A GERMAN OASIS FOT THAIS
THE CENTRAL-OWNED KADEWE IN BERLIN OFFERS TRAVELLERS AND LOCALS ALIKE A LIFESTYLE EXPERIENCE
For passersby on Berlin’s major shopping street Tauentzienstraße, the 113-year-old KaDeWe might just be one of the biggest department stores in Europe.
But for regulars — locals and out-of-towners — the store, which spans over 60,000m², is as trustworthy a retail haven as it is a sanctuary for lifestyle experiences.
In spite of all that, my recent visit to KaDeWe proved that this German historic landmark was indeed far greater beyond a shopper’s destination.
As incredible as it sounds, the store is the place where Thais who travel to Berlin can wholesomely take pleasure in, rely on and, most importantly, be proud of.
Famous beyond Germany’s borders, KaDeWe (a commercial abbreviation for Kaufhaus des Westens) was founded in 1907 and quickly became a place for hi-end retail therapy.
Today, the eight-storey establishment has been revamped and stylishly divided into four distinctive quadrants. Each quadrant exhibits its own interior design conceptualised by some of Europe’s most renown architects and design studios including Pritzker Prize winning Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and Parisian designer India Mahdavi.
It is a home to the world’s top fashion boutiques as well as watchmakers, jewellers and beauty brands.
The list includes Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Balenciaga, Kenzo, Bottega Veneta, Fendi, Valentino and Ted Baker as well as Jimmy Choo, Rolex and Tiffany to name a few. The Chanel shop here is said to be the most successful in Germany.
As a pioneer in offering lifestyle experiences, KaDeWe sells more than 35,000 different products from designer fashion and accessories to cosmetic and skincare, street wear, home goods, stationery, kids products, tech gadgets, food and beverages and souvenirs. It’s a comprehensive selection, from the most luxurious to the most affordable to cater to various needs.
The store also boasts a vast array of restaurants and dining venues. While the luxury department is as well equipped with stylishly set bars serving Champagne and gourmet coffee.
“Consumer demands are changing. Department stores now face business disruption. But we say ‘Let’s make the store a hero first, then develop the e-commerce’,” said KaDeWe’s chief executive officer, André Maeder.
The company’s brand and marketing director Petra Fladenhofer agreed.
“We want our store to be a place where customers can touch and feel and experience,” she said.
According to Fladenhofer, KaDeWe competes not just with e-commerce and other retailers, but also with cinema and restaurants and whatever customers can do in their leisure time.
“Time is what we try to achieve. We are telling our customers that we offer something that’s truly worth their time. So while every store offers discounts, we offer memorable experience,” she said.
The company obviously has achieved its goal.
Across the three stores (including the Alsterhaus in Hamburg and Oberpollinger in Munich) under the KaDeWe Group, a total of 50 million customers visit the stores per year. That is with an average conversion rate of 20% and 600 million turnover. KaDeWe alone has a frequency rate of 50,000 visitors per day. The number goes up to more than 100,000 during Christmas.
One thing that caters to such achievement is the requisition by Central Group, Thailand’s very own retail conglomerate.
Since 2015, the KaDeWe Group has been majority owned by the Central Group with a 50.1% stake. The remaining 49.9% is held by the Austrian Signa Group.
“It’s a fruitful merging between Europe’s leading real estate company