Conrad to focus exclusively on B2B online retailing in the future

The development had already become apparent. The traditional manufacturer Conrad wants to focus exclusively on B2B business in online retail in the future and is therefore closing all stationary stores in the course of 2022.

Conrad to focus on online retail

The long-established provider Conrad Electronic SE operates a total of eleven stationary stores throughout Germany. Still in the course of the year 2022 is to be an end. However, the development had already been apparent for some time, as five years ago there were still a total of 20 stores.

As reason the nearly 100 years old electronics specialist dealer calls in its message above all the branch business declining by the Corona pandemic lately and the risen interest in on-line trade, how BR24 with reference to data of the enterprise communicates.

In addition, the company wants to focus more on B2B (business-to-business) trade in the future. Only the store in Wernberg-Köblitz would continue to operate “in the previous format,” Conrad informs. One of the company’s largest logistics centers is also located there. For the stores in Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Hanover, Mannheim, Munich and Regensburg is still this year end.

B2B online retailing to be focused

The company also plans to focus more on the business-to-business sector and plans to “become Europe’s leading B2B procurement platform for technical business supplies”. In Hürth in North Rhine-Westphalia, Conrad Electronic already operates a business-only store and is now looking for additional locations, BR24 adds. For years, the company has been gradually geared to the B2B sector and sees itself with this strategy on the right track.

Employees from the closed stores will also be given the opportunity to apply for open positions within the Conrad Group. The workforce was informed about the plans at an early stage, reveals CEO Ralf Bühler.

The total number of employees affected was not disclosed. In 2020, Conrad already withdrew from chain stores in Switzerland and is now following this model in Germany as well. Most recently, Conrad was awarded the German B2B Award 2022 by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Verbraucherstudien mbH (German Society for Consumer Studies) and the German Service Award 2022 in the category “Customer Verdict – Electronics & Communication”.