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125 years is a long time for a company…
Yes, and only 2% of German companies even make it to 100 years. When I look back through our yearbooks, we went through many crises: World War I, the collapse of the monarchy and the subsequent economic crisis, World War II with the complete destruction of Germany, and in the family with my grandfather’s imprisonment during the war. But with incredible courage my grandparents and parents continued – I admire this confidence.
Sport Conrad developed from a shoe workshop into an outdoor retailer with an internationally successful online business. How do you manage to stay true to yourself?
We’ve never lost our grip on the ground. We don’t play anything to our customers just to please. We know where we are at home. Of course, our online store has changed a lot, but we have a down-to-earth character and are deeply rooted in the region with our stores. And we take our responsibility as a family business very seriously.
Looking to the future has a lot to do with responsible business. In other words, sustainability.
Our idea of sustainability wasn’t always there. For decades, we pursued purely economic interests. But now we have reached a point where we have to change many things and adhere to certain limits. Otherwise, we as a human race will not achieve the sustainability goals. That’s a huge task for everyone.
What made you act as a sporting goods retailer?
Well, it’s not entirely new. I was involved in this in the 1990s, when companies like Patagonia and Vaude took a very courageous and consistent approach. Unfortunately, these two companies were way ahead of their time. Back then, customers simply didn’t accept it. It was all about niche products. Economically, it had no effect at all back then.
When and how did you get involved?
Three years ago, we started the “WIR DENKEN UM” project. After many discussions here in the company, the topic came up. The basic thought was: It’s not enough to wait for industry to supply us with sustainable products. We realized how big the gap between saying and doing often is. In the meantime, we have anchored our “WIR DENKEN UM” in our strategy and set ourselves a goal:
What is your motivation? What drives you?
Quite simply: I have three children. That is my motivation . I hope that they will take over the business after me. I myself travel a lot in the mountains. I hope that my children can do the same. That is my very own motivation. We all know that we can’t continue to run the business the way we have been. This issue is far more important than economic success and everything else that moves us in our everyday lives. And I want to tackle it.
What brought you to this conviction? Did you have a key experience?
I had a great role model, Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia. He always told me that it doesn’t matter what we do here, we have to do everything we can to preserve this planet for our children. Patagonia started changing its entire product range back in the early 1990s.
It took a little longer for you …
Yes, at the time I said to myself, that’s a long shot, does it have to be now? Only later did I realize how far-sighted this man was back then. And you also have to see: He had not enjoyed economic success for a long time. The company was in a very precarious situation for many years, precisely because Chouinard pursued its restructuring so radically.
Medium-sized companies often raise the objection that the cost of sustainability is simply too high. How do you manage that with your 250 employees?
Many SMEs can manage it. Sustainability is also feasible for family businesses, because even small things often have an impact. But it only works if the company management has the firm will: We have to tackle this issue. If you look at our central warehouse, when 60,000 pairs of skis are delivered there in winter, how they are packed, what mountains of waste there are, it’s indescribable. You can’t pass on problems like that to the employees. As the boss, you have to make decisions.
