Focus on Innovation: How Spaces Become Brand Experiences

The goal of my work is to build an international retail store network—as an additional, economically successful sales channel—through a defined expansion and organizational strategy. At the same time, we’re increasing the awareness and desirability of our brands Silhouette, evil eye, and NEUBAU. In my day-to-day work, this means: I collaborate with our agency partners to develop retail strategies and store concepts, lead retail design development, analyze locations, and support construction projects and store openings. In doing so, I coordinate the various aspects and partners and maintain an overall view of all the factors that make for a successful store. From retail marketing to window displays and in-store communication, all the way to collaborations, events, social media, and retail operations.

When I started, we were essentially starting from a blank piece of paper. You rarely get an opportunity like that. We’re represented in more than 16,000 optical stores worldwide, but until now, we didn’t have a store of our own. Developing retail from the ground up and getting every detail right from the start is an extraordinary opportunity. Retail is far more than just a sales channel—it’s a place where brands come to life. I’m motivated by the chance to support companies through a transformation process and help shape it. Retail has enormous power. My personal key term is effectiveness. When people walk into a store, buy a pair of premium glasses, and say as they leave, “Wow. That was a great experience,” then I know we’ve done something right. It’s precisely these moments that drive me.

We’re not a traditional optician, nor are we a traditional store. HOUSE OF SILHOUETTE is a brand experience store featuring modern optical care. We combine high-quality vision consultations with an emotional brand experience. Historic architecture meets modern design, technology meets craftsmanship, and style meets health. On top of that, we have various events, activations, and collaborations that constantly create new experiences. Visitors should leave the store realizing they’ve never seen or experienced anything like this before. For me, that’s what innovation is all about: rethinking the familiar and going beyond expectations.

I pay attention to every detail—“Retail is detail.” Our brands have excellent foundations—we have strong products, an extraordinary history, and a loyal customer base. These strengths must be visible and accessible. It’s like a small flame that needs to be turned up. A store appeals to all the senses. The architecture, the materials, the lighting, the music, the feel of the products, and the interaction with our employees all come together to create an experience. If we communicate “premium,” we must also make the premium experience reality. My career so far has also shown me that innovation doesn’t mean jumping on every trend. Rather, it requires the right solution at the right time. A store will never be perfect. There’s only the pursuit of perfection—and that’s what we strive for as a team, day after day.