Austrian Niceshops is downsizing

Niceshops, an online retailer and ecommerce service provider from Saaz, Austria, is saying goodbye to 20 percent of its workforce. Cost savings are necessary to “economically stabilize” the company.

From its headquarters in Saaz and branches in Graz and Vienna, Niceshops manages more than 45 different online stores in both B2B and B2C, translated into 16 languages. With a targeted niche strategy, the company serves approximately one and a half million customers in Europe. It also provides various ecommerce services to third parties, such as IT, logistics, and customer care.

Dramatic inflation

Niceshops, a flagship of ecommerce in Austria, has grown at an average rate of between 40 and 70 percent in recent years. However, revenue is under pressure, while costs are rising, partly due to inflation. The company states: “The dramatic increase in inflation at various levels, which cannot be passed on to consumers, and a noticeable decline in consumption make consistent countermeasures necessary at Niceshops.”

‘Consistent countermeasures are necessary’

According to CFO Erik Neutzner, Niceshops has significantly reduced losses in the past year compared to 2022. “However, this is not enough to economically stabilize our company. To ensure the survival of Niceshops, it is therefore essential to save massively.”

Shifting focus from growth to profit

Roland Flink, founder and CEO of Niceshops, states that the company simply cannot finance the continuation of its growth strategy under current market conditions. And so, the strategy is changing: “We will now become more efficient and focus on our strengths”, says Flink.

‘Our goal is a clearly positive result in the fiscal year 2024’

Niceshops will pull the plug on loss-making activities and bid farewell to about 90 of its current 450 employees. According to founder Flink, eighty companies have already approached him to provide departing employees with new job opportunities elsewhere.