sportFACHHANDEL 03_2018 Leseprobe
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3.<strong>2018</strong> Interview<br />
Interview | WINTER | 37<br />
Leki has managed to become an all-year supplier. Is<br />
that also visible in the company numbers? Absolutely.<br />
It’s no comparison to very early times in which<br />
we only had alpine and cross-country poles. Then<br />
the production wasn’t used to full capacity all year<br />
round either. That has changed completely. We are<br />
clearly an all year round supplier.<br />
Is that also the case internationally? Nordic<br />
Walking is mainly a German phenomenon after all.<br />
And trekking poles aren’t widespread all over the<br />
world either. Our international partners are very<br />
important to us. Our focus thereby is on attending<br />
to them as well as possible. Of course we want to<br />
grow internationally. But always in cooperation<br />
with our partners, healthily and sensibly.<br />
We are at the ISPO here. And so far the suppliers<br />
have presented their collections here in Munich and<br />
at the OutDoor in summer. Now, currently both<br />
exhibitions are being strongly discussed and speculated<br />
about. Is a physical fair presence today even<br />
still contemporary? I am convinced one can’t forego<br />
the classical exhibition appearance. But one also<br />
has to think about how to reach the consumers and<br />
retailers in new and modern ways. But that doesn’t<br />
mean the new possibilities make the exhibitions<br />
obsolete. They complement each other. Nothing<br />
so far replaces the direct contact to the retailer, the<br />
customer and branch in general.<br />
How is the OutDoor? A decision is so close at<br />
hand after all. I don’t want to interfere with the<br />
discussion process which is still taking place. But<br />
personally I believe Friedrichshafen has charm.<br />
And one shouldn’t forget how the OutDoor was<br />
founded in Friedrichshafen and what a road we<br />
have walked down together during the necessary<br />
discussions.<br />
At the ISPO as well as at the OutDoor there have<br />
been disagreements among suppliers most recently<br />
especially in terms of time. Is it even still possible<br />
to meet all requirements today? That is never<br />
going to work. An exhibition, especially its time is<br />
always a compromise. It is the case that sourcing<br />
and market requirements are drifting further and<br />
further apart in terms of time. It is a little easier<br />
for companies that produce on their own and can<br />
already let experiences from the market seep into<br />
production. But the period of time is becoming<br />
shorter and shorter. It’s a balancing act. But I also<br />
see an advantage in digitalisation in this case. It<br />
also leads to us having clean numbers which we<br />
can use to better plan.<br />
What can be expected of Leki in the coming months?<br />
You have just mentioned the digitalisation. To<br />
us digitalisation means that we will get a lot of<br />
information which is already digitally processed<br />
but not yet connected on one platform. So we have<br />
all the important information in a timely manner.<br />
Not only for sourcing but also for specialist retail.<br />
The better we are positioned here the better sports<br />
specialist retail will be able to plan.<br />
So digitalisation is supposed to lead to your specialist<br />
retailers‘ and Leki’s expenses being decreased?<br />
Absolutely.<br />
What is coming from Leki in terms of products?<br />
In the glove sector we are introducing a nice innovation.<br />
We want to conceptionally further develop<br />
our Trigger gloves and lead them to the next technological<br />
level. It was our goal to achieve an even<br />
better and closer connection to the pole such as the<br />
best possible transfer of strength via an ideal fixing<br />
of the glove to the hand whereas full movability and<br />
a perfect fit are guaranteed. Together with Boa we<br />
have realised a new concept for new Trigger S glove<br />
models for the alpine and cross-country area.<br />
What is the specialist retail landscape going to look<br />
like in five years? There is sure to be a consolidation<br />
yet. On the one hand the requirements made for<br />
specialist retail are becoming ever bigger. On the<br />
other hand retail is facing big difficulties in company<br />
succession which mustn’t be underestimated.<br />
How is Leki going to be positioned in this environment?<br />
I’m optimistic. I believe that sports specialist<br />
retail as well as strong brands like Leki will be able<br />
to successfully shape the future. We want to hold on<br />
to the old outdoor virtues with the new possibilities<br />
that are presented to all of us.
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