Electronic chain Conrad closes almost all branches - customers react without understanding

Created: 04/19/2022, 04:49 am

By: Yasina Hipp

This Hamburg Conrad branch is apparently also to be closed.

© IMAGO/Hanno Bode

The electronics retail chain Conrad closes almost all of its branches for private customers.

From now on, business will only take place online.

Hirschau - "98 years young, 7 million product offers under the belt.

You can find it on the internet and in our branches”, these words are at the top of the Twitter profile of the electronics chain Conrad Electronic.

The traditional company will probably have to change this sentence soon and delete the last part.

As Conrad announced, the majority of the current eleven branches will close for private customers.

Only one shop in Wernberg-Köblitz (Schwandorf district) and the headquarters in Hirschau in Upper Palatinate should remain accessible to private buyers.

The reason for this step is quite brief on the part of the company.

Conrad-Electronic: Relocation to the online business

Instead of the branches for private customers, new branches are to be opened exclusively for business customers in the future.

The Conrad shops in major cities such as Hamburg, Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart are closing their doors.

According to the company, the reason for this is the increasing shift of retail to the Internet.

In the future, private customers will have to look for and order their electrical items on the Internet.

"Of course, this step is very difficult for us," says Ralf Bühler, CEO of Conrad Electronic.

With a view to the employees, the company is trying to find “socially acceptable regulations”.

The company did not say how many employees will be affected by the closures.

Conrad-Electronic: Customers regret the company's decision

While the information from Conrad's side is quite meager, customers are quite active, especially on Facebook.

They cannot understand the closures and, above all, emphasize the good on-site advice as a special feature of the company.

One user writes: "Your branches are one of the best places to go for technical advice, so I can buy exactly the right thing there.

Otherwise I have to go back to any online shop and send the devices back and forth three times until I find the right one.

Please keep your branches!” Another also said that without the advice he would no longer shop at Conrad, “but just where it is currently cheapest”.

The social media team of the electric chain responded to the outrage of the customers: "We are sorry that we will no longer be able to offer you on-site advice in the future.

On conrad.de you will find many comprehensive technical guides that you can use as a source of information.”