page_title: Deichmann SE
section_title: International expansion and acquisitions
hierarchical_section_title: Deichmann SE / History / International expansion and acquisitions
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Deichmann-Filiale in Frankfurt
context_page_description: Deichmann SE is the largest footwear retailer in Europe and is headquartered in Essen, Germany.
context_section_description: The company acquired the Dosenbach shoe chain in Switzerland in 1973, followed by shoe and sports chain Ochsner in 1992. The two chains were merged to form Dosenbach-Ochsner. Their names are still used today for the branches located in Switzerland. The company expanded to the USA in 1984, the Netherlands in 1985, Austria in 1992 and Poland in 1997. Heinz-Horst Deichmann’s son Heinrich Otto took over as Chairman of the Board in 1999. His sisters do not work for the company. In 2001, branches were opened in Hungary and the United Kingdom. This was followed by Denmark and the Czech Republic in 2003, Slovakia in 2004, Slovenia and Turkey in 2006, Romania in 2007 and Bulgaria in 2009. Germany’s thousandth branch was opened in 2006. The company was legally changed to a Societas Europaea company on 1 January 2010. Deichmann opened its first stores in France and Belgium in 2017. The group had a total of  4,205 branches worldwide in 2019.
  In the US, Deichmann SE completed the largest acquisition in the company’s history by purchasing the KicksUSA chain in 2018 with over 60 stores in the streetwear and athletic shoe sector. China also began activities on the Chinese market in 2019 and opened its first branches in Estonia, Latvia and Dubai.
  
  Deichmann was the first company to set up an online shop for shoes in 2000. The company currently runs 40 (2017: 36) online shops internationally and is working to expand its omnichannel concept.
caption: Deichmann store in Frankfurt
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