sportFACHHANDEL 03_2018 Leseprobe

3.2018 Stores
Stores | RETAIL | 49
opened two shops at the new address. Later, the
two became one. Mr Forkl junior recounts, “In this
shop, we had an old pair of skis at the wall from
the 1930s, but we did not sell them.“ Tradition is a
very important factor for the family and one thing
was clear for the Berlin people – if you need sports
equipment, you go to the Skihütte. This was also
true in the times of West Berlin, after the brutal
separation of the city after the Second World War.
In 1980, a fire destroyed the store almost
entirely. “After this tragedy, my grandfather lost the
interest in the business and moved to South Germany
in the region of the Tegernsee where he managed
a sports store too,“ Lars Forkl tells us. “My father took
over the Berlin shop and I have learned the business
there right from the beginning.“ The shop ran very
well, the name attracted customers and the location
at the Bahnhof Zoo (train station Zoo) was great. At
that time, the Skihütte had about 800 square metres
spread over three floors. It was not only comfortable;
there was, for example, a wooden gallery. Even back
then, the store offered a shopping experience,
because winter sports, first of all skiing, were very
popular in Berlin at those times. The typical Berlin
winter sports enthusiast used to travel to the Harz or
to the Alps and it was possible to go cross-country
skiing in the Grunewald, a big forest in the south of
the city. “We had the highest sales in winter, but the
summer business was good too. Inline skates, for
example, were strongly demanded.“ According to
Lars Forkl, the sales considerably increased in the
1990s, due to the German reunification. However,
the rents were also increasing. Above that, a lot of
new sports stores opened in the eastern part of Berlin
and attracted the customers. In 1999, the sports
goods dealer Jürgen Merker acquired the shop.
“My father was sad that I didn’t want to manage the
business, but it was just too hard for me then,“ Mr
Forkl explained. “We had almost 40 employees then.
I rather wanted a smaller shop, although I think that
the shop would still exist.“ However, hindsight is
always easier than foresight.
A hard blow was, nevertheless, that the department
store chain Karstadt opened the biggest
sports shop of Europe directly on the other side of
the street in the listed Bilka House in 1995. “We lost
a lot of customers to the giant competitor and they
even stole salespersons of us.“ The famous Skihütte
at this location is history today. Even industry expert
Jürgen Marker had to give up in the end, despite the
new beginning and a relocation. Many customers
remember the name Forkl. In the year 2000, Lars
Forkl opened his own shop under the name Sportdiscount,
unfortunately not Skihütte. He said happily,
“A lot of customers know who we are and where
we come from.“ Nevertheless, the circumstances
are difficult. The traditional sports goods retailer is
still focussed on virtues such as competent advice
and service and has strong competition from sports
chains and web dealers. Often customers come to
him from other shops, since they are disappointed.
“I hear that again and again,“ he pointed out.
Lars Forkl is known in his quarter. The regular
customers appreciate his know-how and efforts. The
boss works in the shop himself. He does no longer
offer winter hardware, but a vast range of apparel
instead. Forkl found and defined his own area. This
involves team sports, flocking and textile print as
well as the creation of own designs. He underlines,
“I make very individual things which other retailers
do not offer. They are only interested in quantities.
Once, my concept was: I have to find a niche
between a department store and the traditional
retail business of my father.“ Mr Forkl is able to offer
high-quality items, since he purchases economically.
For example also sneakers and apparel from the last
season still demanded by the customers. “This is a
way to stand out from the competition as well; and,
of course, competent service. It is sad that there are
less and less specialised sports shops and that we are
losing the individuality,“ he affirms.
The revenue share of shoes has increased to app
70 percent; the rest are clothes. “It was the contrary
in the past. I sold more winter apparel and ski pants,
but these categories have lost in significance.“
His secret now is: offering an interesting mix of
current products and stocks. His shop is the only
one which has certain trend sneakers. Forkl handles
the purchase himself or gets it directly from the
producers. “You have to be flexible and know what
the customers want and meet their needs.“ His
biggest advantage is: specialised knowledge about
all kind of sports. He finishes, “Luckily , I am not
organised in a buying association.“