Media Markt
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | |
| Headquarters | Ingolstadt, Germany |
| Products | Consumer electronics |
| Parent | Media-Saturn Holding GmbH |
| Website | www |
Media Markt is a German chain of stores selling consumer electronics with numerous branches throughout Europe and Asia. It is Europe's largest retailer of consumer electronics, and the second largest in the world after American retailer Best Buy.
Media Markt was founded by entrepreneurs Leopold Stiefel, Walter Gunz, Erich Kellerhals, and Helga Kellerhals. The first store opened on 24 November 1979 in Munich. Today it is owned by Media-Saturn Holding, which also owns the Saturn chain. Media Markt and Saturn operate in mostly the same markets but with different concepts, and as competitors.
Media-Saturn Holding in turn is owned by the German retail company Metro AG.
Media Markt is known in Germany for its humorous, but sometimes crude, advertising campaigns; for example, the slogan "Lasst euch nicht verarschen" meaning "Don't let yourself be conned", literally verbal prefix for- (ver-) + ass (Arsch) + past participle suffix -en (-en).
Media Markt's main slogan "Ich bin doch nicht blöd" (Hey, I'm not stupid) has been translated into the languages of the other countries where the company operates (except Italy, China and Russia):
Prior to the 2006 World Cup, Media Markt launched a campaign, claiming to be the "best fan supplier" ("Bester Fanausrüster"), with commercials showing international football fans shopping at Media Markt, showing exaggerated stereotypes of the participating countries, and making fun of the Austria team, which did not qualify. This included a French seductress, Dutch fans smoking marijuana in caravans, or a Saudi haggling - to pay more. German fans were portrayed with big bellies, asking for refrigerators to keep their beer cool, rather than looking for a new TV set.
An additional series of ads, promoting a rebate of €10 for each goal Germany scores (except penalty shoot-outs), showed international soccer fans begging the Germans to score as many goals as possible - against their own team.
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Wikipedia