| Intershop Communications AG | |
| Type: | Public company |
| Isin: | DE000A0EPUH1 |
| Foundation: | 1992 (as "NetConsult") |
| Founder: | Stephan Schambach, Karsten Schneider, Wilfried Beeck |
| Location City: | Jena |
| Location Country: | Germany |
| Locations: | 15 (Germany: Jena, Hamburg, Ilmenau, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, USA: San Francisco, Australia: Melbourne, China: Hong Kong, Brazil: Rio de Janeiro, Bulgaria: Sofia, France: Paris, Italy: Milano, Netherlands: Amsterdam, Sweden: Göteborg, United Kingdom: London) |
| Area Served: | Worldwide |
| Key People: | Board of Management: Markus Klahn (CEO), Supervisory Board: Christian Oecking (Chairman of the Supervisory Board), Ulrich Prädel (Vice Chairman of the Supervisory Board) Prof. Dr. Louis Velthuis (Member of the Supervisory Board) |
| Industry: | E-Commerce, Computer Software, IT Services |
| Products: | Intershop Commerce Suite |
| Services: | Supplier Management, Fulfillment, Professional Services, Training, Support |
| Num Employees: | 380[1] |
| Homepage: | http://www.intershop.com/ |
Intershop Communications AG is a public e-commerce company headquartered in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. Their clients include corporations such as HP, BMW, Würth, and Deutsche Telekom. Intershop operates in Europe, the United States of America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Intershop was founded in 1992 as NetConsult by Stephan Schambach, Karsten Schneider, and Wilfried Beeck. In 1995, the company created the first German online store.[2] That same year, they created "The first standard software for e-commerce applications."[3] marketed in the U.S. one year later [4] (see also Online shopping) and became one of the leading software developers for this early market.[5]
Intershop is one of the best examples of the "New Economy bubble" in Germany. The company value rose to $11 billion (US$) in 2000 and quickly fell to penny stock levels. Low earning warnings by Intershop caused widespread losses for other tech companies; in one instance, SAP's stock fell by 8%. In 2001, an Intershop earnings warning spread through the sector, causing the Stock exchange segment Neuer Markt (NEMAX 50) to slump nearly 10%.[6] The company barely survived the crash but could keep operating and continue the development of products. About 30 spin-offs were founded, including Pixaco (later acquired by Hewlett-Packard), ePages, and Demandware (later acquired by Salesforce.com).[3]