Christiane Pfundt has been running her Leipzig store called Grünschnabel since 2010. A real pioneer, because back then, sustainable fashion was still considered ‘eco’. FashionUnited asked her how her store is doing today, how she assesses the retail landscape in Leipzig, and what she would like from the city of Leipzig to make the city center more attractive.
Ms. Pfundt, how long has your business existed and where can you find it?
In 2010 I opened the Grünschnabel in Leipzig-Schleußig, the district with the highest income and the largest number of children in Leipzig. At that time, the range mainly included children’s clothing from ecological and fair production. My goal was to make sustainable fashion visible and available locally, away from the clichés of beige tones and linen bags. At that time there were already a few sustainable labels, such as Armedangels (founded in 2007), that offered printed shirts and hoodies for adults. These have supplemented the range.
Developments in the fair fashion sector progressed rapidly in the following years. Many new labels came onto the market and the range of women’s and men’s fashion that followed current trends became larger and larger, as did the selection for beginners. But I was also pleased to see a steadily increasing demand from consumers, so in 2015 I took the plunge into downtown Leipzig. The main reason for me was the central location and therefore easy accessibility for anyone interested. Furthermore, as a native of Leipzig, it was important to me that there was an alternative to fast fashion in “my” city center.
Was it easy to find a suitable location?
The search for a suitable and affordable location was certainly a bit of luck, because in the same year the completely restored historic Oelßners Hof opened, a beautiful, light-flooded open passage just a six-minute walk from Leipzig Central Station. The passage follows a mixed concept of an anchor rental – large grocery store -, restaurants and smaller retail stores with individual concepts. It wasn’t difficult for me to convince the greenhorn about the project and I was able to rent a sales area of 150 square meters.
I had previously looked at two other stores, but they weren’t a perfect fit, both in terms of location and rental price. In 2021, I was able to expand the area in Oelßners Hof due to the closure of two neighboring stores, so that we currently have around 240 square meters of sales space available and are completely satisfied with the location.
Explain to us your product range: Which brands, which product segments, which sizes do you carry?
Our current range consists of 100 percent ecologically and fairly produced fashion for men and women. The focus is on outerwear and is complemented by underwear basics, accessories, shoes and bags. The topic of jeans plays a major role within the range because our core competencies of friendliness, empathy and good advice are particularly in demand here. In total, we currently have around 40 different sustainable brands on site, better known ones like Armedangels or Veja, and lesser known ones like Recolution or Kings of Indigo. Since when it comes to clothing sizes, we are dependent on the offerings of labels, which often do not yet have the financial means to produce size-inclusive products, we move in the size spectrum from XS to XXL.
What are you doing to stay relevant?
Due to the ever-increasing demand for sustainable fashion and the low level of competition, we have had to “pull over our heels” for many years to stay or become relevant. From the beginning there was an online shop that displays our entire range and leads many customers specifically to our store. We were sporadically active on social media – Facebook and Instagram – and took advantage of one or two local advertising opportunities that came our way. There has also been a customer card for two years to reward loyal regular customers and retain new customers.
Unfortunately, our steady growth has now been stopped by the well-known crises and we have to deal more intensively with the topic of marketing for the first time. This means investments that are difficult to manage in times of crisis, but are urgently necessary. We are currently working with financial support from a funding program from the Sächsische Aufbaubank (SAB) with a Leipzig marketing agency on our brand and a relaunch in spring 2024. We are also developing a communication strategy together with which we can reach target groups that are of interest to us more effectively. Since this process has not yet been completed, I unfortunately cannot say what specific measures we will then take, but these include topics such as social media, search engine marketing, influencer marketing, in-store events, local partnerships and more so on. We then have to focus on the “low hanging fruits” because the marketing budget is small.
How would you describe the retail landscape in Leipzig?
My feeling is that Leipzig is not yet suffering as much as other cities from the so-called death of shops or inner cities. Of course there were a few closures. But overall I think that Leipzig has a beautiful, exciting retail landscape, with many small, owner-managed shops. In my opinion, this is also due to the fact that Leipzig has a city center with many arcades. This means that there is not only one main shopping street, but also many prime locations that are not quite as expensive. This is positive for retailers and customers.
Where there is vacancy, the city is committed to offering interim solutions. Nothing is worse than empty shop windows. That’s why there are offers for interim rent, which are very cheap and where artists, for example, exhibit their art. I think the city does it quite well.
So, we’re still doing quite well, but we have to stay vigilant – especially since the department stores are still a mess.
How did 2023 go for you financially?
For us, the year went just as well as the previous one. We were lucky. We have not had a decline in sales due to inflation, but our costs have increased. So the bottom line is that we earned less. That’s why it’s difficult to build up reserves that you could then use to advertise in order to make yourself better known and attract new customers.
What kind of help, promotion or support would you like for the trade?
Leipzig benefits from strong tourism, the city is a typical destination for city trips. There are many cultural events, such as the Bach Days. Many customers come from Dresden, Erfurt and Chemnitz. So a lot of things are going right.
Although you might not expect it from a sustainable business, I find political efforts to drive car traffic out of the city center difficult. This is because public transport is not yet reliable and convenient enough for everyone to be able and willing to do without a car entirely. This then deters shopping tourism. I think further restrictions on car traffic will harm the city center as a whole.
I would also like to see some simplification when it comes to getting short-term loans. For example, I use a funding program from SAB. But I would like to see even more opportunities for small retailers to overcome small or short-term liquidity problems, because we retailers always have to pay in advance and pre-finance all the goods for a season. I therefore find small loans with a fair interest rate urgently necessary in order to maintain a lively city center from which everyone benefits.