sportFACHHANDEL 08_2018 Leseprobe

30 | OUTDOOR | Ortlieb 8.2018
JÜRGEN SIEGWARTH, CEO ORTLIEB
‘‘ Imitation is the sincerest form
of flattery‘‘
This famous quote of Oscar Wilde is also true for the brand Ortlieb. Nevertheless, Jürgen Siegwarth is sure
that it is still very important to focus on the product and its benefit for the customer. He sees growth potential
in the area “active travelling”. Interview: Andreas Mayer
continue to focus on the core of the brand and the
corresponding products; and surely, this also applies
to the features “Made in Germany” and our five-year
warranty. Above that, we observe that more and
more outdoor retailers start focussing on bikes too.
The reasons therefore can be trends such as “active
travelling”, “micro-adventures” and “bike packing”.
Proven Ortlieb quality also
at hiking and trekking.
sportFACHHANDEL: Mr Siegwarth, the trade fair
sector and also the entire outdoor industry is currently
changing. What is Ortlieb’s opinion in this respect?
Jürgen Siegwarth: Just like many others, we look
at Friedrichshafen with a tear in one eye and a smile
in the other. This trade fair has surely contributed
to the success of the outdoor sector since 1994. This
year, the OutDoor will be a real highlight for us
once again, since we present a product innovation
in the backpack sector. We have high expectations
in this respect and, of course, we eagerly await the
visitor’s feedback. This innovation fits into the
growing trend “active travelling” which can
certainly be a growth segment in the outdoor
business, in case of the correct positioning.
How important is, besides cycling, the outdoor
category for Ortlieb?
Cycling is and continues to be our core competence,
but, of course, due to the merging of outdoor and
urban, the topic outdoor is becoming increasingly
important for us too. This is mainly due to the fact
that bicycles are becoming more and more relevant
as means of transport in urban areas. However, we
Ortlieb is considered as hidden champion. Why?
Many things such as our in-house repair and conversion
service or the feature “Made in Germany”
are normal for us – simply because we have done it
always like that, even if we have to face the concomitant
challenges every day. This is the typical
understatement of Ortlieb. We do not stress the
features making us unique. We concentrate on the
products and their benefits for the customers, but,
of course, we notice that other market participants
orient themselves towards us, our products and
the USPs, such as “Made in Germany”. Frequently,
they communicate these features more loudly than
we; but already Oscar Wilde said, “Imitation is the
sincerest form of flattery”. Certainly, Ortlieb has to
emphasize its authentic success story in the future
communication with the customer.
How is Ortlieb positioned in and towards the
specialised retail and how does the distribution
via an own online shop fit into the concept? We
have grown up together with the owner-operated
outdoor and bike shops and they will further be the
fundament of our sales concept. Our system not
based on online platforms is particularly beneficial
for them, but a high-quality product surely needs
high-quality surroundings and the specialised
retailer has to ensure this. Nowadays, more and
more end customers expect that the brands and
their websites offer all the shopping functions of
the well-established online shops and platforms, e.
g. Click & Collect, drop shipping, availability check
etc. Ortlieb took this development into account
already in 2003 with a Click & Collect function. This
year, we are expanding the offer by drop shipping.
The next step will be to extend the availability
PHOTOS: ORTLIEB