OLX disappears from the market
Tamedia refocuses the Ricardo Group on its core marketplace business. OLX is integrated into Tutti.ch. Car4you is working more closely with Autoricardo.ch. The reorganization is expected to cost 15 jobs.
Christoph Brand, Head of Digital at Tamedia, in a statement: "We want to specifically promote growth in the marketplace at Ricardo.ch with a focusing strategy. In recent years, the Ricardo Group has invested a lot in building up the new business segments Autoricardo.ch and OLX.ch. With the acquisition by Tamedia, we can now build on this and exploit synergies with Tutti.ch, Car4you.ch and the Tamedia media. Our offering thus gains even more reach and clout."
Tutti.ch's position in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino is to be expanded through the merger with OLX.ch. OLX, as the international classifieds brand of the former owner Naspers, will disappear from the market in the course of 2016. The management of the merged classifieds business will be taken over by Francesco Vass, who has already managed Tutti.ch. Oliver Schibli, CEO responsible for building and expanding OLX.ch since 2012, will leave the company to pursue a new career.
Through the Integration of Car4you.ch into the Ricardo Group and the resulting close cooperation between Autoricardo.ch and Car4you.ch will create a second strong vehicle platform in Switzerland. The management of the vehicle market with the two brands Autoricardo.ch and Car4you.ch will be taken over by Marcel Stocker, responsible for the vehicle business of Ricardo.ch since 2008 and Managing Director of Autoricardo.ch since 2012. Myriam Reinle, who took over the management of Car4you.ch in 2011 and successfully expanded the platform, will leave the company at the end of October to pursue a new career.
Christian Kunz will hand over the operational management of the Ricardo Group at his own request in the course of the coming year, as soon as his successor has been settled. Christian Kunz joined the Ricardo Group in 2012 from Ebay International and has been instrumental in the successful development of the Group in recent years. Christian Kunz joins the Board of Directors of Ricardo.ch, where he will continue to contribute his broad experience to the further development of the leading Swiss online marketplace.
The new organization is expected to result in the elimination of a maximum of 15 jobs. The affected employees will be offered another job within the media group if possible. Tamedia had announced the takeover of the Ricardo Group from the South African media group Naspers in February 2015, and had subsequently Approval of the Competition Commission completed on September 8.
