The virtual Expert Germany spring conference was held under the motto “With partnership and confidence for success” as the start of KOOP 2021.

More than 700 experts followed the lectures of the Expert Germany board as well as the marketing and sales management via live stream.

Dr. Stefan Müller, CEO of Expert Germany, spoke in his lecture about sales developments and the effects of a year marked by corona: “Despite the four-month lockdown in retail and the associated closure of our 409 locations, our sales have developed better than feared. The creative solutions of our dealers made a significant contribution to this development – these ranged from contactless sales via telephone, email, and Whatsapp to customer-friendly Click & Collect solutions. Thanks to our extensive online shop, we can still be reached by our customers at all times. Together with our partners, we look confidently into a successful future. ”

Frank Harder, Board Member for Sales, Marketing and e-Commerce at Expert Germany, adds: “Special thanks go to our industry and service partners for the extensive support and strong partnership. The good cooperation with them forms the basis of our success and leads to the achievement of our common goal: To be there for our customers and to provide them with the best recommendations for their desired products at all times. ”

Logistics: Investment in the future
Expert is underlining its confidence in a successful future with the construction of its Expert Fulfillment Center: a state-of-the-art logistics center with almost 13,000 m² is being built right next to the company headquarters. The aim of the new building of the EFC is an even faster supply of goods to the stationary specialist shops and markets and, at the same time, accelerated processing of the rapidly growing online business. 

Various automation solutions and a modern high-bay warehouse will ensure high processing speeds in the new EFC in the future. “Thanks to the modern logistics infrastructure of our expert fulfillment center, we will in future be able to pick and ship orders on the same day – this benefits our dealers, industrial partners, and of course our customers alike. In addition, we are placing a strong focus on sustainable logistics through the use of a photovoltaic system, e-charging stations for cars, and paperless reusable transport containers, ”says Dr. Stefan Müller.

Marketing: Reopening of the Expert locations and the European Football Championship in focus
After the marketing campaign “Next for you”, which Expert Germany focused on at the beginning of 2021, they will hopefully be able to welcome its customers back to the locations soon with its WOW campaign – the re-open weeks.

Personnel: Continuation of mystery shopping and qualification offensive
The mystery shopping program that was started last year will also be continued in 2021. “The results from our mystery shopping benefit our extensive qualification program,” says Gerd-Christian Hesse, Chief Financial Officer, HR, and Insurance at Expert Germany.

He adds: “At Expert, we recognized early on that well-trained and motivated employees form the basis for the company’s economic success – both at our locations and at our headquarters. We, therefore, regard investments in training and further education as investments in our future and are constantly developing our qualification measures. ”

KOOP 2021: The best of all worlds
The first virtual KOOP 2021 officially started with the Expert spring conference. Under the motto “The best of all worlds”, Expert and Euronics are bringing their spring events together for the first time in cooperation with Messe Berlin, creating a new event format for the industry.

“I am very pleased that our KOOP is now starting,” says Dr. Stefan Müller, CEO of Expert Germany. “Our shareholders can expect a virtual trade fair format with real added value, which we have already tested at our virtual general meeting and which we have now further optimized for the KOOP. Despite the special circumstances, with the virtual KOOP we keep our promise to our industrial and service partners and offer them valuable synergy effects.“