corporate customers and which tend to be rather transaction-oriented in their purchasing. In addition, the TAKKT investment company (TAKKT Beteiligungsgesellschaft) with its investments in innovative start-ups will be brought into the newport group. The newport group shall become part of the TAKKT EUROPE segment and will continue to grow in the future both organically as well as through acquisitions.

“With Heiko Hegwein we have gained an acknowledged and experienced digital and trade expert for the TAKKT Management Board. Both, the strengthening of the Board as well as the formation of the newport group will enable us to further accelerate the digital transformation of TAKKT”, commented TAKKT CEO Felix Zimmermann.

About TAKKT AG
TAKKT is the leading B2B direct marketing specialist for business equipment in Europe and North America. The Group is represented with its brands in more than 25 countries. The product range of the subsidiaries comprises more than 500,000 products for the areas of plant and warehouse equipment, office furniture, transport packaging, display articles and equipment for the food service industry, hotel market and retailers. The TAKKT Group has over 2,000 employees and just under three million customers worldwide. The company is listed on the SDAX and Deutsche Börse Prime Standard.

Contacts:
Dr. Christian Warns Tel. +49 711 3465-8222
Giuseppe Palmieri Tel. +49 711 3465-8250

Email: investor@takkt.de