Das Prinzip der «Sachlichkeit in der Warenverteilung». Zum Marketingkonzept des Schocken Konzerns in der Weimarer Republik

Abstract

Abstract The Principle of «Objectivity in Distribution». The Marketing Concept of the Schocken Group in the Weimar Republic The First World War and the Hyperinflation of the early 1920s threw the German retail trade into a serious crisis. After the currency stabilization of 1924 many companies tried to increase revenues and reduce overheads by focusing more on the demands of the customers. One measure taken most notably by some large companies was to build central advertising agencies to pool their energies. This essay explores the increased customer and marketing orientation of the textile retail trade by using the example of the department store group Schocken. The new business strategy of Schocken was accompanied by a similar corporate philosophy and was based on the principle of «objectivity in distribution». This principle affected their range of goods, their architecture and decoration of the shops, their customer service and their advertising strategy.