A superlative opening celebration
JUNE 2009
Even before SILAG Warehouse Sales opened its doors at 10.00 sharp on Thursday 25.6.2009 great numbers of curious bargain-hunters were waiting at the entrance.
The opening celebration had been planned in every detail for weeks and advertised in the whole of the area surrounding Langenfeld. Large hoardings, leaflets, advertisements, HGV stickers and a new website announced the three-day event conspicuously. There were many full shopping trolleys. Selling like absolute hotcakes were mainly items such as kitchen rolls, dollies at an unbelievable €10 or the Flymo multi-function appliance, reduced by 60%.
But it wasn’t just the articles reduced in price by up to 75% that tempted the visitors in their droves; the food-and-drinks vans of the “Alt Ohligs” brewery also proved very popular. The employees of neighbouring companies also took the opportunity to visit in the lunch hour so that each day up to 1000 “Bratwürste” passed over the counter at the in-house Curry- Sausage Stand.
Another highlight enjoyed by the customers was the opportunity to take part in an animated memory game. A professional entertainer soon roused the playful instincts of both young and old and rewarded speed with great shopping vouchers. The SILAG Handel AG trainees also gave sterling support to the Warehouse Sales team. They distributed gummy-bears in the shape of amusing euro symbols, colourful balloons, pens or long-stemmed artificial flowers, which delighted everyone not just the ladies.
So it was not surprising that traffic chaos developed within a very short time in the whole of Liebigstraße. The leadership of SILAG Handel AG responded immediately to the situation und directed customers to park on the large inner courtyard of the head offices. Siegfried Lapawa, Chair of the Board of SILAG Handel AG, is proud of the performance of his staff. “All of this was only possible because of the outstanding teamwork of all departments.”
SILAG Handel AG again demonstrated its feel for the current economic climate with this sensational opening. Its thoroughly successful business model enables it to react to changed framework conditions even in times of crisis for the whole economy and thus to develop new paths for trade and industry.
Thus, for example, new products are constantly being tested for acceptance by the end consumer in our own Warehouse Sales before they are traded across the whole of Germany. Together with the sale of excess stock, a warehouse sales concept has been developed from this which has now been established in the Langenfeld/Solingen area for more than 15 years and is forecast to garner ever more support in the future.
The SILAG Handel AG leadership is happy to have found a site for Warehouse Sales that is more suitable not only for logistical reasons. After the company despite intensive efforts had to relinquish the traditional site in Solingen at the end of May, a warehouse right next to the SILAG head office was converted into a modern sales warehouse.
The Mayor, Mr. Magnus Staehler, came to see the opening days of the new shopping destination in Langenfeld for himself. Mr. Lapawa used the opportunity to offer his thanks again for the collaboration with the City of Langenfeld, without which this successful move would not have been possible.