STIL-LADEN
VIENNA, AUSTRIA Located in Vienna, Stil-Laden started as a skateboard and streetwear concept store in 2005 and has since seen it’s reputation grow as one of Austria’s finest skate shops. Now complete with coffee shop installation and a brand new skate-goods-only shop opening just across the road, CEO Michael Paul tells us how the reinvention of the store and online presence creates the community and drives the business. Tell us about your store’s history. STIL-LADEN was founded by Günther Zott and myself [Michael Paul] in 2005 and the concept of the shop has changed over the years. In the beginning, it was more of a street culture shop with its own exhibition space - Nike Urban Lab Vienna - which we curated together with Nike Sportswear. We were also one of the first Nike SB dealers in Europe. What’s your USP? We actually never paid any attention to what other shops do and continued to develop as a store. First and foremost, we simply made sure that we keep reinventing the shop 21
concept and that business stays exciting for us. I think boredom and standing still is the biggest poison for a small retailer. Just what kind of advantage does a small retailer have over the big guys? There are two incredibly important things you can do as a small shop. Firstly, you can create your very own image that you should convey authentically. Secondly, you can build personal contact and connection with your customers. As a small shop, not only do you have the advantage of being flexible and quick in your reactions to certain trends, but you can also organise cool events regularly.
