Hunting for Customers

FASHION DISCOURSE HUNTING FOR CUSTOMERS?

As much as possible, as long as possible. Are extended opening hours the ideal way to draw customers into the shop? Where can resources be saved, and where does it make sense to give everything? These retailers have found individual answers to these questions. Text: Nicoletta Schaper. Photos: Interviewees

COST VS BENEFIT – AND EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION

Longer opening hours are offset by high costs and the fact that employees want more free time, preferably on Saturdays - the day on which we generate more than 30 percent of our weekly turnover! But it doesn’t make much sense to remain open longer if no one comes. All our branches are open from 9.30am to 7pm, but we’re considering opening at 10am because that’s the time most customers turn up. The exception remains Memmingen, because customers in rural areas tend to buy early, especially on market days. Having said that, they don’t want to go to the shops after 6pm. Our Ulm branch, on the other hand, still boasts high customer traffic after 7pm, which is why we are considering remaining open until 8pm, the same as neighbouring stores such as Wöhrl and P&C. Opening on Sunday is not an issue for us, whereas evening events have become more important, especially in our larger branches. To this end, we would like to remain open for our customers after 8pm in Bavaria too, not only in Baden-Württemberg. We definitely need more leeway from the legislator in this respect! Our employees love working during the events, because there’s a lot going on and because we enjoy being hosts. How do I maintain morale and how do I, as an employer, ensure that my employees are motivated? When it comes to opening hours, effectiveness should not merely be measured in figures.”

Bernd Deuter, Head of Marketing at Reischmann

I OFFER FULL SERVICE!

Ever since I started my own business, I have been working directly with customers on a very personal level, which is extremely challenging. I have optimised the opening hours for myself. I’m in the shop from Monday to Saturday from 10am to 1.30pm and enjoy the active support of my employee. In the afternoon I merely have fixed customer appointments, take care of office duties, and curate my social media channels. The customers appreciate my store all the more and are happy to accept my schedule. They know that I offer them personal, all-round service. My advantage is that my clients can manage their time flexibly. If most of my customers were fulltime workers, or if I was in the price segment below that of my business, my concept would probably not work that way. I firmly believe that small stores in the upmarket price segment with extensive service have a great future - and that they would benefit greatly from making themselves a little scarcer, because everything that is permanently available quickly loses its appeal.”

Martina Meier, Managing Partner of Max Laurenz/Wiener Neustadt

BUCK THE TREND

These discussions usually revolve around remaining open longer to face online competition.

That would mean we’d have to be open 24h per day and on Sunday too. We prefer to buck the trend. Since February, our Frauenzimmer store remains closed on Mondays. We plan to do the same at all three Stulz stores from autumn onwards. It’s a logical consequence of the fact that we generate a lot of customer traffic on weekends, which is very challenging indeed. On Mondays, on the other hand, we merely stand around idly. We strive to give customers time when they have time for us! That’s probably why our evening events are so popular. We use Mondays for leisure time, administrative duties, and creative processes. However, we are debating whether it is a good decision to close three stores in the pedestrian zone at the same time, even though the other store concepts cannot be compared with ours. In a small town the solution can - and must be - individual, even if it makes some people unhappy.”

Thomas Wartner, Managing Director of Stulz – Mode: Genuss: Leben

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