Statista and FOCUS identified Germany’s fastest growing companies 2016

Hamburg, 17.11.2015 - An annual revenue growth rate of 615% and employee numbers multiplying by the factor of nineteen – these are only two indicators of significant growth that particularly stood out during the search for Germany’s Top 500 fastest growing companies 2016.

Hamburg, November 17, 2015 – There are 1.5 million companies listed in the German Trade Register. Out of these, Statista and FOCUS chose 13,500 companies with especially significant growth rates. The companies were then sorted into 20 different industry branches, before the Top 500 companies with the strongest growth rates between 2011 and 2014 were identified and crowned “Champions of Growth.”

So which industry is the most successful? And in which part of the country are companies growing particularly fast? The new special edition of FOCUS magazine “Wachstumschampions” includes a list of all Top 500 companies with detailed information on founding dates, location of headquarters and revenue and employee growth rates over the last four years. In 2014, the Top 500 companies generated combined revenues of nearly 37 billion euros, almost half of which originated in the wholesale sector. The IT industry performed particularly well, accounting for 16% of companies in the ranking.

But what is the story behind the absolute champion? Delia Fischer is 31 years old and one of the founders of Westwing Group. The company, a mail order business for interior design, is flourishing. Founded in 2011 and based in Munich, Westwing recently reported a record-breaking annual revenue increase of 615%, while the number of employees quickly grew from 67 to 1,586. Consequently, the company secured the first place in the overall ranking. The winner in the category of financial service providers is Rocket Internet AG, which offers support for internet startups. Founded in 2007, the company came in 17^th place in the overall ranking with an annual growth rate of 149%. When it comes to geographical strongholds of fast growing companies, Munich and Hamburg share a second place, while capital city Berlin ranked first.

There is one thing that all of Germany’s Top 500 fastest growing companies have in common: a good grasp of current trends and a product that has been adapted accordingly. As such, the winner in the category of business consultancies is Dietzel & Company. In the light of the latest IT espionage scandals, the consultancy has specialized in protecting business data against tampering and unauthorized access.

You can find the complete list of Germany’s Top 500 fastest growing companies and interesting insights into the world of successful startups in the latest issue of FOCUS Spezial “Wachstumschampions 2016”. The special edition has 162 pages and is available from November 17, 2015.