Interview with Managing Director Guido Huber: The skapetze® goals & topics 2023

skapetze®: "Mr. Huber, the first quarter of 2023 is almost over. What are your initial conclusions?"

Guido Huber: "Very positive. We have given our skapetze® showroom for our customers and really showcased our own brand s.luce excellently as the central theme. The first winter in-house exhibition was also very successful, where we were able to celebrate the anniversary of s.luce. But we are also making very good progress in other areas...!"

skapetze®: "What would these be?"

Guido Huber: "Well, our focus is clearly on our own brand s.luce from skapetze®. Multi-flame luminaire combinations, uniquely configured for the customer. From the number of luminaires to the type of cable, the s.luce canopies we design or the individual light control.

We have added many new exciting series to our range and put ready-made sets online to make it even easier for our customers to choose the right one for them. Our managing director and owner Daniel Skapetze is an important pioneer here for s.luce as a designer, strategist and idea generator. It is up to me to successfully steer and coordinate the processes with the leadership and the eleven teams in the company."

"The aim is a self-selling skapetze® showroom"

Guido Huber: "Our exhibition is also making great progress in terms of digitalization. Our aim is to make the skapetze® showroom as self-selling as possible. From digital price tags that are linked to the store, to operable customer workstations and digital info points, we are currently working on numerous implementations that will lead to online & offline to the maximum."

Introduction of new brand strategy since the end of 2022

: "You already said s.luce is the focus. The brand is also celebrating a big 20th anniversary in 2023. How will this be celebrated?"

Guido Huber: "We don't celebrate birthdays in advance, but in this case we started making some groundbreaking changes at the end of 2022. For example, the redesign of the logo and complete brand identity, the internally redefined brand strategy with a fresh and modern look that also fits in perfectly with the modern and forward-thinking team and the ongoing development of new series. All of this comes together this year and the great content in the form of photos, videos and animations that is currently being created is the bow on the birthday package."

skapetze®: "Part of the Winter 2022 in-house exhibition was also the theme "Become an e-commerce rock star". What was meant by this and why was it advertised at all?"

Guido Huber: "I am convinced that there are very few companies like ours in the region that allow such freedom, self-development and creativity in the job. This is due to the exciting topic E-commerce, which basically knows no boundaries.

From online lighting design, international sales via marketplaces and the internationalization of our store to the creation of affordable designer luminaires. But also our unique togetherness as a team, where everyone pulls together."

skapetze®: "What are the goals for the rest of 2023?"

Guido Huber:"Many of the projects mentioned above have already been initiated, now it's a matter of completing them. We are all impatient because behind every new idea there is already a second and third. But changes also need to be evaluated and important KPIs [key performance indicators, note skapetze®] recorded - we need time for this.
We are continuing to expand the s.luce Ring series, which continues to be an absolute success factor. There are also completely new series that are easily compatible and usable with each other, in line with the s.luce "Mix & Match principle", in which the "chef" can prepare many dishes with just a few ingredients. In this way, we use light in an absolutely creative, resource-saving, sustainable and yet versatile way.

It will be a selection of top European products and something completely different from what we have done before. We are all very excited about that."

skapetze®: "Thank you very much for the interesting interview!"