This means a further thinning of the offer and ultimately less attractive city centers.
This is the case and it particularly affects the shoe trade. Many consumers are now buying sports retailers or vertical textileists. These have more and more shoes in their range. You don’t necessarily have to go to the shoe store. Especially not younger people.
What does this mean for you and your group of companies?
An advantage is that you are more agile as a branchist and keep the location portfolio flexible. We have gained a lot of locations in recent years, but we have also closed several. We also benefit from the loss of competitors. For well -positioned companies, there are opportunities and market is becoming free.
They run 440 branches. How do they divide into the different concepts?
There are currently 278 Reno branches. Last year we switched 250 stores from our concepts ABC and K+K Schuh-Center to Reno within two and a half months. There are also 67 Shoe4you branches and 25 street shoes shops. Sometimes we have converted Street Shoes areas into Shoe4you, which was also accompanied by moving on larger areas. The portfolio also includes 69 shoe park branches. Schuhpark celebrates the 50th anniversary this year. We took over the branch list in 2019 after the then owner Bernhard Fascies had filed for bankruptcy. He had founded the company at the age of 21 and was a real entrepreneur who lived for his company. It is thanks to his courage and foresight that the company still exists today and that employees have a safe job. A positive example of how an entrepreneurial legacy can be secured at the right time.
Why did Street Shoes move partly to larger areas?
With the current cost structures – keyword wage costs, but also general costs – and industry developments are becoming increasingly difficult to do small units profitable. It is our strategy to increase the average sales of the locations. That is why we have moved to successful centers with Street Shoes in some locations and have reopened under Shoe4you. We want to be a competent and noticeable market participant. It is often difficult to profile yourself with a very small business. And the personnel costs crush you there.
How are the different concepts positioned side by side in your portfolio?
We have adjusted a lot to be more clearly set up. With our different formats we specifically address different customer groups. Now there are three main concepts: Reno, Shoe4you and shoe park. With these three concepts we want to go into the future. For Reno, we started the largest image campaign in our company’s history this year. The motto: “Shoes that sit, prices that fit.” An app is also introduced for Reno and we want to develop the concept powerfully. In addition, there is Street Shoes in our portfolio, which we have no expansion plans. We have set the Claudio concept. Schuhpark is highly positioned in terms of price and comes close to the specialist shop. Reno is the local supplier for the price -conscious family who wants a wide range and wants to buy shoes uncomplicated. There are also many branches here in rural areas. Shoe4you has a slightly higher proportion of brands and an urban offer. It is more positioned in larger metropolitan areas and also has a somewhat younger range.
