You have explained what your partners in the Expect industry. Where do you see your own Company construction sites?
Christian Kernbichl: We always have construction sites. We are a growth -oriented company. So we are used to working with construction sites. This is nothing negative for us. We work iterative by going live with things that do not work 100 %, but rather 80 % – and then we optimize. So there is always a little sand in the gear. But we want to drive this challenge and topics. The topic of AI is interesting for us. We see a huge chance. We built a lot of assistants and revised again because they were outdated or not optimal. We organized workshops on the subject of AI in order to be able to use them better. We are working to map everything into workflows. We are constantly on the move. Incidentally, I would rather speak of opportunities than construction sites.
What role do data-based forecast models play?
Christian Kernbichl: They are interesting. But it still takes time for really reliable models to be developed. The more data you have, the better forecast can be created. But then you also have to have the desired goods. The long delivery times come into play again.
Marco Kroner: And we shouldn’t fool ourselves: We are always in a competitive situation, especially on Amazon. And you have to assess the competitors as well as the customers. Are you concerned with short -term liquidity? Then the best forecast can be wrong.
So you have to constantly observe and adjust the situation.
Marco Kroner: Yes. But that also offers a lot of opportunities. We have been around for eleven years. We started with zero shoes and are now the largest shoe dealer at Amazon in Europe. For this we have developed our own tools and use the data to be able to make quick decisions.
What makes success for you?
Christian Kernbichl: Satisfied customers. This is the apprenticeship at Amazon, where we both were busy for a long time: “Start with the Customer and Work Backwards”. We have very good values of over 98 %in the area of customer satisfaction. If a customer reflects us that we do a good job, it is successful. We want to continue to grow and continue to satisfy our customers. We are an owner -managed company. Therefore, we want to invest in infrastructure and employees in the future. That costs money. But if you don’t invest, you stop. And for us it is like a step backwards. It is not easy to grow in this environment and still generate returns. To date, we have succeeded.
Marco Kroner: But it is also fun to develop things. If we now had the 100 %solution-I think I wouldn’t feel like it anymore. That is why it is important to stay curious. It’s a great industry. A lot is currently in change, and that makes it extremely exciting. If you are successful, also monetary, it is very motivating.
How sustainable is the industry from your point of view?
Marco Kroner: Everyone needs shoes. A shoe is a great product, but you could put it into the focus of the end users much more emotional. So that the lust of buying is created again because you can see what kind of value a shoe has. I find it terrible when people pay 50 euros for a T-shirt without any problems and then say that 100 euros for a few shoes are too much.
Isn’t that a contradiction to your business model? Amazon is not exactly the platform that focuses on the value of products.
Marco Kroner: We are definitely trying to present the products for our brands, for example with additional images or by bringing certain features closer. We create optimized product descriptions that make you want. Incidentally, AI will also help us. We make the best of what Amazon offers us to emotionally charge the brands. That is our claim.
Christian Kernbichl: Due to our cost structure, we cannot offer “cheap shoes”. A certain average price must be achieved if you have no disproportionately large shopping margins. We can sell shoes of up to 250 euros. We are at significantly higher prices than Amazon Retail. We cannot offer 19-euro shoes. That would make no sense. And we have an intelligent pricing that not only goes down, but also up.
Which brands are currently going particularly well?
Christian Kernbichl: In general, we sold worse this summer compared to the previous year. It was difficult, especially in the men’s shoe area. There is no brand that is particularly good or bad. The demand is currently not that strong.
How do children’s shoes run?
Marco Kroner: You run okay. For us, this is a very stable business with ups and downs, which you can foresee. When school begins or kindergarten, we really sell a lot. This will work for six weeks and then the demand drops again.
Are there trends that you watch? A departure from the sneaker?
Christian Kernbichl: The best shoe is the one we sell. It doesn’t have to be sexy. Of course there are always forms and new topics such as barefoot shoes. But something like that comes and goes. We are interested in a stable and long -term partnership with our suppliers. If we recognize certain needs, we also communicate that. It is not a one -way street.
Marco Kroner: Sneakers are still extremely important. We don’t see the boat shoe content for the next summer. Especially since our customer is always a little later. Incidentally, we are reserved for fashion topics.
Christian Kernbichl: The sneaker is a great online product! Pumps and boots have high return rates. But with the sneaker this is manageable and the average prices are good. It has to be the right model. And we have to offer him what the customer wants.
What does your future perspective look like?
Christian Kernbichl: We started with a long -term idea eleven years ago. We never wanted to be a one-hit wonder, but permanently exist in the market. In the meantime, everything is set up in such a way that it also works very well without us. The next generation is already growing in: my son has been supporting us as a working student for three years now and will join the company in April 2026. We want to develop this company sustainably. We have established good relationships with our partners. We have a lot of fun working in this industry.