From radio frequencies to tweed hats "The British Shop" uses mail-order catalog during corona crisis
Meckenheim · The founder of "The British Shop" in Meckenheim traded his civil service job for self-employment at an early stage. During the corona crisis, the shop remains operational by shipping out orders, both from online and a catalog.
Rosamunde Pilcher would be delighted with the mail-order catalog from Meckenheim: floral patterns, duffle coats, wax jackets, lavender scents, not to mention tea, shortbread and orange marmalade - it couldn't be more British. The family business even has an "egg coddler" in stock. England fans can use it to boil their breakfast egg in true style. "We are always on the lookout for new products," says managing director and company founder Wolf Siebel. "At the same time our business is not driven by trends, but rather serves classic tastes."
The shop, in an industrial area of Meckenheim is currently closed due to the corona crisis, but they are still shipping out orders to customers. The products are packed and shipped from Meckenheim. Siebel says that the company's revenues are growing by between five and ten percent every year. More than that, it doesn’t need to be. "We're sufficiently busy at the moment."
It was anything but foreseeable that the now 64-year-old would one day dedicate his professional life to British products. After completing his studies, the trained communications engineer first took up employment with the former Bundespost. "I was already a civil servant in my early 20s," the entrepreneur recalls. "But early on I had the feeling that another career might be more suitable.”
Instead of scones and tweed caps, Sieber was mainly concerned with radio frequencies for world receivers at that time. He drew up lists of which stations could be received on which frequencies and based on that, founded his own publishing house before his 30th birthday. At that time, the "wave hunt" was almost a "pure male hobby," says Siebel. For almost 20 years, he served the radio world through his publishing house.
Then Siebel got bored, he says. And that happened just in time, because a little later the internet made his radio frequency lists obsolete. A friend of Siebel's had an old Rolls Royce in his garage in Bad Godesberg. It aroused the entrepreneur's interest in Great Britain. But when he founded "The British Shop", Siebel did not start out with luxury cars, it was a modest beginning with whisky, shortbread and neck ties. Customer interest was great. "At some point I had to choose between my publishing house and mail order," said Siebel. He chose the shop. "In retrospect, of course, it was an absolute stroke of luck," said the entrepreneur.
Today, "The British Shop" sells its goods over the internet, but continues to rely on printed paper: the catalog is published eight times a year with a circulation of more than 400,000 copies, plus two annual special editions. "Our customers want to leaf through the pages," Siebel is convinced.
After all, the interest in products from Great Britain has not diminished, he says. Perhaps it has even increased. "The country has been so present in the media lately that you can't get past it," says the Meckenheim resident: "Brexit and of course Harry and Meghan!” The sales staff have prepared themselves for the more complicated customs regulations resulting from the withdrawal from the EU.
His son Robert Siebel also believes in the future of British-German import trade. After studying business administration, the 27-year-old supports his father in the family business. And he now knows the tastes of his customers as well. Dog motifs are popular, he says. But now and then, of course, there are also slow sellers, such as a pillowcase with "Christmas pudding" printed on it.
(Orig. text: Delphine Sachsenröder / Translation: ck)
