Head office
The various departments, from design to marketing, from human resources to logistics and distribution, are all located at the company headquarters in Rottendorf, Germany, near the university town of Würzburg. This is where the products, which go on to be manufactured in production facilities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, are developed by different design teams. On an international level there are s.Oliver purchasing organisations in Hong Kong (China), Hangzhou (China), Chennai (India), Jakarta (Indonesia), Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Istanbul (Turkey). All logistics are centrally managed in Rottendorf. Logistics and warehouse space occupies 70,900 square metres. Up to 400,000 items of clothing are dispatched from here every day to destinations all around the world. More than 2,000 s.Oliver Bernd Freier GmbH & Co. KG staff are employed at the Rottendorf headquarters.
Products
There are currently three lifestyle segments under the s.Oliver brand, all targeting different buyer types. s.Oliver Casual is the company's largest segment, it focuses on ladies and gents leisure fashion. Trendy and fashionable, QS by s.Oliver is aimed at teenagers and young adults, whereas s.Oliver Selection addresses a more sophisticated audience with a generally understated style. Besides these three main elements, s.Oliver also offers additional product lines like 's.Oliver Bodywear' (lingerie, nightwear, beachwear and homewear for ladies and gentlemen), 's.Oliver Junior' (clothing for newborns, toddlers and children), 'Triangle by s.Oliver' (new segment for sizes from 36 to 54) as well as 's.Oliver Accessories' (bags, belts and leather goods). Through a range of licensed partners, the company also sells 12 licensed lines, including 's.Oliver Shoes', 's.Oliver Eyewear', 's.Oliver Time', 's.Oliver Jewel', 's.Oliver Home', 's.Oliver Fragrances', 's.Oliver Umbrellas', 's.Oliver Garden' and 's.Oliver Baby'.
Corporate citizenship
s.Oliver is involved in positive corporate citizenship - for example, raising funds for stroke victims, or supporting victims of the terrible floods in South India in 2005.[4] For several years now, one important element of the fashion house's company culture has been its commitment to the Special Olympics Germany. Ever since the event's inauguration back in 1998, s.Oliver has supported athletes, volunteers, and the team that organises the national games.
The company was supplying the specially designed official volunteers' outfits for the 2010 national games in Bremen (Germany), it also supplied the outfits for the whole of the German team attending the World Games. When the earthquake hit Haiti on 12 January 2010, s.Oliver donated from every item sold in the s.Oliver online shop for a week to the victims. The full amount of the donations collected went directly to the victims, without any deductions. s. Oliver is also a sponsor of Würzburg's annual Africa Festival, supporting the fight against Aids in southern Africa. Donations have also been made to the cancer charity "Hilfe im Kampf gegen Krebs e.V." and the "Togo project" of the German leprosy and tuberculosis aid organisation "Deutsche Lepra- und Tuberkulosehilfe" (DAHW). s.Oliver also supported the Germany-based humanitarian aid organisation "Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe"'s efforts for the victims of the cyclone that hit Bangladesh in 2008.
In the 1990s, the s.Oliver logo featured on the shirts of tennis player Ivan Lendl and Würzburg-born basketball star Dirk Nowitzki. As main sponsor and team outfitters of the German Football Club Borussia Dortmund between 1997 and 2000, the company established a presence outside the fashion world, thereby increasing the level of brand awareness both in Germany and elsewhere.
s.Oliver was also active in motorsport and sponsored Formula One driver Ralf Schumacher during his two seasons at Jordan Grand Prix (1997-1998). The following year, s.Oliver's Knock Out brand became German Formula 3 driver Timo Scheider's main sponsor. His Swiss racing team Bemani Dallara-Opel was Knock Out blue all over; and Timo Scheider even dyed his hair blue.[5]
In 2003, German Pop singer Dieter Bohlen, together with his then-girlfriend Estefania, advertised the 's.Oliver Selection men', because '[...] s.Oliver is a really good brand, they've got cool clothes.[6] In 2006, s.Oliver launched a joint fashion collection with pop singer Anastacia.
2009 saw star violinist David Garrett as the German fashion labels' brand ambassador. In sports sponsorship, s.Oliver has been the main sponsor and outfitter of Polish football club
