First dealer conference of the Wiesbaden start-up at the beginning of the Corona crisis
The Wiesbaden-based The Platform Group wants to continue to grow in 2022. “We are growing to over 250 million euros this year and will cover at least 17 industries with platforms,” said CEO Dr. Dominik Benner on the occasion of the eighth dealer conference on May 20th in Wiesbaden. The growth comes from all 15 sectors in which the group operates. The shoe sector still accounts for 20 percent of total sales, with the largest sectors being fashion, furniture, machinery and vehicle parts. The Platform Group recently acquired a stake in the electric scooter provider EMCO.
350 employees now work at ten locations for the company, which once started with schuh24.de. Despite the restrained customer purchases in e-commerce, online sales grew in the first quarter. Benner also outlined the most important trends in retail: delivery delays now affect over 35 percent of manufacturers. The CEO suspects that the price increases are still being implemented by many suppliers.
130 dealers took part in the conference, which took place for the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic. At the beginning, Günter Althaus, former CEO of the ANWR Group, highlighted the topic of sustainability as the most important topic for the next few years: “If we as retailers do not take up the topic and implement it for customers, we will lose.” And also when asked, As to whether second hand is becoming important for stationary retailers, the answer was clear: “Of course, vintage shops are popping up everywhere in Berlin. This shows that the concept works and we shouldn’t sleep.”
In his speech on the topic of new marketing, Prof. Oliver Janz urged more customer loyalty: “Very few retailers have implemented the shopping experience well, and I also get recommendations online that don’t fit at all. You really have to play the brand and the products consistently,” says Janz. Axel Liebetrau enthusiastically advocated for more courage to break new ground: “As retailers, we have to arouse emotion and curiosity in addition to the product. If I want to feel comfortable in the city, then gastronomy, events and shopping have to go hand in hand.”
