In the Thick of Things

A new generation of employees makes different demands on their employers - benefits and codetermination are more important than wages and titles. The fashion trade offers exactly this opportunity. style in progress asked retailers to share their recipes for success. Text: Martina Müllner-Seybold, Kay Alexander Plonka, Nicoletta Schaper, Joachim Schirrmacher. Photos: Interviewees and stores

SOTO STORE/BERLIN DO IT YOURSELF

“A ll employees actively supported the craftsmen during the conversion. It felt a bit like a shared flat was being turned into a new home,” laughs Lars Holzbrecher, Operations Manager at Soto Store. Together with Dutch designer Johannes Offerhaus, he created a completely new shopping experience. Offerhaus designed all elements such as furniture, product carriers, and lighting system, which were then manufactured by befriended boat builders and neighbouring exhibition stand builders. On a sales area of around 100 square metres, the customers’ senses are stimulated by slow colour changes in the lighting and by movement in the presentation. Among the highlights is a rotating shoe wall that offers space for 240 models and affords customers the opportunity to view the shoes of various brands while they move past them vertically. Conical furniture, various shelves, and custom-made displays present labels like Acne Studios, Marni, OAMC, Our Legacy, Undercover, and many more. Works by several Berlin artists, such as currently those of Annabell Häfner and Johannes Bosisio, round off the staging of the new store’s differentiated customer approach. “With one click, we can switch the store from day to night mode and thus to a completely different customer experience. The transformative lighting system of our lighting designer Stefan Damnig offers different colour themes and moods to accompany the individual items of different brands, events, or product presentations in terms of lighting technology,” explains Lars Holzbrecher.

Lars Holzbrecher is Operations Manager. He works for, at, and with Soto Store in Berlin.

Retail as an experience: Soto Store was not created by retail designers, but by its staff. It’s no surprise that everyone chipped in during the 14-day conversion.

STROLZ/LECH AM ARLBERG TEAMGEIST

Ambros Strolz, Managing Director of Strolz in Lech: “Young people like working for us, because they can combine their job at Strolz with skiing. Our work focuses on the season; the atmosphere in our company is deliberately less restrictive than elsewhere. Team spirit is paramount, which is why we don’t offer individual bonuses. We have no interest in sales hyenas! This means that we provide sensible accommodation, provide our employees with apples and fresh coffee, and offer meal vouchers for the restaurant. It’s not what you say, but how you say it! Our four apprentices value this pleasant working environment. It may be a rude awakening for some, because exhausting seasonal work doesn’t allow much leisure time. However, I am often told that the atmosphere within the company is more important to our employees than the salary. The fact that 80 percent of them return to us every year speaks for itself. That’s a high percentage for a seasonal business.”

Ambros Strolz is committed to creating a deliberately relaxed atmosphere.

The pleasant working atmosphere at Strolz contributes to the customers’ holiday spirit.

L&T’s employees form a formidable team.

L&T/OSNABRÜCK PUT THE PEDAL TO THE METAL

Daniel Wessel is eager to instil flexibility and communication in new talent. D aniel Wessel, Head of HR at L&T: “The fashion retail trade requires a high degree of flexibility, which we encourage proactively. An excellent fashion consultant needs to be able to establish a connection with customers instantly, to read sizes, and to determine dress styles. What’s important to the customers? What do they pay attention to? Is the customer shy, meaning the consultant has to build trust? How does one react to dominant customers? In addition to the classical virtues, we also address communication in spontaneity training. The WhatsApp generation isn’t necessarily known for being embellished storytellers. Our apprentices switch departments every six months, from the sports department to the women’s department for instance. Active involvement is a major factor in terms of trainee retention. That’s why we allow them to develop smaller projects, for example how one could expand our club customer database. This approach results in some very exciting solutions! For those keen to become team leaders, we finance a one-year business administrator course at LDT Nagold. We have learned to guide our trainees strictly and to establish a mutual feedback culture. The results are incredible. Once the trainees find that accelerator, they put the pedal to the metal.”

The anniversary campaign reflects the female power that drives the store in Hohenems. It shows Stefanie (3rd from left) and Inge Walser (5th from left) surrounded by their sales team.

MODE WALSER/HOHENEMS POWER TO THE WOMEN!

Stefanie Walser, the owner of Mode Walser in Hohenems, knows how valuable her employees are. S tefanie Walser, owner of Mode Walser Hohenems: “We are celebrating our 100th anniversary this year and have decided to mark the occasion by launching a very special campaign. It shows my mother and me surrounded by our employees. This photo shooting was a wonderful and intense experience for all of us. We shot four motifs in seasonal and colour-coordinated outfits. The photographer came all the way from Vienna and we hired a professional stylist. It was the first time our employees saw how much effort goes into such a shooting. The result proves that it was totally worth it! I am proud of our team spirit and the female power that is so tangible in the pictures. We are very fortunate to have many long-standing employees. They know their customers and maintain relationships with them. We are aware of how valuable these women are. It was important to us to reflect this appreciation in the campaign. We always give a lot of thought to how we can create an environment that ensures employees stay with us for a long time. Finding new staff is, after all, a huge challenge. Especially when you already have a great team that sets such high standards…”

DIPTYQUE/BERLIN CUSTOMERS AS GUESTS

Inès de la Fressange, Tom Ford, Rick Owens, and Donatella Versace made Diptyque a “benchmark for scented candles”, as Guilhem Rousseau of Française de Bougies told Le Figaro. His manufactory produces candles for Diptyque, as does his competitor Hypsipyle. The store on Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm not only impresses with Art-Deco interior, but also employs an excellent team: friendly, unobtrusive, and competent. “The founders taught us to welcome customers as guests, to share the Diptyque story. If they decide not to buy anything, the most important thing is to maintain a relationship. They’ll come back one day,” says Fabienne Mauny, who worked for Yves Saint Laurent for 20 years. She has been running Diptyque since 2007, after William Fisher, the son of the founders of fashion house GAP and the conglomerate’s current director, acquired the company. A longing for special and authentic items allows niche brands such as Diptyque to thrive. The business employs 150 people worldwide, 70 of whom work at the headquarters in Paris. “We’ve been growing at a rate between 20 and 25 percent for many years,” Mauny points out. According to US trade magazine WWD, Dipytque generated a turnover of 10 million US Dollars in 2006. Estimates suggest that this figure has since risen to 80 million Euros.

Rare in the world of global brands: Diptyque believes the customer always comes first.

Diptyque perceives customers as guests who have every right to come and marvel at items without buying anything.

Alexander Petrskovsky believes in creating an environment that allows trainees to flourish.

Kastner & Öhler bildet jährlich über 30 Lehrlinge für den Verkaufsberuf aus.

KASTNER & ÖHLER/GRAZ FREEDOM

Alexander Petrskovsky, Chairman of Kastner & Öhler: “We rely heavily on our apprentices! That’s why we train them thoroughly with a strong focus on personality development. Young people between the ages of 15 and 17 often lack a suitable contact person. They may think their parents are moronic, harbour no faith in religion, and have zero interest in their siblings. It is our duty to develop the character of our trainees. We expect our managers to create an environment that encourages such development. They need to be aware of how much influence they have on the performance of trainees. A different challenge is to find the right position for employees. We often experience that the right placement allows average employees to blossom into top salespeople! Furthermore, we encourage staff to think outside the box in terms of sales talks. It’s great when the approach suits a certain customer or situation! Our salespeople feel that they’re contributing significantly to our success. We implemented a bonus programme four years ago and it has proved highly successful. It increases the motivation of our top salespeople immensely.”