FROM ZERO TO 932 – FROM NORTHERN GERMANY TO ACROSS EUROPE:

ON COURSE FOR SUCCESS - New Yorker has 932 stores in 32 countries, making it one of Europe's largest fashion businesses.

Since opening its first branch in the northern German town of Flensburg in 1971, New Yorker has never looked back. By targeted investment in the future, it has not only created new jobs but has also developed into an international clothing company.

A staff of 16.000 – full-time and part-time – serves over 4 million paying customers each month. In contrast to the general trend, New Yorker has seen strong growth and continuously increased its profits in the last few years. This success can be attributed to effective market positioning and strong expansion in Europe.

The mainstay of the range is Young Fashion, jeans, sportswear and streetwear fashions for a young, trend-conscious target group – supplemented by a wide range of accessories and underwear. All in all the New Yorker collection makes a clear fashion statement and is entirely made up of the company’s own labels. The collections reflect the individual seasons as well as the very latest fashion trends and all workmanship is of high quality. The company’s international purchasing activities enable the stores to always have the very latest in stock.

Everything from design and manufacturing to channelling to the individual stores and marketing is managed centrally from the company’s headquarters in the German city of Braunschweig. Central logistics, an efficient distribution network and flat hierarchies are factors that enable New Yorker to position its products on the market successfully and react to changes flexibly.

Its flat hierarchies enable New Yorker to be efficient and profitable in all sectors and realise the network principle in the company, providing the foundation for its stable and forward-looking development.

PRESENCE AT PREMIUM LOCATIONS - All New Yorker stores are at first-rate locations. Before deciding to invest in a location, New Yorker first conducts a thorough analysis of framework conditions and makes a careful check of potential.

This preliminary work pays special attention to demographic factors as well as the purchasing power and infrastructure of the town or city in question.

The aim is to find premium locations: heavily frequented pedestrian precincts and inner-city areas or shopping centres with extensive retail space and an attractive business mix.

In any market launch it is important to take the culture of the country in question into consideration and the different shopping habits of customers. This approach has enabled New Yorker to establish a global image with regional facets that cater for customers in different countries.

STRONG INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE - The core areas of New Yorker's corporate strategy are to open up further sales markets and promote expansion.

International expansion first became company policy in 1994 – initially with entry onto the Austrian market. The number of stores has more than trebled since then.

Opening up further markets – both in Europe and further afield – will continue to be the principal goal of New Yorker’s expansion policy in the future.

As a parallel development, special attention is paid to continual optimisation of existing retail space. For example, the enlargement of smaller stores.

New Yorker has been working with franchisees since 2005 to enable it to respond to specific market requirements. The company makes use of the experience of competent partners when entering markets where special local conditions need to be taken into consideration.

In particular, the franchise concept is being used in Russia and the Middle East at present – in the future this model will be developed and used to open up further markets. These will mainly be in countries outside Europe.

FLAT HIERARCHIES MAKE FOR HIGH COMMITMENT - The primary focus of New Yorker staff is on its customers. They can expect competent and friendly service and assistance at all stores. New Yorker’s headquarters provide the sales teams with support as a service partner. The guiding principles here are optimum customer service and intensive customer relations.

New Yorker's corporate structure is characterised both by emphasis on teamwork and taking the initiative independently, enabling decisions to be made quickly and producing the desired results.

Further training is also carried out at the company: We prepare our executives of tomorrow for the new tasks they will face in an intensive trainee programme.

The result is a New Yorker team that identifies with its own products and presents the company as a credible and authentic entity.

The rapid expansion of New Yorker's store network in Europe places great demands on merchandise management and logistics. New Yorker stores receive new deliveries from the Braunschweig logistics centre daily.

New Yorker has developed a modern merchandise information system and an efficient data processing organisation. Lean management, efficient logistics and capable partners ensure that the flow of merchandise is swift and efficient.