Press release
Bochum, 9 September 2020 +++ With the move of its headquarters into the historic O-Werk, the digital market leader for baby and children’s outfitting combines its deep roots in the Ruhr region and its vision for growth.
babymarkt.de GmbH is one of the most innovative growth companies in Europe. In keeping with its pioneering role in e-commerce, babymarkt is the first digital company to move to the former Opel factory site, making a statement for the think tank and the innovation location of the Ruhr region. babymarkt continues its success story in the O-Werk, the former Opel administration building. For the new babymarkt headquarters, only a location that simultaneously reflects the roots and the visions of the company came into question.
Digital with heart and mind: babymarkt and the Ruhr region
Where once coal was mined and then numerous cars rolled off the assembly line, space is now being created for start-ups, science and technology. This is structural change in action in the Ruhr region. “The Ruhr is an ideal breeding ground for technical progress and innovation. Great things are being created here and we are part of it,” says Bastian Siebers, CEO of babymarkt.de GmbH. “A new era has begun: The Ruhr 3.0. After coal and industry, we as a digital company are showing the way to the future.”
The innovation campus around the O-Werk is being developed by Landmarken AG and reflects a determination and optimism characteristic of the Ruhr region. The site of the former Opel-Werk I, now called MARK 51°7, offers technology-oriented future-oriented companies a flexible, networked location with enormous development potential – including babymarkt.de GmbH. “The Mark 51°7 site is one of the most exciting and innovative development areas in the Ruhr region and beyond,” says Thomas Eiskirch, Lord Mayor of the City of Bochum. “The babymarkt.de GmbH is developing rapidly, breaking new ground in e-commerce and implementing contemporary work. The new headquarters ideally complements the already existing variety of branches on Mark 51°7.”
Now it’s back to the grind at the Opel site! Because the new home at the O-Werk means laying the foundation for further growth for babymarkt. For the first time since the beginning of the company’s rapid development, around 300 employees, from product management to marketing, will be working together under one roof to secure the company’s further lead on the international market. The Ruhr region and the European market leader are united by a wealth of ideas, cosmopolitanism, bite, and a dynamic culture of pulling together and cohesion. In addition to the 32 nationalities in the team, the threads of all 15 international online shops of the e-commerce specialist now come together in the O-Werk.
Of the past and visions: Interior design combines old and new
When designing the premises, which are steeped in history, special attention was paid to combining regional roots and digital innovation, which equally connect babymarkt and the Ruhr region. The upper three floors of the O-Werk were designed together with the renowned architects of pro m2 GmbH to provide space for the flat hierarchies, short decision-making processes and agile methods of babymarkt.de GmbH.
Open space structure and activity-based working complement each other in a well thought-out juxtaposition of different working environments: Numerous think tanks offer alternative options to the openly designed offices as quiet zones, while workspaces and meeting points invite teamwork and relaxation. A club lounge, event kitchen and sports room promote personal exchange and strengthen the sense of togetherness. The variable space concept, in combination with the technical facilities, enables flexible working that could not be more contemporary. This proves to be an unbeatable advantage, especially in extraordinary times such as those currently prevailing.
With great attention to detail, the design combines features of the region with special features of the corporate culture and breathes personality into the new home. The design of each floor is immersed in a motto. The second floor is a special highlight: Here, in the heart of the building, its history comes to life, as the rooms are designed entirely in the Opel spirit. Seats made of tyres and room dividers made of authentic car doors are only surpassed by one thing: The body of an Opel Kadett in one of the Meeting Points. In this way, the history and the future of the O-Werk become one, because instead of remaining in the past, the other floors show the progressive mentality of Babymarkt. Under the motto “Time x Journey”, the middle floor sees itself as a visual path from the coal-mining culture of the Ruhr region to its pioneering spirit and digital companies of the future. This development is crowned on the fourth floor by the company’s own love of the Marvel universe. Thought out down to the smallest detail, this total work of art proves to be the new home of the impulse generator babymarkt.
“We weren’t looking for a building, but a home,” says Bastian Siebers. “We couldn’t have found a more fitting place for it, because for us the O-Werk unites our mission statement and our vision with this region in an incomparable way. With this step we are opening the next chapter for the O-Werk, for our company babymarkt, perhaps even for the Metropole Ruhr.”