Mike Hale: Can you give an overview of your career to date?
Stephan Hinkerode: I think I can say that I was born into the optical industry because my father was an optician and he gave his passion for his job to me. After earning my degree in optics, I worked for both independent practices and huge chains in Germany. Then around 20 years ago, I moved into the industry side of optics and went on to have several different roles. Before joining Marcolin, five years ago, as general manager here in the DACH [Germany, Austria and Switzerland] area, I worked for different companies, developing eyewear for global brands in the luxury segment, in the diffusion segment, as well as in the sports segment. So, I’ve been breathing this air for three decades and I still have the passion for this industry because I really love it.
MH What will your new role as head of UK, Nordics and DACH entail?
SH Of course, the intention is to further strengthen Marcolin presence in all these markets. I think that we can create some very good synergies between these key European markets and reinforce Marcolin’s commitment to be the best partner and to offer the best service to all the customers across the area.
MH Are there any aspects of operation or learnings from your previous role as general manager for DACH at Marcolin that you are specifically looking to apply?
SH I’m well aware that every market has its own specific characteristics. We need to understand these and ideally anticipate the particular needs of each territory, of each market. We design and produce collections that are sold truly worldwide, so we are well aware that the tastes of consumers vary from region to region within a country yet alone across a continent. So, I think that the ability to create eyewear that suits all these different needs and different markets makes for a healthy and prospering company.
MH Why do you feel that UK is a good fit with the DACH and the Nordic countries?
SH Yes, because the countries are in a similar situation. Marcolin has invested a lot in these markets; building new offices and expanding the workforce to better serve our
customers.
In the UK, we opened our central London office two-and-a-half years ago, moving from a location around three hours drive from the city centre. We’ve built up a completely new company structure and we will absolutely continue to operate from there. We have a great team in London, as well as in the Nordics and in Germany, and the idea is that we will continue to grow. We are investing in a new customer relationship management system so we can be even closer to our customers.
MH How will further growth be achieved?
SH I have to say that we already have a very solid base of customers. So, our idea is more to extend the brands we have at the moment, in the field. Marcolin has more than 30 brands on the market worldwide and at the moment we are just working with a few in all the areas. So the idea is to find the best approach, the best opportunity for the customer to have the best range possible.
At the moment our pillar brands are, by far, Guess and Tom Ford because they have a high profile across the globe. But we see a lot of different things we can apply from one market to another. For example, in Germany, we are currently doing well with Timberland. Timberland is very much an outdoor brand that has connotations with sustainability. Customers are really keen on this because of a general movement towards sustainability within the country. That’s what makes us think that the brand will do well in other countries where sustainability is to the fore.
MH What are your expectations for 2021 commercially?
SH Despite the difficulties with the ongoing pandemic, I have to say that, at the moment, our business is going remarkably well and we are pleased to be supporting our customers and, ultimately, the consumers in a time that is very challenging for everyone. So, the plan is to further establish our presence in the UK, as we still see huge potential with other brands. Since last year, we have been working with one of the strongest global sports brands in Adidas. I think we have a lot of potential to expand with Adidas across Europe, including the UK because we have the license on Adidas Sport as well as Adidas Originals. Having such a strong sporting brand is a great opportunity and rounds out our portfolio so we can reach almost every end consumer.
MH How do you see consumer buying trends playing out as lockdown lifts? Do you think consumers will gravitate towards established global brands?
SH I have to say that everybody here in Germany is saving a lot of money because we are not allowed to go out. We are not allowed to go to the restaurant, to travel, whatever. And I think that after the lockdown, there will be great consumer demand and optics is well positioned to benefit. People will want to have fun and buy interesting things. People will look to treat themselves to a new pair of frames, which is a level of purchase that can often be made on impulse.
MH Has Marcolin seen an increase in supply to online retailers over the pandemic period?
SH The pandemic has encouraged customers to approach online shopping, for sure. Even my parents ordered something online, because there was no other opportunity to shop in person. Online shopping is a reality; we cannot deny this. But honestly, I think that everybody’s waiting for the end of the lockdown, so that they can have these shopping experiences in person, so that they can go into a shop and select something that they connect with. In my experience this is because online has a lack of emotion. Ordering sunglasses by e-commerce, rather than walking into a practice on a sunny day, is about fulfilling a need rather than human experience. I think people are tired of sending retail parcels back and forth until they get the right colour and size. Online will be a reality post-pandemic but I think we will also go back to the shops.
MH With all the major optical trade shows cancelled or postponed over the past year, how is Marcolin compensating for their absence?
SH Trade fairs are very important to us to present ourselves, because, as I mentioned, we have a lot of brands that are not present in all countries. For this reason we love to exhibit at fairs in order to discuss new opportunities with customers. We are already planning our activity for Opti Munich at the start of 2022.
During the pandemic, we were finding alternative possibilities and launched our new business-to-business Digital Hub. Once registered, you can use this web-based platform to go through the collections and see the complete world of our brands. You have a multimedia area where you can see the newest images and so on. We were able to launch this at the beginning of the pandemic last year. The timing was very fortunate. The Digital Hub was very useful during those weeks that our sales people were not able to reach our customers and we will continue to evolve it as time goes on.