Chemnitz and its potential

Nicole & Andreas Radtke

Since November 2015, Brühl has been one business richer: the "Kleine Könige" manufactory has set up shop on 250 square metres at Untere Aktienstraße 3-5. The employees' sewing machines clatter away in the large sewing room, while cosy cushions are customised with the embroidery machine in the neighbouring room. Bales of fabric are piled up in the storerooms and the large cutting table is stacked high with cuttings for bloomers, loops and jumpers. This is the realm of Nicole and Andreas Radtke, who have taken the plunge and started their own business. We talked to them about the adventure of self-employment.

In your manufactory, you produce homemade children's clothing and accessories for children. How did this idea come about?
Nicole Radtke: Even as a child, I spent a lot of time sitting at the sewing machine with my grandma and sewing doll clothes, and later as a teenager I made my own clothes. So I've always been interested in fabrics, colours and design. After my vocational training as a clothing technology assistant, I studied textile technology in Zwickau/Reichenbach. The idea of becoming self-employed started in 2007 with the birth of my first daughter. One of her birth presents was a personalised glass baby bottle. I was most happy about this personalised gift. I wanted to do something similar, but in the textile sector with accessories such as name cushions, baby blankets and music boxes. So that was the first idea: a personalised birth gift.

In the beginning, Nicole made her cushions and blankets at home on her sewing and embroidery machine and sold them via her own online shop and on Dawanda (an internet platform for selling home-made products, editor's note). "I did it on the side during my parental leave in the corner of the living room," she says. At the time, she would never have thought it possible that it would become a company with eight employees.

When did it come to running the online shop full-time?
Nicole Radtke: That was after the birth of our second child at the end of 2009. Then it developed slowly but steadily.
Andreas Radtke: During that time, the number of customers grew and we had more sales. From 2012/13 onwards, we realised that the company still had a lot of potential that had not yet been fully exploited. Fortunately, we were in a situation where we were financially secure, as I was still a regular soldier in the German army and had a good, steady income. This meant that we were under no pressure at the time and Nicole was able to concentrate on her small business and try things out creatively. This allowed us to build up a solid customer base and further develop our marketing.
Nicole Radtke: During this time, I also expanded the product range. The do-it-yourself trend slowly emerged and with it the demand for handmade children's clothing. The first items in this area were children's loops, bloomers and baby hats. The bloomers are still our best seller. We now also have jumpers, dresses and rompers in the shop.

You are now so successful that you can't do the work with just the two of you, can you?
Nicole Radtke: That's right. I definitely needed support. At that time, an intern applied for a job and I later took her on permanently. That's how it slowly started with employees. It's not just sewing, but also writing invoices, maintaining the shop and packing parcels. Fortunately, my husband decided to join the company.
Andreas Radtke: Basically, I've always supported my wife, of course. Everything to do with bookkeeping and taxes. I took over the business side because it interested me. I studied business education and have some experience there. Of course, I also strategised with my wife about how we could make the shop better known and attract more customers. So I was with the company right from the start. After my time in the army, I was employed for a year, but then decided to join the company, mainly due to its growth. We set ourselves a year in which we wanted to try it out and take a risk.

They used this year to take on more staff. The "trial year" is now over. There are currently eight employees working at "Kleine Könige". "The more employees we have, the more orders we can accept, of course, and the demand for our products is still high," says Andreas. In the beginning, the two of them even had to turn down orders because they couldn't do it on their own. In the meantime, they have built up their business to such an extent that they try to make every order possible.

What is so special about "Kleine Könige"? Why does the idea work so well?
Nicole Radtke: The secret is that we all really enjoy working here and love what we do. Most of our employees are not professional seamstresses. We have employed them because they put their heart and soul into their work. Most of them have turned their hobby into a profession. What is special about "Kleine Könige" is that we produce all our products individually. For example, our customers can decide what colour the waistband on their trousers should be. We make matching scarves or hats on request. We try to fulfil every wish of our customers. We also make personalised items, such as bags or cushions, just the way the customer wants them. We really try to fulfil every wish and don't just sell ready-made items.

You've had your company here on the Brühl since November. Why did you move to Brühl of all places?
Nicole Radtke: We were previously on Kaßberg, on Agricolastrasse. Back then, we had a 90 square metre property and thought that would definitely be enough for the future. Just one year later, however, the space was already far too small and we had to look for something bigger. We needed a size of 250 to 300 square metres. We looked at a lot of storage rooms and halls, but none of them appealed to us. We wanted something familiar that didn't look like a production hall to reflect our manufacturing character. It was important to me that we could separate the areas from each other. We need a cutting area, an embroidery area, a sewing area and, of course, storage space. Then we discovered the property on the Brühl, looked at it and although it was still very unrenovated, I was able to visualise everything in the rooms and set it up in my mind. We now feel very much at home here.

Had you had any previous contact with the Brühl?
Andreas Radtke: Not at all. It was more a twist of fate. We looked at the premises here and the conditions were just right. We didn't have to change the floor plan. And the rooms here have charm. What's more, the price-performance ratio is just right. After we moved in in November, we naturally got to know all the other advantages of Brühl. We have contacts with the other tradespeople. There is constructive co-operation, especially in the Brühl committee, where the Brühl development is being driven forward.
Nicole Radtke: The location on the Brühl, at the entrance to the shopping street, ultimately led us to open a small shop. That was never actually planned because we see the future primarily in the Internet. What we find very positive is that we have much more direct customer contact, which gives us immediate feedback.

The shop celebrated its opening on 21 May. "Now customers can come in, get personalised advice and, of course, choose the patterns themselves." This is something special in the industry, Andreas explains. If you order a pair of bloomers, for example, you can pick them up two days later. Produced in Chemnitz.

Do you follow developments in the city outside of Brühl?
Andreas Radtke: It varies greatly. We hear a lot from our employees. They almost all come from Chemnitz, from different neighbourhoods - Kaßberg, Sonnenberg, Reichenbrand, Schönau. What you basically notice is that the focus is currently on Brühl and the city centre. Not much needs to be done on Kaßberg, where investors are already doing a lot and renovating the buildings. A lot is also happening on the Sonnenberg. However, in my opinion, people are still acting very cautiously here.

What are your favourite places?
Andreas Radtke: We like to cycle to the zoo and Pelzmühlenteich with the children. But we also like to get out and about in the city centre.
Nicole Radtke: We've been in Chemnitz since 2006 and feel really at home here. We actually come from near Augustusburg. We moved to the city for my dissertation and have never regretted it.

Do you have to encourage the people of Chemnitz?
Nicole Radtke: From a commercial point of view, Chemnitz still has a lot of potential. You can do so much here. More needs to happen, especially for the younger generation. The Uferstrand is a great example that appeals to young people in Chemnitz and attracts them to the city.
Andreas Radtke: Chemnitz definitely has potential, so the people of Chemnitz should be encouraged to get stuck in. There are many people in Chemnitz who are very committed. We've met people here on the Brühl who make a huge difference. If there were more of them, development could progress more quickly. Sonnenberg in particular is a neighbourhood that has huge potential. It's close to the city centre, there are beautiful streets and great buildings. A lot can develop there too.