Leading digital platform for garden projects continues to grow in 2022
- YDEON Group unites GartenHaus, Polhus and OutdoorToys under common umbrella brand
- Own logistics network, own craftsman service and customer service in Europe
Hamburg, May 11, 2022. YDEON is Europe’s leading platform for garden projects: The companies GartenHaus, Polhus and OutdoorToys are united under it. In 2021, the group doubled its sales to 100 million euros compared to the previous year. The number of employees increased from 154 (2020) to 237 (2021). Since the highly profitable company was founded as GartenHaus GmbH in 2002, 150,000 projects have been realized. Today, YDEON has over 300,000 customers and is active as a digital specialty retailer in 13 European countries. 70 percent own brands and a consistent direct-to-consumer model enable a margin advantage over most competitors. With optimized, sustainable delivery without middlemen, the company simultaneously offers a high product selection and quality and ensures customer satisfaction.
Behind the tech platform www.ydeon.com are more than 20 online stores with more than 30,000 different products. This makes YDEON Europe’s leading online retailer for garden and greenhouses, garages and carports, saunas, pools, outdoor play equipment and garden accessories. Dr. Sebastian Arendt and Sönke-Timo Kisker acquired the Swedish timber house specialist Polhus in 2020. In 2021, they were joined by OutdoorToys from the UK with high-quality play equipment for the home garden. They operate in a market that continues to grow digitally. The companies involved complement each other in terms of their product range and regional sales focus. In addition to the previous core markets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, YDEON is now also represented in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
“The need for good equipment in the garden has continued to grow in recent years,” says Dr. Sebastian Arendt CEO of YDEON. “Due to our very good supplier network for wood and accessories necessary for the construction, we also currently ensure the ability to deliver and continue to grow strongly.”
The best-selling products in 2021 included garden houses (50%), children’s play equipment (22%) and saunas (10%). Barrel saunas and garden pools in particular achieved the greatest growth here. In Sweden, orders for log cabins rose by 15%, while in the UK orders for garden play equipment increased by 46%.
GartenHaus GmbH – a success story
With the launch of YDEON, GartenHaus can look back on a success story spanning more than twenty years: The company started in 2002 in a niche market with the intention of digitizing the specialist trade for home and garden. GartenHaus is not only an online retailer for products that the customer purchases as a do-it-yourself project, but also a full-service provider for complete project support, from the building application to installation. For this purpose, YDEON has a network of contract craftsmen who ensure that projects are completed quickly, even in times of shortage of craftsmen. With this business model, the company sets itself apart from DIY stores, which usually only have a local reach and limited selection, and from normal webshops without an installation service. During the Corona crisis of recent years, GartenHaus benefited from the “retreat to the home” trend and counted up to 1 million website users per month. With its own brand Alpholz for garden houses, FinnTherm for saunas, POOLCREW for pools and REBO for children’s play equipment, the company has established a leading position in Europe. Dr. Sebastian Arendt: “The potential is huge, because this market of specialized trade competencies is not even 10 percent digitalized yet, despite great demand. We are pioneers here and have also gained a big head start.”
YDEON: new products, more markets, all from a single source
With Polhus, YDEON has the right company under its roof to develop further markets in Northern Europe. Polhus was founded in Sweden in 2001 and is now one of the strongest and fastest growing brands in the online trade of wooden houses and saunas in Scandinavia. Polhus sold a total of over 7,000 wooden houses in 2021, ranging from Swedish houses to playhouses for the garden. OutdoorToys, the family-owned company with a history that also spans several years, complements the platform with outdoor toys for children. These include swings, climbing frames and trampolines. In 2021, OutdoorToys sold a total of over 65,000 products.
For 2022, YDEON is planning double-digit growth. In particular, the range in the categories of saunas, pools/hot tubs and children’s play equipment is to be expanded, and new country stores are to be launched in Poland and the UK. The range of services relating to garden and home projects is also being expanded. The current focus here is on energy supply.