Lisa, Ulrich and Andreas Volk have been managing the “down-to-earth Baden” company together since 2019. The company was founded in 1959 by Alois Volk as a small orthopedic business. His sons Ulrich and Walter Volk later took over as the second generation. Ulrich and his wife Gudrun concentrated on the shoe trade as merchants, while Walter continued to run the orthopedic division. The brothers later merged both companies and combined their forces according to the motto: stronger together.
After completing his training, Walter’s son Andreas decided to join the company as the third generation. Ulrich and Gudrun’s family also considered how things might continue. Kathrin, the younger daughter, decided against a career in the shoe trade – and Lisa, the older one, decided in favor of it.
And so in 2018 Ulrich, Lisa and Andreas, as managing partners, restructured the company with the active support of Gudrun, so that each of the three could shape their own area. Uli Volk is the e-commerce specialist and sells shoes all over the world. Lisa Volk-Winterer takes care of the shoe shops and Andreas is consistently expanding the orthopedics division. Gudrun is the controller and the one who holds the reins as the “real boss”. And then there are Willi, Flora and Leo, the four-legged feel-good managers who ensure a lot of good humor in the company.
In choosing this year’s winner, the jury not only looked at the regional focus but also at the future orientation. The generational change that has already taken place at Schuh Volk and the concentration on two areas, the shoe retail and the orthopedic segment, were key factors for the jury when choosing the shoe retail company.
