Fielmann: ZDFzeit tests the German eyewear giant – economy

Many glbades for little money: this promises Fielmann.

● With 19,000 employees, 600 branches and a consolidated turnover of 1.6 billion euros, the company dominates the eyewear market in Germany!

● Every second of frames sold in this country comes from Fielmann.

● This is paying off, especially for one of them: the founder of the company, Günther Fielmann (79 years old). His fortune is estimated at around 4.5 billion euros.

Fielmann relies on high sales, low prices, an aggressive advertising policy and an expansion. Society also promises a supreme will.

But what is the quality of the market leader Fielmann?

The documentary series ZDFzeit threw Tuesday night a behind-the-scenes glimpse of giant giants. Program theme: "The Fielmann Empire"

▶ ︎ Fielmann against the competition: service, selection and quality in the test

13 million glbades are sold in Germany – every year. Glbades have long been a fashion accessory. Even in the 1970s, chic glbades were extremely expensive, there were no big chains – until Fielmann went on the market.

"I fell into the cartel like a hawk in the henhouse," said the company 's godfather in a ZDF contribution from the year 2000. There are now 11,600 stores in the country. optics in Germany. But the 600 Fielmann stores sell more glbades than all the others together!

But are they better with service, choice and quality? To verify this, they sent the buyers of the ZDF test with a maximum budget of 150 euros to Fielmann, its competitor Apollo, and ordered them from the online retailer Mister Spex.

Selection and quality

at Fielmann Although the salesgirl showed appropriate models, she took a long time to measure her eyes – but in the end, the glbades were sloppy for 87 euros. The glbad overlooked the frame in front.

at Apollo The choice was correct, but the investigation was too fast and inaccurate. The glbades at 150 euros: unsustainable.

With 9000 glbades offered to the reseller Internet Mr. Spex the largest choice. With the webcam, customers can see how much they love the model. In the 50 selected glbades, the installation and quality of the glbades were convincing. Anyone placing an order with Mister Spex, however, must ask the optician to measure their own eye values ​​- and manually enter them into the online mask.

Eva Trummer, the mistress of opticians, who accompanied the test ZDF: "What is recorded is difficult, if you do not come from the field."

After all: in the laboratory, no glbad has fallen. They were curved, exposed to artificial sweat – and all withstood the stress test.

▶ ︎ Conclusion: Since only one store has been tested at a time, the result is not representative. However, it turned out that none of the companies was totally convincing. The negligence of Fielmann and Apollo is particularly annoying for the customer.

The test of good will

Fielmann promised: low prices and the highest will. Anyone who finds cheaper glbades, gets his money back – and a bottle of champagne. The ZDF testers discovered the model chosen at a Chinese mail order company for less – and were immediately compensated when presented in the store.

Prof. Manfred Schwaiger, a marketing researcher, sees this as a successful strategy. "The customer is satisfied, keep telling this story, and this recommendation effect increases sales." Even after several weeks, Fielmann picked up the glbades again. The purchase price was there for the ZDF test bar on the hand.

Fielmann has also discovered a new target group: the elderly. A clientele that expands and has money. The ZDF sent a cataract tester in the store, the optician has sold – despite the request – a progressive target at 370 euros.

Eva Trummer, expert: "The force changes completely after an operation.The glbades can no longer be worn."

Another model was slammed during installation. The glbad is too far inwards, so the expert Wolfgang Hirt. This could lead to headaches and professional misconduct. Fielmann talked about the right of exchange. However: without an expert, the defect would not have been apparent to the customers.

▶ ︎ Conclusion: Fielmann shows in the current test, the service convinced. In the case of progressive glbades, however, the branches made two mistakes – such deficiencies weigh heavily!

The check of fairness

Change of generation at Fielmann: with Marc Fielmann, the son took over the management – at 29, the youngest German CEO. His annual salary: 2.5 million euros.

The reality in branches and production centers is different. At the Rathenow factory in Brandenburg, employees complained of a heavy workload, long working days of up to ten hours and a salary level slightly above the minimum wage.

Stefanie Jahn, unionist: "The group is gaining stupidly and stupidly and the employees are receiving so little that they are at risk of poverty."The ZDF confronted the young boss Marc Fielmann. But the only ones to say: "They were always there and could take a picture." I mean, both half less wild.

Pressure among opticians: the 600 Fielmann branches are managed as independent companies. The testers from the ZDF visited a shop in Lübeck. Without a collective salary, without a company committee. "We treat each other fairly," said Fred Haselbach.

A former Munich optician Fielmann who wanted to remain unrecognized declared a net salary of 1 400 euros. In the expensive Bavarian capital, that was enough for a room in a shared apartment. It was not possible to think of a family.

Another former employee stated that even what needed to be worn had been given. In the branch has been checked if everyone has a pair of glbades – even if you do not need it.

▶ ︎ Conclusion: Low wages, hard work and strict rules: Fielmann triumphed in the "fairness" category. Here, the deficits of the eyewear giant have been most clearly revealed!

★★★

Service, selection, quality – in the end, none of the tested glbades suppliers could convince steadily!