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Changing chair for chicory. 38 years is enough, says Jörg Weber (64). The founder of the fashion chain will reach retirement age next January. Then he handed over the leadership to the next generation: to his colleague Thomas Ullmann (55) and, above all, to his two sons Pascal (32) and Mathias (29).
However, Weber and his wife Marianne (62) will not completely abandon the empire, which now has 168 women’s fashion stores, as demonstrated in an interview with VIEW. “We will both remain on the Board of Directors, we will still have some influence.”
Chicory gets online store
That should also be suitable for children, who can get used to the new responsibility step by step. “They still enjoy their entrepreneurial freedom, but they know they are supported by experienced management,” says Jörg Weber, explaining the gradual change in personnel. The younger Mathias is in charge of buying the clothing collections, while Pascal’s job is digitizing.
The eldest son will soon break a taboo: chicory is going fully digital and will even have its own online store next year. Until now, the textile entrepreneur has deliberately refrained from running an internet store, relying entirely on stationery retail. With that he was also very successful. But what he also learned: During the closure, the stores were closed and the revenue disappeared. An online store would have been useful. Fortunately, customers quickly returned to stores after the nationwide closures.
In his last days as boss, Father Weber also became a digital turbo. It has to move with the times, he says, adding a big but: “Online retail can never replace the thrills of fixed retail and analog shopping.” In addition, shopping in these weeks is one of the last social activities that are still possible on a large scale, adds Weber.
Good owner
The fashion chain has also done very well in analog so far. Even this year chicory was able to open six new branches, the 10 percent drop in sales is manageable. Like others, it benefited from the decline in shopping tourism.
Especially since many owners have been complacent. “On average, we received a 58 percent rent reduction during closing time,” admits 168 branch owner – with the right bargaining power!
