Norbert Steinke

Norbert Steinke is a true retail addict. Over his career he has touched on a wide range of product categories, worked for family businesses as well as for investors, from the shop floor all the way to executive management. Today Norbert is a consultant and advisor to investors and CEOs in the retail industry.
zalando connected retail feature

Retail Stores vs. Online Platform Wars

Editorial Thoughts, , ,

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… (retail) humans and many species of (online) aliens co-exist with robots who assist their routines. Travelling between planets takes place offline as well as online. The same goes for shopping, where retail spacecrafts range from small starfighters called mom & pop shops to battle stations such as the moon-sized Death Star (Online Platforms). (more…)

post-merger integration

How to Manage Successful Brand Post-Merger Integration

Strategy, ,

Far over 100 lifestyle brands are taken over every year. While a majority of post-merger integrations fail, here’s what the successful ones have in common.

As a seasoned experienced retail executives we have been part of my fair share of successful post-merger integrations. In our current roles, we advise family businesses and financial investors on growing their brands, organically or via acquisition. Although the backgrounds of individual companies, the company cultures as well as the strategic reasons for takeovers differed widely, clear patterns emerge for both successful and unsuccessful cases.

(more…)