The best of the furniture trade
MöbelFirst works with the best furniture retailers. This is undoubtedly a big claim, and yet the two founders Christoph Ritschel and Dennis Franken are fully behind it. Because the more than 300 retailers throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Benelux are united by a common goal: to sell customers the best products with the best advice.
All stationary retail partners are medium-sized companies that see retail as a cultural asset. They sell brand and designer furniture from Germany and Europe and their names stand for quality and craftsmanship. Many are run as family businesses over several generations.
We help furniture stores to sell online
A very good example of this is the Pröbster furniture store in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz. Its history began shortly after the Second World War. Georg Pröbster founded a small workshop as a carpenter - at that time, trade was still largely based on barter transactions. This changed in the following years and the company quickly developed into the town's first furniture store: in 1958, "Möbel Pröbster" opened in Obere Marktstraße, in the middle of the town center, with around 2,000 m2 of retail space.
In the 1960s, the space was no longer sufficient and logistics in the city center became increasingly problematic. Georg Pröbster therefore erected a new building in Hans-Dehn-Straße, which was gradually expanded to 6,000 square meters. In 1988, the furniture store finally took on its current form and with son Wolfgang and his wife Maria, the second generation took the helm. Since 2013, the family business has been run by the third generation, siblings Michael and Kristina Pröbster.
The two describe the special philosophy of Möbel Pröbster as follows: "We stand for an effervescent wealth of ideas paired with profound experience. You can rely on the fact that, as furnishing professionals with many years of experience, we know exactly what we are talking about. But above all, we want to know what you are talking about. That's why we take a lot of time for you and listen to you very carefully. After all, we want your shopping experience to be unforgettable and your furnishings to give you pleasure for a long time to come."
The history and self-image of Möbel Pröbster is typical of the cooperation partners of MöbelFirst. All of them see themselves as specialist retailers with the highest level of consulting expertise. This is why the portfolio also includes many specialists such as upholstery retailers, solid wood suppliers and bed dealers. Many are now managed by junior managers. They pay attention to trained and reliable employees, who they employ at fair wages. They ensure a lively and diverse retail structure and form a contrast to the large chain stores, which hardly offer any surprises with their uniform product ranges.
All of these specialist retailers are well aware of the importance of e-commerce. Until now, they have simply lacked the key to opening up a sales channel online and being visible. After all, setting up a relevant store on their own to sell furniture online is a Herculean task for a medium-sized stationary retailer who has to go about their daily business. And yet there is no way around online marketing, which is why MöbelFirst is a real problem solver for retail partners to market display items and individual pieces online at reduced prices. Sofas, armchairs, tables, chairs, wardrobes, shelves, wall units and office furniture are offered at low prices via MöbelFirst and retailers can use the sales to make space for new collections in their stores. As the items are on display or kept in stock, they are available immediately and customers do not have to wait several weeks or even months for their new favorite piece of furniture. A particular advantage from the retailer's point of view: MöbelFirst opens up a much larger customer base via the Internet, meaning that retailers from the provinces can also reach customers from major cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne or Frankfurt.
Buy furniture online and support local retailers
MöbelFirst founder Christoph Ritschel is himself a third-generation furniture retailer and is delighted that the concept is working: "Our aim is to enable bricks-and-mortar retailers to do their business as well as possible and, as a platform for brand and designer furniture, to offer them an additional sales channel on the internet by bringing them new customers. The fact that so many committed and passionate retailers are now working with us makes us proud." And Dennis Franken adds: "Each of our 300 retail partners has their own story, usually spanning several generations. We are happy if we can play a part in ensuring that these stories continue in the future."
MöbelFirst's retailer network is growing steadily. After six years, there are well over 300, and many brick-and-mortar retailers have already decided to cooperate with MöbelFirst for the current year.
