Last week it was announced that Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is bankrupt again and many branches have to close. And yesterday the online retailer buero.de announced that it wanted to take over 47 locations. But does the classic department store still have a future?
“The customer decided that he no longer wanted to buy there, in sufficient quantities, and Galeria messed that up too, because they had countless opportunities over many years to radically develop their concept further. And what they have always done is optimize”says Marcus Diekmann in the 399th episode of the podcast “important today”.
The businessman believes it is an exaggeration to say that Galeria Kaufhof is now an anchor for smaller towns and that without the old department stores the towns would die out. For centuries, only the churches have had the right to be considered indispensable.
Diekmann has the initiative “Traders help traders” founded, there they work on new concepts, for example how to make smaller inner cities attractive again.
Shopping is an experience
“Today, shopping is a shopping experience, which means that the first thing we have to do is bring playgrounds and not just a small sandbox, but real worlds of experience into the city center. Then we have to create a mix of big chains that are attractive plus small individual great stores. Plus good gastronomy. Only if you round off these three factors with free parking, then we have a well-rounded concept”says Marcus Diekmann in an interview with “important today”-Editor Dimitri Blinski.
The Holy Sundays
Sunday openings are another building block for successfully surviving against online trading. Marcus Diekmann says: “We need to move to the Sunday opening and I understand all the good reasons why not, but if people don’t have time during the week and we see online traffic on Sundays is huge, then I would like to invite them. I would rather close on Mondays and would rather be allowed to open on Sundays.”
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Source: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
