Backwinkel

What Backwinkel does

Backwinkel GmbH is a German family-owned specialty e-commerce and catalog retailer founded in 1959 by Sigurd Backwinkel and headquartered in Hattingen (Ruhr area), with Jochen Backwinkel serving as sole Managing Director since 1997. The company's core product offering covers complete equipment for kindergartens/Kitas and primary schools, spanning furniture (including its own Flexeo® line), teaching and learning materials (~2,000 hand-selected core SKUs out of ~60,000 catalog items), Montessori materials, Kamishibai storytelling, document cameras, school boards, sports equipment, and digital learning hardware. Distribution runs through a multi-channel stack: the backwinkel.de e-commerce storefront, printed catalogs (climateneutral print, Blauer Engel/FSC-certified paper), and a free 0800 hotline for personal consultation, all fulfilled from an automated central warehouse that enables same-day shipping for in-stock items.

The business model is B2B-led multi-channel retail with a D2C tail: primary customers are educational institutions (Kitas, elementary and primary schools, municipal/government buyers) and individual educators, with parents as a secondary consumer segment. Pricing is unit-based with a €69 free-shipping threshold in Germany and Austria, a 2-year standard guarantee (extending to 3 or 5 years on many products), and a 31-day return policy. Payment rails include PayPal, Visa/Mastercard, Klarna, invoice (extended to government schools and municipal buyers), and prepayment. Go-to-market combines content marketing (blog, podcast "Zwischen Lätzchen und Lehrplan"), social presence (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest), free catalogs, and trade association work (didacta, bevh). Sustainability positioning is a deliberate differentiator, supported by ISO 9001 (2015), ISO 14001 (2017), FSC (2021), GS product safety for Flexeo (2023), Trusted Shops, EHI geprüfter Online Shop, and Blauer Engel certifications, plus climate-neutral shipping, printing, and website operations through DHL GoGreen Plus, GLS Klimaprotect, and MyClimate partnerships. Reach is primarily Germany and Austria, with limited EU-wide packet shipping to 23 additional countries; the company is structured as a privately held GmbH with no outside investment.

Name

Backwinkel

Legal name

BACKWINKEL GmbH

Website

https://backwinkel.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Backwinkel GmbH is a Hattingen-based, family-owned online and catalog retailer founded in 1959, equipping German and Austrian kindergartens, primary schools, teachers, and parents with certified furniture, teaching materials, and digital learning supplies via its e-commerce shop, catalogs, and advisory hotline.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Supplies Retail

NAICS

Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459), Office Supplies, Stationery, and Gift Retailers (4594), Furniture, Home Furnishings, Electronics, and Appliance Retailers (449)

SIC

Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses (5961), Retail-Home Furniture, Furnishings & Equipment Stores (5700)

akta.pro primary industry

Office, School & Business Supplies Online Retailers (CRAFADAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Children’s Books & Educational Readers Retail (CRALAAAD)

Keywords

• Educational supplies retail
• Kindergarten equipment
• School furniture
• Teaching materials
• Mail-order education

Headquarters

HQ city

Hattingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. E-commerce Retail: Direct online sales of educational equipment, furniture, and learning materials to kindergartens, schools, teachers, educators, and parents through the backwinkel.de platform.
2. Catalog Sales: Free catalogs distributed to customers, driving sales through multiple product categories. Main catalogs printed on recycled paper with Blue Angel eco-label.
3. Phone Consultation Sales: Sales through personal phone consultation via 0800 hotline number, supporting customers in product selection.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Backwinkel operates an e-commerce and mail-order retail business selling kindergarten equipment, school furniture, teaching and learning materials, Montessori materials, digital learning products, and sports equipment to kindergartens, schools, teachers, educators, and parents across Germany and Austria. The company distributes its assortment through the backwinkel.de online shop, free printed catalogs, and a 0800 consultation hotline, with fulfillment from an automated central warehouse.

Product overview

BACKWINKEL operates a multi-category e-commerce platform for educational institutions, educators, and parents. The core offering is the online shop (backwinkel.de) complemented by annual catalogs, an educational blog, and a podcast. Product portfolio includes three main categories: (1) Kindergarten & Kita equipment covering furniture, play materials, and educational resources; (2) School furniture and educational materials including Lehrmittel/Lernmittel (~2,000 products), Montessori materials, Kamishibai story theater, document cameras, school boards, and sports equipment; and (3) Digital learning solutions. Own-brand products include Flexeo® furniture (GS-certified cabinets and shelves) and Funzy seating products (hüpfpolster and sitzsack made from upcycled materials). The company also distributes physical catalogs and digital content to support purchasing decisions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kindergarten & Kita Ausstattung Complete equipment assortment for kindergartens and daycare facilities, including furniture, play materials, playground equipment, sensory development tools, and language promotion materials for children from infancy through school age.
• Schulmöbel & Schulausstattung School furniture and classroom equipment category including desks, chairs, storage solutions, and the proprietary Flexeo® cabinets and shelving with GS product safety certification.
• Lehrmittel & Lernmittel Teaching materials and learning aids for all primary school subjects, including magnetic boards, wall maps, math manipulatives (Rechenrahmen, Steckwürfel, Schüttelbox), science kits, and musical instruments, with approximately 2,000 hand-selected products and 60,000+ school books available.
• Montessori-Material Montessori educational materials including Rosa Turm (Pink Tower), Braune Treppe (Brown Stairs), sensory materials, Fühlbuchstaben, temperature cylinders, numerical rods, and bead materials for self-directed learning.
• Kamishibai Bildkarten & Geschichten Japanese story theater system with picture cards and narrative resources for early childhood education and literacy development.
• Dokumentenkamera Document cameras for classroom projection and interactive teaching, enabling display of physical materials, books, and 3D objects to students.
• Schultafeln School boards including steel enamel boards, whiteboards, folding boards, mobile boards, and pin boards in various configurations such as Kreidetafel, Whiteboard, Pinnwand-Tafeln, Korktafeln, and Textiltafeln.
• Funzy Hüpfpolster Own-brand bounce cushion with pocket spring core and removable, washable cord fabric cover for children aged 1+, using sustainable upcycled foam filling with 100,000+ abrasion cycles.
• Funzy Sitzsack Kids Own-brand children's bean bag chair with cord fabric cover made from recycled foam and fabric remnants, machine washable at 30°C, OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certified.
• Flexeo® Möbel Proprietary furniture line including cabinets and shelving systems with GS product safety certification, custom-built to customer specifications with 12-16 week lead time and sustainable manufacturing.
• Digitales Lernen Digital learning solutions including educational technology products, interactive displays, and digital teaching resources for modern classroom instruction.
• Sportbedarf & Sportunterricht Sports equipment and playground materials for physical education and recess activities, including sports games for primary schools.
• Tafelkreide & Zubehör Chalk and whiteboard supplies including dust-free chalk, colored chalk, Boardliner brand chalk, and accessories like chalk holders and erasers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2.8 million catalogs distributed since 1986
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PLANT-MY-TREE®coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate protection partnership for tree planting projects. Since 2007, PLANT-MY-TREE® conducts reforestation projects for CO2 compensation throughout Germany. TÜV Rheinland certified since 2020. Planting projects run for minimum 99 years with no deforestation planned.
• FRUITFUL OFFICEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeekly fruit basket delivery with tree planting component. For each fruit basket, a fruit tree is planted in Malawi, Africa through RIPPLE Africa. By end of 2024, 92 trees had been planted. Main species: guava, papaya, and Senna Siamea trees.
• BUND (Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V.)minorOthersEnvironmental organization membership. Allee-Patenschaft (avenue sponsorship) taken in 2021. Active moorland protection project support with donations of €1,050 in 2023 and 2025 for climate protection through moor rewetting.
• GLS (General Logistics Systems)minorOthersShipping partner for parcel delivery with climate protection program.
• DHL (Deutsche Post)minorOthersShipping partner for parcel delivery with GoGreen Plus climate protection program.
• didacta VerbandminorOthersTrade association membership for the education industry.
• bevh VerbandminorOthersGerman E-Commerce and Mail Order Trade Association membership.
• Ganztagsschule VerbandminorOthersAll-day school association membership supporting extended school programs.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• LEGO Education: LEGO Education is a globally established STEAM and hands-on learning brand serving schools and kindergartens; it competes with Backwinkel in the constructive-play and STEM learning category but at a much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Ravensburger (Spielewelt / Education): Ravensburger is a major German games and educational products company whose education range (puzzles, learning games, teacher materials) overlaps with Backwinkel's Lehrmittel assortment as part of a much broader consumer product portfolio.
• Amazon Business (DE): Amazon Business competes with Backwinkel on the price-sensitive tail of school and office supplies via its marketplace, leveraging scale, speed, and breadth — a structural threat to the lower-margin portion of Backwinkel's catalog.
• Kikidz / myToys (Otto Group): myToys (part of the Otto Group) is a large German online retailer for toys, kids' furniture, and school supplies — competing with Backwinkel in parent-facing channel and on commodity SKUs at greater scale.
• Office Discount / OTTO Office: OTTO Office is a major German B2B office and school supplies retailer; it competes with Backwinkel for institutional buyers on commoditized stationery and supplies, offering a broader catalog and contract procurement capabilities.

Direct peers

• memo (memo Spielwaren und Spielgeräte): memo is a German mail-order and online specialist for educational toys, Montessori materials, and pedagogical supplies — directly comparable to Backwinkel's Lehrmittel and kindergarten categories.
• Betzold: Betzold is one of the largest German mail-order and online retailers of educational materials, teaching aids, and school equipment — directly overlapping with Backwinkel's kindergarten, primary school, and teacher-supply assortment in the DACH market.
• Wehrfritz (Hagemann education): Hagemann / Wehrfritz is a long-established German specialist for kindergarten and school furniture, teaching materials, and educational toys, serving the same institutional customers (Kitas, schools, educators) as Backwinkel.
• Conatex-Didactic: Conatex-Didactic distributes educational equipment, natural-science teaching materials, and classroom technology to schools across Europe, overlapping with Backwinkel's Lehrmittel and digital learning assortment.
• Christiani: Christiani is a German specialist in technical and vocational educational materials, classroom technology, and e-learning platforms — adjacent but overlapping with Backwinkel's 'Digitales Lernen' and school-equipment categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/backwinkel.de
• Instagraminstagram.com/backwinkel.de
• Pinterestpinterest.de/backwinkel_gmbh
• TikToktiktok.com/@backwinkel.de
• Xx.com/backwinkel_gmbh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/backwinkel-gmbh

Compliance18 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Backwinkel