About Händlerbund –
Much More than Legal Services
2008 - It started with a fax machine
It all started with a law firm in Leipzig. On October 3rd 2008 Andreas Arlt founded the Händlerbund. There is a small team and a fax machine that's always busy. Just one hour after our website went online, we could welcome our first member - a fine start.
Nice to know: Airbnb, Zalando, Groupon, JTL, Kaufda and Spotify also started their businesses in 2008.
2010 - Thousands of retailers are part of our community
In December 2010 our first newsletter was sent to 3488 recipients, wishing them a merry christmas. Today our newsletters reach more than 1.3 million recipients per month. With more than 20 newsletter format we do not only inform about urgent legal matters but also deliver daily news and more.
2011 - Be the first to know
Since July 2011 our news website OnlinehändlerNews delivers news about e-commerce and is now among the leading blogs within the industry. That same year our our marketing division started out with four team members.
2013 - We grow ... and become more digital
Since starting out we have grown, now employing 100 colleagues and with more office space available. ITB is founded - our own law firm which supports our Händlerbund members. Our GTC interface now enables members to quickly integrate and update their legal texts. We now have a Facebook fan account with 4000 fans.
2014 - Up all night
The new Consumer Rights Directive brings about a lot of legal changes. The day the direction comes into action our phones ring until late at night and every available colleague is there to help our members.
2015 - Largest e-commerce association in Europe
Our initiative FairCommerce against the abuse of legal warning is founded and is backed by more than 60 000 supporters. Händlerbund now is the largest e-commerce association in Europe.
2017 - Event highlights
Our team keeps growing. We are moving to a larger office spaces in Arcus Park in Leipzig's northeast to have room for more than 200 employees. Our event team now organizes more than 180 events per year and Händlerbund secures over 60 000 online presences.
2018 - We are 10!
The new GDPR regulations are keeping retailers busy - and in need of support. More members than ever rely on our services now. With NEXUS we organize our own e-commerce trade fair. And in autumn we celebrate 10 years of Händlerbund in our SkyLounge.
2019 - Working from home
Our team is still growing - as is our community. We offer new services and with the Professional membership package we release our most powerful package yet. Our newly formed leadership team now shares an office, while employees also enjoy the possibilty to work from home.
2020 - A strong team in turbulent times
The pandemic is turning everything upside down and is hitting the economy and influencing e-commerce. We are supporting businesses to digitalize. Our teams are working from home and we begin to reorder our workspaces.
2021 - Business is booming
There is a boom in the industry and the number of secured presences is growing. Retailers are adapting quickly to prfound changes and we are supporting members in their daily business. Our events NEXUS and Google Commerce Camp go digital and in autumn we organize the Logistik E-Commerce Camp in Hamburg. Our new TikTok account is garnering more and more attention.
2022 - Welcome to Leipzig
With NEXUS in Leipzig Händlerbund held its biggest event to date. The hybrid event created a space to for retailers and experts to meet and learn. Also, our e-commerce NFT was also introduced that day.
