Port of Thoughts Retail Summit Enters Sixth Round

Hamburg, March 2020 – The retail congress “Retail Summit – Port of Thoughts” will enter its sixth round on 14 May 2020. Once again, top-class participants from the retail industry will meet at the Hotel Empire Riverside with a view of the Port of Hamburg to discuss current trends. This year’s exciting topic is “Survival of the Fittest – Agility as a compulsion in a personalised world”.

“Survival of the Fittest” – a phrase originally derived from Darwin’s theory of evolution. According to this theory, only those individuals will survive who are best adapted to external circumstances. In business and especially in trade, this motto also applies to those who want to be and remain successful.  Since the last years we have been facing a very strongly changed market. The customer acts quickly and flexibly. He uses numerous channels that have developed parallel to the classic retail trade in German city centres. It determines how future purchases and sales are made. The smartphone is increasingly becoming a personal shopper. What is the best way to adapt to the individual needs of the customer? Top-class speakers from the business world will report on the changes and effects on procurement, sales and communication channels.

After the Game Is Before the Game: Parallels Between Top Class Sport and Top Business

Marcell Jansen, President of Hamburger SV, talks about his sporting and business experiences. The former international player started to build up his own business during his professional career. Constant changes of position, speed, looking left and right – he has always enjoyed this more than the strictly tactical “running up and down the line”. The fear of taking risks or suffering defeat is foreign to him. “It’s like football. You learn more from defeats than from successes. And if you succeed, you should not have your head in the clouds.” He doesn’t have the time for the latter at the moment anyway. Why? Because he is involved with MJ Beteiligungs GmbH in numerous projects in the fields of lifestyle, health and nutrition. He focuses on the young, lifestyle-affine generation, which questions the traditional and thinks and lives digitally.

Consumer Centric Business: Digital Technologies Form the Basis for Strict Customer Focus in the Fashion Industry

Urs-Stefan Kinting, Managing Partner of the Zero Group, acquired the Zero fashion brand from insolvency in 1996 and brought it back to life. He reports on how revitalisation can work successfully, what needs to be considered and what difficulties need to be overcome.

Evolution in Retail: Only Those That Adjust Can Survive

Christoph Möltgen, Chief Information Officer and member of the Executive Board at the Berner Group, talks about the right combination of classic and digital elements within the framework of the retail strategy as a key success factor for the future. He will illustrate this approach using the examples of “Supply Chain Strategy” and “Customer Centric Architecture”.

Digital Darwinism in the German Mid-Sized Sector: When the T-Rex Has to Learn to Fly

Mario Trapp, Senior Consultant at the consulting firm enomyc, answers the following questions: What parallels exist between the theory of evolution and current developments in the technological, social and economic environment? What constitutes the DNA of a medium-sized business model and which elements are currently experiencing massive pressure for change? Which new types of specialised players have already adapted to this changed environment and are contesting the business model of established companies? Based on which practical examples can we identify successful transformation strategies, what distinguishes them?

Global Duty: Worldwide Retail in Flux – Always New, Always Bigger, Always Better

Bernard Schlafstein, Sales Director at Gebr. Heinemann, reports on the international development of the company from Hamburg, on the development and restructuring of various business areas and the current restructuring due to the generation change at Gebr. Heinemann. Since the beginning of its activities, Heinemann has increased its turnover from 600 million euros to an incredible 4.6 billion.

Destination Success: Secure All Over the World With a Detailed Multichannel Strategy

Ralph Schiller, Managing Director of FTI-Touristik, runs the third largest tour operator in Europe with 90 subsidiaries and around 7000 employees. He reports on the consequences of the Thomas Cook bankruptcy for those affected and the entire industry. He shows how FTI-Touristik has managed to achieve constant growth and how the tour operator is getting ready for the future. He shows how important the stationary trade is for FTI-Touristik in addition to an innovative online strategy.

Registration

The organizers of the “Retail Summit – Port of Thoughts” look forward to welcoming you on this day. The press can register with the press contact Julia Bouwman. She will be happy to organize a meeting with the speakers and organizers for you – e.g. during a small lunch on the day of the event.

Contact person for press enquiries:

Julia Bouwman
Phone: 040 808114-212
e-mail: julia.bouwman@brand-pier.com

Marcell Jansen

Hamburger SV

Urs-Stefan Kinting

zero group

Christoph Möltgen

Berner Group

Mario Trapp

enomyc

Bernard Schlafstein

Gebr. Heinemann

Ralph Schiller

FTI GROUP