Heureka Group
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | E-commerce |
| Predecessor | Heureka.cz |
| Founded | October 2007 (as Heureka.cz) |
| Founder | Miton |
| Headquarters | , Czech Republic |
Area served | Central and Eastern Europe |
| Key people | David Chmelař (CEO) |
| Services |
|
| Owners |
|
| Website | heureka |
Heureka Group is a Czech e-commerce company that operates price-comparison platforms in Central and Eastern Europe. Its services include Heureka.cz in the Czech Republic, Heureka.sk in Slovakia and Árukereső.hu in Hungary. The group operates in nine countries and also provides software and other services for online retailers.[1]
The business began with Heureka.cz, a Czech price-comparison website launched in 2007.[2] In 2019, Heureka was separated from Mall Group and became an independent group.[3] Heureka Group is owned equally by PPF Group and EC Investments.[4]
History
[edit]Heureka.cz was launched in October 2007 by Czech investment company Miton. The website allowed users to compare products, prices and online retailers.[5] Allegro Group, then owned by South African technology company Naspers, acquired a stake in Heureka in 2008 and took full control in 2012.[2]
In 2015, Rockaway Capital agreed to acquire Heureka and Mall from Naspers. The deal was backed by investors including Daniel Křetínský, Patrik Tkáč and PPF and was valued at more than €200 million.[6][7]
The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition approved Rockaway's acquisition of Heureka in 2016 subject to conditions. The authority raised concerns about Heureka's access to commercially sensitive information from online retailers and required safeguards for the use of merchant data and related services.[8]
Later that year, Czech online retailer Alza.cz stopped listing its products on Heureka. Alza said Heureka's links to competing retailers raised concerns about its independence, while Heureka rejected the claim.[9] Alza returned to the platform in 2022.[10]
In 2019, Heureka's owners considered selling the business, with reported offers of around CZK 7.5 billion.[11] The shareholders ultimately retained Heureka and separated it from Mall Group, creating Heureka Group as a standalone business.[3] PPF and EC Investments each held 40% of the company, while Rockaway held 20%.[3]
The group later expanded into services for online retailers. It acquired Czech e-commerce analytics company Dataweps in 2021[12] and logistics software company Balíkobot in 2022.[13]
Rockaway sold its 20% stake in Heureka Group in 2023, while PPF and EC Investments each increased their holdings to 50%.[14]
Platforms and services
[edit]Heureka Group operates price-comparison platforms in nine Central and Eastern European countries. These are Heureka.cz in the Czech Republic, Heureka.sk in Slovakia, Árukereső.hu in Hungary, Compari.ro in Romania, Pazaruvaj.com in Bulgaria, Ceneje.si in Slovenia, Jeftinije.hr in Croatia, Idealno.rs in Serbia and Idealno.ba in Bosnia and Herzegovina.[1]
The group also provides services for online retailers. Dataweps develops e-commerce analytics and automation tools, while Balíkobot provides software that connects online stores with parcel carriers and automates shipping processes.[12][13]
Google litigation
[edit]Heureka sued Google for damages related to Google's treatment of rival comparison-shopping services in search results. The Municipal Court in Prague referred questions from the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), seeking guidance on when the limitation period for competition-law damages claims should begin.[15]
In April 2024, the CJEU ruled that the limitation period could not begin before the infringement had ended and before the claimant could reasonably have known the information needed to bring a claim.[15]
The Municipal Court in Prague ruled in August 2026 that Google should pay Heureka CZK 250 million in damages for lost profit, plus interest estimated at about CZK 150 million. The ruling was not final.[16][17]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "About us". Heureka Group. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- 1 2 Dočekal, Daniel (29 March 2013). "Miton Media přestává existovat, Heuréku bude provozovat Allegro Group CZ". Lupa.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 Novák, Daniel (1 October 2019). "Srovnávač Heureka se odštěpil od Mall Group, akcionáři zůstali stejní". E15 (in Czech). Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ "Heureka Group". PPF Group. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Kocourek, Jiří (13 October 2008). "Srovnávačům cen se v Česku daří". Lupa.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Poljakov, Nikita (27 October 2015). "Akce Mall.cz: Křetínský a Tkáč budují internetové impérium. Zároveň utužují spolupráci s PPF". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Slížek, David (26 October 2015). "Je to oficiální: Rockaway Jakuba Havrlanta kupuje Mall a Heureku". Lupa.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ "Úřad povolil spojení soutěžitelů ROCKAWAY a HEUREKA se závazky" (in Czech). Office for the Protection of Competition. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ "Alza: Srovnávač cen Heureka není nezávislý, ukončujeme spolupráci". E15 (in Czech). ČTK. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Slížek, David (29 June 2022). "Alza je zpět na Heureka.cz. Důvody roztržky už pominuly, říká firma". Lupa.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ "Mall Group prodá Heureku za téměř osm miliard". E15 (in Czech). ČTK. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- 1 2 Novák, Ondřej (18 March 2021). "Heureka Group koupila nástroj na automatizaci procesů v e-shopech Dataweps". Lupa.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- 1 2 Slížek, David (25 August 2022). "Heureka.cz kupuje logistickou službu Balíkobot na automatizaci rozesílání balíků". Lupa.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Mašek, Jaroslav (25 May 2023). "Velká e-shopová rošáda. Rockaway prodává Heureku a Fast do rukou PPF a EC Investments, zároveň posiluje ve Vivantisu". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Case C-605/21, Heureka Group (Online price comparison services)". EUR-Lex. European Union. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Pokorný, Marek (27 August 2026). "Heureka porazila Google. Americký gigant jí má kvůli vytlačování z trhu zaplatit 400 milionů korun". Hospodářské noviny (in Czech). Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- ↑ Fišer, Miloslav (31 August 2026). "Google má zaplatit Heurece 400 milionů korun za vytlačování z trhu". Novinky.cz (in Czech). ČTK. Retrieved 25 September 2026.