Fair trade Department Store - Social Cooperation
D - PR & TRANSFERABILITY
Would this programme work well in another European context?
FairKauf's clear-cut concept proves not only well-suited, but highly recommended for transfer to other European contexts, since:
- FairKauf does not work outside the market,
- FairKauf sees themselves primarily as an enterprise and only in the second instance (or, in order to be) as a social institution. It contributes both to stabilise economic life and society,
- FairKauf's economic concept follows the rules of offer and demand,
- aiming to offer sustainable solutions and not short-term, stop-gap measures,
- aiming to benefit all, offering more than benefits in the economic meaning of the term.
Communication of experience and success to the public
Communication of concept, recent developments, and success remains quintessential to FairKauf. It is to some considerable extent due to their PR that the large department store has become the trade-mark that it is today. In 2012, 55 % of the population in Hannover said to know FairKauf.
FairKauf's PR activities range from continually updating their website www.fairkauf-hannover.de, holding events in co-operation with different partners (e.g. schools), sales promotion, and instore advertising, all the way through word-of-mouth recommendation. FairKauf prouds themselves to have happy employees, a success criterium that many other companies seem to have forgotten of recently, and customers, while connecting people, regardless of age, cultural background, gender, or education.
Communication with local/national decision makers
Not only the founding members, which include socially committed individuals as well as representatives of walfare organisations, such as the Diakonisches Werk, Local Committee Hannover e.V., the Caritas Association of Hannover, and Werkheim e.V., but also the members of the Steering Committee and of the Supervisory Board are affiliated to various bodies and play an active part in different networks and panels involved with both society and economic issues.
Elements that would transfer particularly well to other contexts
The idea of the economisation of social work along with the motto 'Earn money to do good' (instead of rather 'Do good to earn money'), the clear-cut concept and well defined objectives, and a managing board consisting of (former) business professionals are only few of the elements that appear best-suited for transfer to other contexts.