International magazine for lifestyle and business • www.superior-magazine.com
#64 | 2018
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Superior is an international magazine for lifestyle and business Superior Magazine stands for high-quality content that is a source of new insights and inspiration. In the four sections Art + Design, Business + Society, Culture + Travel and Fashion + Beauty you find interviews with fascinating people, exclusive photos and videos, reports on high-class events, the hottest places in the city and a lot more. Superior Magazine’s sophisticated design provides an artistic showcase for all kinds of vanguard visual expression and imagery. Superior Magazine is published across all media channels – mobile, digital, print and web - with a strong link between the channels.
Cover by Bea v. Winterfeldt-Heuser
THE INTERNATIONAL B
DECEMBER 2016
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BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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EDITORIAL
DEAR SUPERIOR MAGAZINE READERS, A
fter a long break, among others caused by the fact that key team members left, Superior Magazine is back. We used the time to recharge our creative batteries and to think about what was good and what could be improved. And most importantly, we found a wonderful new Creative Head - Beatrix von Winterfeldt-Heuser. Fortunately, Beatrix was able to pick up and continue the design of the previous editions of our last Creative Director Itamar Inbar. Thanks again Itamar for the great work you had done! So, the new issue seamlessly joins the last one before the break. As in the past, we show great exclusive fashion editorials from around the world. This time we have five fashion editorials which come from Canada, France, Germany and Italy in the category Fashion + Beauty. Furthermore, we have exclusive interviews and texts in the categories Art + Design, Business + Society and Culture + Travel. We hope you rejoice that Superior Magazine is back and enjoy the new issue. Tom and the whole Superior Magazine team
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GET YOUR PRINTED ISSUE 
CONTENT
12 EDITORIAL 16 CONTRIBUTORS ONLY HUMAN 22 34 WOHN, GARTEN CONCEPT STORE 38 SELECTION 42 CANDY STORY 52 MILLENNIALS 56 CALL ME THE BREEZE 68 SHOPEUR 72 INTO MY HOUSE 90 WOOD FAIRY 104 IMPRINT
Fashion Editorial by Daniel Cianfarra
Interview mit Mike Alexander Doepp
Interior Design
Fashion Editorial by Bea v. Winterfeldt-Heuser
BUSINESS + SOCIETY
Fashion Editorial by Grayson Lauffenburger
Interview with Johannes Sréter
Fashion Editorial by Severine Queyras
Fashion Editorial by Natacha Lamblin
ART + DESIGN
FASHION + BEAUTY
CULTURE + TRAVEL
Column by Sarah Weyers
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CONTRIBUTORS #64 | 2018
DANIEL CIANFARRA ORIGIN PROFESSION CREATIVE APPROACH
SOURCE OF INSPIRATION ABOUT HIS FASHION EDITORIAL ONLY HUMAN FOR SUPERIOR MAGAZINE
Montreal, Quebec, Canada Photographer Daniel follows his gut feelings.... he truly goes with how he feels at the moment. If he has heart palpitations when shooting - that means good. If he has sweaty palms, it’s time to change things. Film, art, music. For this editorial Daniel wanted to communicate the feelings of isolation and detachment we often feel even with the immediacy social media. We’re yearning contact but not knowing how to connect with others anymore.
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NATACHA LAMBLIN
© MARION COLOMBANI
ORIGIN PROFESSION
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Paris, France Photographer
CREATIVE APPROACH
Natacha is an autodidact photographer since 2013. She mainly shoots portrait and beauty editorials, but also likes to do some fashion outdoors. She likes to work with sensitive, feminine and sometimes goofy feelings.
SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
Women mostly, everyday emotions such as Love, the Dreaming world, Nature, children stories...
ABOUT HER FASHION EDITORIAL WOOD FAIRY FOR SUPERIOR MAGAZINE
Ana had a walk through the enchantress woods of Alsace, France. This forest is famous for fairy tales. A delicate woman communicating with nature. Time has stopped, we have no idea what era this is. Between ancient and contemporary.
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GRAYSON LAUFFENBURGER ORIGIN PROFESSION
Berlin, Germany Photographer
CREATIVE APPROACH
Grayson has lately been veering into a direction where he tries to remain true to the more natural aesthetic of his photos. He tries to interweave this, however, with a touch of refinement and production value.
SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
Grayson finds the majority of his inspiration from other artists, specifically photographers and painters. Although he has to say, he tends to draw a lot of inspiration from various stimuli in everyday life, which he tries to incorporate and combine to form something new and exciting.
ABOUT HIS FASHION EDITORIAL CALL ME THE BREEZE FOR SUPERIOR MAGAZINE
A girl enjoying things that have nothing to do with city life, technology, or the stress associated with it.
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SEVERINE QUEYRAS ORIGIN PROFESSION CREATIVE APPROACH
SOURCE OF INSPIRATION ABOUT HER FASHION EDITORIAL INTO MY HOUSE FOR SUPERIOR MAGAZINE
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Rome, Italy Photographer Severine Queyras, French by birth and Roman by adoption, has worked in photography for more than 15 years. Specializing in fashion and commercial portraits, she still likes to explore all areas of the image, from video to performance. Life in general. This is a trip in the silence of a beautiful house...
CONTRIBUTORS #64 | 2018
BEA V. WINTERFELDT HEUSER ORIGIN PROFESSION
Frankfurt, Germany Photographer
CREATIVE APPROACH
Her photographic approach is somewhere between minimalistic and expressive. She tries to play with contrasts in order to focus on the point of interest within her photo stories.
SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
Bea gets a lot of inspiration from famous fashion photographers a s Tim Walker or Patrick Demarchelier. Also current social issues inspire her to interpret those in a creative way.
ABOUT HER FASHION EDITORIAL CANDY STORYFOR SUPERIOR MAGAZINE
We are surrounded by abundance in whatever aspect of life. In her editorial Bea and her team pick up this topic displaying the totally exaggerated use of sweets. This is to show not only that we are confronted with far too much sugar in everyday life but also are not able to consume with pleasure as offer and amount of the things on display are simply overwhelming us.
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WORKS APP / DIGITAL / ONLINE / PRINT
We are happy to receive contributions and submissions by photographers, filmmakers, stylists, make-up artists, hair stylists, models, illustrators, artists and authors.
SHOW US Your best ideas, your creativity and your excellence and become published in Superior Magazine
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SUBMISSION
SUBMIT YOUR
ONLY HUMAN
Photography ■ Daniel Cianfarra Stylist ■ Monica Giliati Make-Up / Hair ■ Lisa Sim Models ■ Leanne & Louis @MONTAGE MODELS
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GUY Shirt ■ COS Pants ■ DIESEL Shoes ■ TIGER OF SWEDEN GIRL: Top ■ DKNY Skirt ■ DKNY Shoes ■ TIGER OF SWEDEN
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Shirt ■ COS Blazer ■ ÉCOLE DE PENSÉE Pants ■ COS
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Top ■ YOHJI YAMAMOTO Shorts ■ TIGER OF SWEDEN Leggins & Shoes ■ NIKE
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GIRL Dress ■ COS BOY Shirt ■ TIGER OF SWEDEN #64 | 2018
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GIRL Dress ■ COS BOY Shirt ■ TIGER OF SWEDEN 29
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Dress ■ DKNY Shoes ■ & OTHER STORIES Earrings ■ PILGRIM 31
Dress ■ TIGER OF SWEDEN Pants ■ TIGER OF SWEDEN Shoes ■ TIGER OF SWEDEN Bag ■ COS #64 | 2018
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COLOGNE
WOHN,GARTEN CONCEPT STORE The home of interior design Interview ■ Tom Felber Photos ■ wohn,garten
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course it was not an easy decision. My parents lived there and as I said, I loved Frankfurt. And that meant to close my store. It was in a nice neighbourhood, all the other stores and cafés we were friends and I had really nice long-time customers. Although it was a bit sad at that time to leave all this behind me, I was excited to start something new. Mike Alexander Doepp and his wohn,garten Concept Store is one of Cologne’s best addresses for excellent Interior Design. On the occasion of the one-year jubilee of wohn,garten Concept Store we met Mike in his store. Mike, you have already more than 25 years of experience in design. How did all this start?
Although I would call myself already a bit a “Kölsche Jung”, after living in Cologne now for more than 15 years, everything started in Frankfurt/Main where I was born. After my Abitur degree I was not sure what to do. I tried some things out, among others studying at the university. But very soon I found out that this was too theoretical for me. And, moving away was not an option for me since Frankfurt was still deep in my heart at that time. Luckily, a friend of mine had a store for exclusive design and flowers in Frankfurt. He invited me work in that store for a few weeks to find out whether that fits. And what shall I say ... It was exactly what I wanted to do. In 1994 I opened my own store in Frankfurt. It was again the combination of design and flowers. I guess it was named wohn,garten?
Exactly. (smiling) How did it come that you left Frankfurt, the city of your heart?
That was because of personal reasons. Sometimes you need such a push to try something new. Of 35
And in Cologne you opened another store?
Not immediately. I first worked freelance for some design and floristic projects. I think it’s important to explore a new city before you open a new business there. Every city is different, customers have a different mentality. You have to find out which area of the city might be appropriate for a new store and which other stores are around. And last but not least I wanted to discover my new hometown Cologne. After a while I felt ready for the next step. In the neighbourhood where I live a small store became vacant and I took it. It was a cosy tiny place and it went well. But then my parents who still lived in Frankfurt became seriously ill. The first time I tried to manage both, store and family. But at a certain point that did not work anymore and I decided to close the store and to focus on my family. That was absolutely the right decision! But now you have the new, the third wohn,garten here in Schaafenstrasse.
Exactly, one year now. I was so happy to find this spacy location, flooded with light. This location gives me the platform to create the right environment for the wohn,garten Concept Store. And, it has a nice neighbourhood again. With Ulf Larsson, the gallerist next to me the chemistry was perfect from the first moment. And since a few weeks my other neighbour, ... attracts an interesting new crowd. We already did some projects together. And although you don’t sell flowers anymore, you kept the name wohn,garten.
Yes. For a short while I thought about a new name. But wohn,garten belongs to me. That’s my heritage.
So, what’s the concept behind the new wohn,garten?
Over all it is contemporary Interior Design on a high level. But still affordable. I have a focus on glass and porcelain but also some furniture and a lot of decoration items to create a warm and welcoming home. All brands are handpicked. First of all I look for an excellent design and a perfect quality. Most of the glass and porcelain pieces are handmade or even limited editions. In the first moment it’s not so much about a famous brand name. It’s all about quality and to offer something special.
sign. And that might also include the floristic part. On top, if I have time I still do event decoration. Which explains the garden-part of the name wohn,garten. Could you name 3 highlights of your wohn,garten Concept Store?
Well, how could a mother call some of her children her favourites?! (smiling) All of them are highlights in their way. Among others you find glass items by Arcade Murano, Guaxs, Henry
The Concept Store contains two rooms. In the big front-room you find the assortment which is a bit season independent. The smaller “cabinet” in the back of the store is used for special themes like Christmas, Easter etc. among others. This division of the store enables me to be flexible and to keep the store in a nice conceptual design. Another important part of the wohn,garten Concept Store concept is the combination of design and art. From the first moment I integrated artists, local ones from Cologne as well as international ones, into the store. That means explicitly that the artists are not just decoration. They become their own importance in the store. That’s the reason why the selection of the right artists is very important. Luckily, my neighbour Ulf Larsson helps me in that process with his expertise and his connections. And really no flowers anymore?
Well ... I do not sell flowers in the store. But beside the store, I still have my services. Services?
Yes. Additionally to the assortment of the store I offer the service to advise private people and also companies like hotels, stores etc. regarding their interior de-
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Dean, LSA International and Pols Potten, porcelain by Anna Sykora and Dottir Nordic Design, interior design pieces by Claudi, Giftcompany, Gluckigluck, Mojoo, Philippi and so many more. Brand new and exclusive at wohn,garten Concept Store is the award-winning Concrete stacking rack by Christoph Pesch. With his design he won the Red Dot Award 2018.
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Wow, that’s really an exciting selection. So, how can people buy all these nice things?
Of course in the store here in Schaafenstrasse. It is always nice to see and feel the pieces directly in a living environment. I change the decoration of the store at least twice a month. So, my customers have always a new experience. Of course an advantage of being in the store is also the advice I can give. For all who are not from the Cologne area or do not have the time to visit the store we have our online shop. Here you find a large part of the assortment.
Just visit www.wohn-garten.com/shop. Last but not least. What happens in the store next? Although Christmas seems to be far away for the store it’s close. I just opened the “wohn,garten Christmas world” where you find everything for a sparkling and colourful Christmas from small items up to exclusive pieces of art. Thank you for the interview and have a successful next wohn,garten year.
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SELECTION #64 | 2018
Presented by wohn,garten Concept Store www.wohn-garten.com ARCADE MURANO The creations of Arcade Murano take you on a journey through different shapes, colors, symbols, thoughts, feelings and sensuality. The pieces by Arcade Murano are unique and are made only in limited edition with historical techniques. Glass objects from Arcade Murano can be found in numerous museums and collections.
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GUAXS Guaxs glass is made in small, exclusive glass factories that specialize in producing small editions for international artists and designers. The glassworkers usually work in teams. For such a team to work successfully, a high level of skill, coordination, strength and experience is required. Due to the sophisticated, Guaxs-typical forms, this can only be blown by experienced craftsmen.
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ANNA SYKORA The Berlin based designer Anna Sykora creates porcelain pieces of art. They are not poured into molds as usual but turned by her own hands on the potter’s wheel. This technique requires great craftsmanship and concentration to come to a perfect product. But when it is finished, the porcelain pieces by Anna Sykora do not only look beautiful, it is also a pleasure to touch them and to hold them in your hands.
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PESCH CONCRETE DESIGN With the Concrete stacking rack, Christoph Pesch has developed a corner edge construction that allows stacking without offset and is self-supporting due to its shape. His easy-to-build rack made of concrete cubes convinced the Red Dot Award jury 2018, which tested and evaluated more than 6,300 objects from 59 nations.
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Candy Story Photography ■ Beatrix v. Winterfeldt-Heuser Make-Up &Styling ■ Sofia Christoforidou Model ■ Meike Bruch
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Shirt ■ Rokoko Top ■ BERSHKA Short ■ MOTEL Harnish ■ ASOS Cap ■ NEW ERA Socks ■ SISLEY Shoes ■ ASOS DESIGN
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Shirt ■ ANNADAM Skirt ■ LACE & BEADS Hat ■ ASOS DESIGN Bag ■ ROCK N ROSE Shoes ■ STYLIST‘S OWN 45
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Shirt ■ ANNADAM Pants ■ ASOS DESIGN Sunglasses ■ ASOS Earrings ■ ASOS DESIGN Belt Bag ■ ASOS DESIGN Shoes ■ FAITH 47
Coat ■ ANNADAM Top ■ NEW LOOK Skirt ■ ASOS Socks ■ SISLEY Shoes ■ ASOS DESIGN #64 | 2018
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Coat ■ ASOS DESIGN Dress ■ ASOS Choker ■ JOHNNY LOVES ROSIE Socks ■ ASOS DESIGN Shoes ■ ASOS DESIGN #64 | 2018
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COLUMN
MILLENNIALS Their role in global change Text ■ Sarah Weyers Photos ■ Sarah Weyers
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With the rising interest in weeklong festivals somewhere in the desert, to worshipping strangely famous families and wearing non-sense slogans on bright cotton T-Shirts, Generation Y and X seems incredibly oblivious to what is actually going on in the world. When googling ‘Millennial’, an overwhelming amount of posts and articles about the generation born any time after 1990 describes how narcissist, self-centred, entitled and lazy this generation is and focuses less on the many different positive affects the thinking and work of this generation has brought: Study after study after study confirms that these are the people who are strongly concerned with the environment, human rights and the work life balance. How is that possible? The study conducted by the World Economic Forum called ‘Global Shapers Survey’ concludes that about 50% of the current world population is under the age of 30. This makes it the highest youth population in history, putting so-called Millennial in a position of power. With many different problems putting the world on edge, a few particular threats have been prevalent: Climate change, global warming and the destruction of nature. We all remember the grisly photos of starving polar bears on melting ice caps; seabirds drowning in lakes of spilt oil, and turtles having straws pulled from their noses by a Good Samaritan – but in reality, we can’t really relate our own behaviours to the catastrophic affects they have on nature. Especially today’s youth, who has practically been growing up with Starbucks on every corner, and were born into the take-out culture and individually plastic-wrapped apples, ordering online and creating and endless chain of waste by simply existing – and yet, this is the generation that acknowledges the fault in this behaviour and is willing to blame humanity for the results. Climate change is our society’s ‘responsibility’ – and it seems as though this generation that is currently growing up is the first one to fully acknowledge this fact.
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Trend of veganism and vegetarianism I always found it quite interesting to observe the generation of our grandparents’ rant about organic foods – with comments such as ‘Back in my day we just had carrots, and not four different classifications of where they come from – they just came from the fields!”. Well – back in your day mass consumption and an incredible increase in population in both cities and rural areas didn’t create the same demand for products we have today and were therefore organic in itself. The demanded availability of products like mangos, avocados and other exotic fruits in European supermarkets all year round is a crime against nature as it is, but even dairy and meat products have been made available to any budget and therefore need to be produced with the same margin as before, but in increased masses and much less time. When talking to someone from our parent’s generation, it is probable to hear them say that meat used to be something special for either the weekends or a special occasion. So how come we have lost touch to the value of animal products and are used to consuming them multiple times a day, every day of the week? It is inevitable that not only the animals, but especially the environment will suffer from these developments, and the more videos of inside slaughter houses and charts of pollution caused by the dairy and meat industry appear, the more people that have access to this kind of information will start rethinking their choices. Our grandparents didn’t need to buy organic products, but they also only consumed regional and seasonal products, therefore eliminating much waste and pollution in itself. Also, with less disposable finances, food was bought with more care and not in batch as it often is today, which decreased the need of it staying fresh for long periods of time and needed less chemicals to create said longevity.
With that being said, the more information emerging in terms of animal rights, environmental impacts and future developments of current consumer behaviours, the Millennial generation has motivated the veganism and vegetarianism trend to cause an increase of 300% in less than five years in Britain alone. Despite the ridicule many vegans and vegetarians encounter on a daily basis – and, being vegetarian for 16 years– I know what that is like, our generation seems to want to educate more than point a finger, organizing events and rallies, supporting groups like Greenpeace and PETA in their fight for more awareness of these problems.
it and doing what it takes to increase awareness and create improvements, it’s a millennial starting the #metoo social media movement on Twitter, urging women to share their own encounters of abuse online and offline in order to make it obvious that it has happened to all of us at some point – whether it be photos of genitals we didn’t want, inappropriate cat calling, groping, touching, harassing and abusing us – 81% of us have experienced it in some form or another. And again, millennials have played an important role in the movement and its development, using our voice both on the internet and in the streets to speak our minds.
Human Rights and feminism
Gun Violence
Another interesting and incredibly important subject that our generation is currently highly involved in is the rising feminism movement. One of the events that have empowered this movement were the degrading and incredibly misogynist, unprofessional and disgusting comments on how to treat women made by no less than the current president of one of the most powerful nations in the world: Donald Trump. Even though I had expected no less of someone of his kind, I have to admit that his public take on disrespecting women has empowered us even more to speak up about our own accounts of sexual abuse and therefore sparked a conversation that led to the Women’s Marches and a closer look at worker rights, equal pay of men and women and further improvement of women’s lives – at least that’s what we’re working on now. And even though women of all ages are involved in this movement, leading it, supporting #64 | 2018
Another event that shook the entire world was what now seems to be just one of many, but at the time of the event created a shockwave and a movement: The Parkland High School shooting in February of 2018. The faces of the movement were survivors of the shooting, rallying against the gun lobby, calling out politicians for accepting financial support from the NRA and the general deaf ear of what seemed like anyone over the age of 35 they seemed to meet during their fight. When 17 people, including 14 students and three staff members were killed in a Florida high school, something seemed to shift amongst the entire generation of high school students: The sentiment was clear: ‘We need change’ and it was only a matter of time until it was figured out how to bring this exact change: Rallies were held where thousands of people protested against the current gun laws in the United States, celebrities donated to the marches and organizations that fight the gun lobby, teachers created a trending Twitter hashtag saying that they did not become a teacher in order to protect children from guns, but rather to teach them how to live.
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With the young faces of David Hogg and his fellow students leading the one of the largest protests in US history in regards to gun violence, they additionally organized the ‘National School Walk Out’ as well as protests with the name ‘March for our lives’. Carolyn Davis of the Public Religion Research Institute states that this development could be a ‘new generation of political movement’ and thereby comparing this movement to the Civil Rights Movement and the Anti-War Movement, which were both led by people similar of age and demographic and have led to significant change overall.
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Conclusion With all of these factors moving our generation – and people beyond – the role of the millennial as well as Generation Z who is yet to become old enough to cast their vote at important elections has been incredible in latest developments and has formed a strong voice in the world. I am curious to see how other old-fashioned models, such as the 9-5 cubicle work module, parenting and the general social construct of families will be changed – when we see the power of social media and its users completely changing advertising and journalism in itself already.
Shirt ■ LALA BERLIN Shorts ■ NOBI TAILAI
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Call me the Breeze Photography ■ Grayson Lauffenburger Styling ■ Alex McFadyen Make Up & Hair ■ Sabine Högerl Model ■ Hanna Fischer Production ■ Carolin Lauffenburger Assistant ■ Tom Lewendon
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Shirt ■ LALA BERLIN Shorts ■ NOBI TAILAI
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Jacket â– LALA BERLIN
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Sweater ■ LALA BERLIN Pants ■ NOBI TALAI #64 | 2018
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Dress â– LALA BERLIN
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Skirt ■ NOBI TALAI Tanktop ■ STYLIST’S OWN Boots ■ FURLA 64 | 2018 #64
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Jumpsuit â– HUND HUND
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Dress ■ LOLI MICHALOPOULOU B38 Vest ■ THURLEY, DTALES CONCEPT STORE
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SUPERIOR BUSINESS
SHOPEUR Making travelling to Europe even more pleasant Interview ■ Tom Felber Photos ■ SHOPEUR
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Johannes Sréter & Christoph Hofer
More than 10 million Chinese visited Europe as tourists last year. Each of them is spending more than € 500 on average per day on luxury products. Shopeur is providing first-class shopping services for these clients. Tom Felber talked for Superior Business to Johannes Sréter, co-founder and CEO of Shopeur before he left for a 1-month trip to Shanghai, organized and sponsored by the German-Chinese startup network DCHub. Johannes, you are one of the founders of Shopeur. Who are your co-founders? Why did you decide to connect and work together? My co-founders are Christoph Hofer, Markus Sutor and Florian Mück. I have already known Christoph and Markus for a long time, so we had quite a good idea of what working together would be like. Christoph’s background is business consulting as well as project management and Markus had founded several companies before so they both brought valuable experience to the table. Flo runs his own IT company which allowed us to start our project with an overall very professional setup.
lers faced on their trips across Europe from limited availability of desired products or language barriers to difficulties with tax refund processes. When my research showed that European luxury brands experienced similar hurdles while interacting with their Chinese clients the idea for Shopeur was born. We believe that our service eases the current pains and will make travelling to Europe even more pleasant for our Chinese guests. Which problems does Shopeur tackle exactly? And, which products and services does Shopeur provide to solve them? Shopeur offers Chinese travellers a digital service within the familiar user environment of WeChat which enables them to plan and customise their luxury shopping experience even pre-trip or while they are on their journey across Europe. We ensure the availability of desired products at luxury brand stores, deliver orders straight to our clients’ accommodation and help them with oftentimes confusing tax refund processes. Our fully integrated payment solution offers even more convenience since popular Chinese mobile payment options such as WePay are not yet readily available at European retailers. We provide Chinese luxury shoppers with a one-stop multi-brand solution while working in close cooperation with local and international luxury brands. Shopeur combines shopping with experiencing luxury brands and lifestyle. The omni-channel approach allows Shopeur’s customers to enjoy the service regardless of whether they go shopping online or at traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
What inspired you to start Shopeur?
Who are your main competitors? Which advantages do you provide compared to them?
The idea for Shopeur originates from my PhD research on the socio-cultural influence of Chinese travellers on European destinations. I often came across recurring challenges that Chinese travel-
Major Chinese travel and ecommerce platforms are constantly expanding their service portfolio, and some even started catering to the needs of Chinese travellers abroad.
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Although most of these services for Chinese travellers to Europe are still at an early stage this only highlights the importance and customer value of the target audience. In Europe, companies such as Eastsong Consulting, an agency managing Chinese local tour guides in Europe, are among our competitors although their focus lies on Chinese group travellers more than on individual and independent travellers. Farfetch is currently developing a personal shopping app, but it has not been launched yet and it won’t mainly target Chinese customers. Shopeur’s key USP is the service portfolio combined in our WeChat Mini-Program and our direct cooperation with European luxury brands as well as platforms granting our service access to exclusive distribution networks and limited editions. The pre-order feature ensures a high customer satisfaction and a tailored
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premium service which Chinese travellers who are increasingly sophisticated are looking for. You already have a couple of business partners. Who is especially interesting for you as partner? We value all our partners since each enables us to provide a different service element to our customers. Travel partners such as Air China and various luxury hotels across Europe are important, they ensure safe arrival and pleasant stay for our clients. Our luxury eCommerce partners allow us to offer our hotel delivery service across Europe. And our network of store managers at leading European luxury brands ensures the availability of pre-ordered products for in-store collection. In addition, with our selection of small local luxury manufacturers with their truly exceptional craftsmanship our clients get a glimpse behind the curtain of European luxury lifestyle.
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You are already on the market with Shopeur. What have you achieved so far?
You are now going to Shanghai with DC-Hub. What do you expect from this trip?
Besides recruiting an amazing cross-functional German-Chinese team that is committed to fulfilling every possible request of our clients we have managed to extend our luxury partner network both across online as well as traditional retail. We launched our Mini-Program in July 2018 allowing our customers to interact with us as well as their family and friends directly on WeChat, thus ensuring an even more convenient way of shopping. Our 2018 promotion partnership with China’s leading airline Air China has further validated our service commitment. We were also honoured to have been selected as a finalist at this year’s ITB China Travel Startup of the Year 2018 award.
Since we recently launched our WeChat Mini-Program we are excited to test all current and some future features on the actual target market. Trends and preferences in China are developing and changing fast so it is important for us to dive into the daily life in one of China’s undoubtedly most vibrant and cosmopolitan cities. DC-Hub has been working hard to connect us with exciting contacts and we are looking forward to meeting Chinese investors, partners from the travel industry and fellow startup entrepreneurs.
Are you looking for further investments? If yes, what is the most important thing prospective investors should know about your company? After the launch of our service in October 2017 and the successful track record over the last quarters which saw continuous growth in sales as well as an increasing number of customers and partner brands we are currently looking for investment. Although numbers are important to impress potential investors we believe that our cross-cultural team and the depth of knowledge acquired over the years are truly invaluable assets. Trying to bridge the cultural gap between Europe and China has taught us many things and has forced us to question our perceptions on a regular basis since trends and expectations tend to change quickly on the much faster paced Chinese market. Our knowledge and understanding of our customers’ needs gathered in the industry is our strong point and highly appreciated experience not easily copied. That is why our partners turn to us for advice on how to market to their Chinese target audience and it has opened doors to even some of the most reclusive luxury brands. 71
What are your main goals for the next 12 months? Opening an office in China in order to move our customer service and marketing team even closer to our clients. Further extending our customer base with the help of present and new partners. Securing investment to fuel the expansion across various Chinese travel segments. Dipping our toes in the water of additional source markets in South East Asia. Thank you for the interview.
more business in
U O H Y M O INT Photography ■ Severine Queyras Model ■ Catarina Brand Styling ■ Manuela Segimiro Make-Up & Hair ■ Claudia Ferri Post Production ■ Valentina Larussa Photo Assistant ■ Pierluigi Zolli Set Design ■ Gianna Loffredo Location ■ Studio Niccoli Turano
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Jumpsuit ■ CHIARA BONI T-Shirt ■ RO Shoes ■ BENEDETTA BAROLI
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Dress ■ ATTICO Leggins ■ GCDS Shoes ■ BENEDETTA BAROLI
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Jacket ■ TAGLIATORE Shirt ■ N° 21 Pants ■ MOSCHINO Shoes ■ BENEDETTA BAROLI
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Dress ■ SPORTMAX Pants ■ SPACE Shoes ■ OSCARTYPE
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Jacket ■ N° 21 Dress ■ CAULIFLOWER Pants ■ VIVETTA Shoes ■ OSCARTYPE
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Long Dress ■ ATTICO Pants ■ MOSCHINO Shoes ■ PARISTEXAS
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Top ■ WALA T-Shirt ■ RO Pants ■ WALA Rings ■ MADE IN BABELE BY VALERIO GALANTE Shoes ■ OSCAR TYPE
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Maxishirt ■ WALA Leggins ■ RO Rings ■ MADE IN BABELE BY VALERIO GALANTE Shoes ■ OSCAR TYPE 85
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Long Dress ■ AMEN Top ■ ALEXANDER WANG Belt ■ ORCIANI Pants ■ FEDERICA TOSI Hat ■ RUSLAN BAGINSKIY Shoes ■ ALEXANDER WANG
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WOOD FAIRY
Photography ■ Natacha Lamblin Model ■ Ana Neborac @ Karin Models Paris Designer ■ Tania Zekkout
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NOVEMBER 2016
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IMPRINT
Team Tom Felber ■ Co-Founder & Chief Editor Bea v. Winterfeldt-Heuser ■ Creative Director & Photographer Sarah Weyers ■ Senior Editor Jana Wilms ■ Senior Editor Guest Authors And special thanks to Co-Founder Marc Huth, former Creative Director Itamar Inbar and all the great team members that worked with us during the last years.
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coming out NOVEMBER 2018
#65 | 2018