“Even in crises there are winners”

Stuttgart Despite the crisis in the industry, the fashion retailer Breuninger increased its sales significantly last year. While competitors such as Peek & Cloppenburg Düsseldorf are currently in the protective shield process, the revenues of the 13 houses and 25 restaurants rose by 20 percent to 1.4 billion euros last year, as company boss Holger Blecker said in an interview with the Handelsblatt.

And while online sales at the ailing department store chain Galeria were just six percent, Breuninger already generates “significantly more than 50 percent” of sales online, said Blecker, who has been in charge of the company, which was founded in 1881, since 2017.

Blecker expects the cleanup in the fashion market to continue in the coming years. “But there are also winners in crises,” said the manager. Breuninger relies on a strong personalization of the offers and on building an “emotional relationship” with the customer.