In 1984 Richard von Weizsäcker became West German Federal President, Prince brought out Purple Rain and Klaus Ritzenhöfer and Daniel Riedo opened the first Apropos store in Gummersbach in Oberberg.
Henning Korb joined 15 years ago, today he is Managing Partner and completes the trio. In July, the tenth Apropos store will open in Berlin, in addition to the existing stores in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich and Gmund as well as Rottach-Egern am Tegernsee, in the historic Alhambra building on Kurfürstendamm. FashionUnited met all three for a chat near the still unopened store in Berlin.
How did the opening of a concept store in Berlin come about, was the expansion into the capital planned long in advance?
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: We hadn’t planned to come to Berlin. But we have a history that connects us to Berlin, because we advised on Quartier 206 in the mid-1990s. At that time we brought seven retail stores to Berlin. So we still know Berlin, but from a different time.
The shop in the Alhambra came to our table at a bad time, when we had just opened our second shop on Tegernsee. But we fell in love with the house and the premises straight away. It was a lot of fun for us to make a selection that is aside from the big labels that are not under the umbrella of Kering and LVMH and are not already available on the Ku’damm. Of course we know our colleagues in Berlin and their ranges.
How will the store be designed?
Henning Korb: We found a very good basis and worked together with a Berlin interior designer and Berlin architect. Like all Apropos stores, the local concept store also has a cosy Feeling, with freestanding furniture reminiscent of an apartment.
Daniel Riedo: We work together with Pierre Frey, so the interior includes lots of high-quality fabrics, seating and carpets, all with great attention to detail. There will be a café on the mezzanine, reminiscent of a kiosk in a French park.
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: There is also vintage furniture, which is typical for Apropos, which we also sell. We have had extremely good experiences with this in Cologne and there are also collector’s items.
What kind of assortment can customers expect from Apropos in Berlin?
Henning Korb: Apart from fashion, we will show the other areas that are known from us in the usual way: cosmetics, home accessories, vintage jewelery and a café. In the fashion area we have put together a nice brand mix. This was especially fun because it was about adding new collections to the range in our existing stores.
We didn’t want to come here and pretend to be the Super Berliners. The mix is such that we continue the Apropos aesthetic and are a bit more elegant than the other multi-brand stores in Berlin. We are consistently different and consciously luxurious.
In Berlin, for example, we work with Jil Sander, who no longer has their own shop on Ku’damm, so Khaite is a very important partner for us. Besides, we work, quite that Quiet luxury prescribed, with Kiton and Brioni. Last year, Brioni launched its first women’s collection together with an e-tailer, and we are now the first wholesale partners to carry the collection.
Klaus Ritzenhoefer: The Quiet luxury The trend suits us perfectly. For men, we are also high-class and classic, with Kiton, Brioni and Jil Sander. We also have sports and streetwear labels such as the 44 Label Group from Berlin, Random Identities by Stefano Pilati, who also designs here in Berlin.
Henning Korb: Ferragamo is there with both the women’s and the men’s collection, we have Marine Serre, Ann Demeulemeester, Gianvito Rossi and Amina Muaddi exclusively for Berlin in the shoe area. We are also showing a smaller niche collection from Italy: Dusan. We are also integrating some Americans into the range: Gabriela Hearst, Carolina Herrera, Proenza Schouler.
Who is the target group?
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: We have the idea that we have two different target groups. One target group is more elegant and sophisticated than those who buy from colleagues who have been here longer and clearly have Berlin aesthetics in mind. And then there is a scene in Berlin that likes to wear black, served by Ann Demeulemeester, for example.
What are the price ranges?
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: True to our principle, we also offer democratic price ranges in addition to luxury. In Berlin, we start with Parosh in terms of price, a brand that sells very well here. In the knitwear sector, we start with a similar price range and go all the way to Gabriela Hearst, who is our current top price range with her hand-knitted cashmere sweaters.
What does the range of cosmetics and home look like?
Daniel Riedo: As usual, we will offer niche fragrances and care lines. A new product is tides, which is currently being developed in Düsseldorf and comes from the team that Augustinus Bader also implemented. Barbara Sturm is a classic that sells well. Bioeffekt also sells very well, the price is significantly lower. New Notes is a new label from Milan, which is currently very well received in Cologne.
In the home area there will be products from Baccarat, Lalique, Christofle, Fornasetti and Astier de Villatte, among others. We would also like to do dinner events in the store with the labels, with beautifully laid tables and candles from Trudon.
The shop is ideal for events, do you have any plans in this regard?
Henning Korb: Many events are planned in the coming months. The concept store idea also extends to new retail experiences. If you look at today’s brick and mortar business, it has become imperative to offer customers new experiences. Our customers don’t afford luxury products, but rather luxury moments where the product comes with them. So we don’t necessarily compete with other fashion retailers, but with travel agencies and the catering industry.
Can you announce a few events yet?
Henning Korb: In the first few weeks of the Berlin store, a Veueve Cliquot café will open in our garden in cooperation with Moët Hennessy.
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: We can already reveal another event: At the opening, the Giorgio Armani shop windows will be decorated with pieces from the Armani/Silos Museum in Milan. The archive pieces have been handpicked by Giorgio Armani himself, and there will also be explanations of when they were worn and where. This has never been done before.
Which trend pieces are you particularly looking forward to?
Henning Korb: We are particularly looking forward to the softest of all cashmere sweaters by Gabriela Hearst. They are hand-knitted from combed cashmere yarn and Gabriela Hearst is using them to support a women’s project in her home country of Uruguay. All sales of this product go to this charity.
Overall, Autumn/Winter 23/24 will be characterized by the Quiet Luxury theme. Even previously very progressive collections reduce the details and logos. The luxury aspect is conveyed through fabrics, materials and workmanship, not through large lettering.
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: A nice collaboration that we are really looking forward to is that between The Elder Statesman and Zegna.
Henning Korb: Exclusively in Germany, we have Brad Pitt’s cashmere label, God’s True Cashmere, which he created together with his healer Sat Hari. Every detail has meaning and the pieces are entirely made in Italy. Unfortunately we missed Sat Hari at the showroom in Paris because there must have been a spiritual emergency at the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so she had to leave at short notice. (All three smile.)
How have trade and customers changed since you’ve been in business?
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: Today everything is different. (laughs) When we started, fashion was less democratic than it is today, it was an elite class that dealt with fashion. We started in a district town with the hottest labels like Jil Sander, Romeo Gigli, Claude Montana…
Daniel Riedo: …Byblos!
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: Byblos, exactly, and Gianni Versace. The hunger for fashion was much stronger. One of the biggest changes on the consumer side was when millennials discovered streetwear. We ran Off-White and Palm Angels early on, and all of a sudden these 13-year-old boys—not girls, actually—were flocking to our stores after school. The next day they came back with mom and dad to buy. Some even had their own credit cards and bought hoodies for 700 euros…
Daniel Riedo: …mum and dad didn’t find it that funny sometimes. Our sales staff was initially completely overwhelmed. We then started calling the parents to ask if the child could buy this or that. And our adult customers couldn’t help but be amazed. What’s going on here?
Henning Korb: Of course the internet didn’t exist when you started. Customers came to the store to find out more. The fashion was a closed scene and what was shown at the fashion shows, the clientele only saw six months later. Today there are live streams from the shows and influencers wear the pieces before they go into production. In addition, customers are very well informed today. The sales staff must at least have the same level of knowledge and still be able to inspire customers. At the same time, it must serve and respond to different generations…
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: …the challenge for the sales teams is much greater than it was then. Everything has changed in purchasing too. It used to take a lot less time. People went to the fairs in Paris and Milan, scheduling was regulated much more clearly.
Which trade fairs are you visiting today?
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: The most important places are Paris and Milan, the Pitti in Florence and a bit of the USA for us. In Germany we are in Düsseldorf and Munich, mainly for the denim area and the Italian cashmere collections. We’ve been to Milan once a week and Paris once a week since mid-May.
Henning Korb: …because almost every label shows when and where it wants.
Daniel Riedo: It’s the same in the home area. Everyone wants to stand out and be very special. As a buyer, you sometimes don’t make the deadlines at all.
Henning Korb: Buyers used to get inspiration at trade fairs and customers got inspired while window shopping. This has now completely turned to the Internet and Instagram on both sides. That’s where the discovery takes place today.
How does a young label draw the attention of someone like Apropos?
Henning Korb: You have to feel the passion, then our interest is aroused. I look at every lookbook I get. We are still hungry, interested and product fanatic. An example of this is our great collaboration with Extreme Cashmere from Amsterdam. They sent us a handwritten, beautiful letter and a sample part that won us over, and we’ve been working together ever since.
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: We thrive on change and our customers expect us to develop further every season. In order for us to take notice, a label has to stand out with something special. We are always looking.
Do you have further expansion plans?
Henning Korb: We are currently planning a monobrand store in St. Moritz with Extreme Cashmere, which is scheduled to open in August.
Klaus Ritzenhöfer: And then we let ourselves be surprised. If the right offer comes our way, we’ll take it. That was the case in Hamburg and also in Berlin.