Ten years of fan articles from Chemnitz

Tino Kunstmann

With songs such as "Wenn Zonies Reisen", "Beats & Raps" and "Helden weinen nicht", Tino Kunstmann, better known as the second part of the hip hop duo Tefla & Jaleel, rapped in front of 30,000 people at the splash! Festival at the Rabenstein reservoir. He contributed to the city of Chemnitz being referred to as the German hip-hop capital in the early 2000s. In the meantime, the splash! has moved to Ferropolis. But even after 20 years, Tino Kunstmann is still in the business of creative rhymes and catchy beats. No longer as an artist, but as a businessman. He founded the full-service merchandise provider Merchstore in 2006. In other words, he deals in merchandise from artists for their fans, including in hip hop. Although he has swapped the stage for the desk, he has never lost sight of the needs of young people. This week, the founder and Managing Director is celebrating his tenth company anniversary and can look back on a successful time.

When you founded the company in 2006, would you have believed that you would one day be celebrating ten years with your company?
Tino Kunstmann: I didn't think that far back then. It wasn't intended to come up with a great business idea that would generate so and so much turnover in ten years. As a musician at the time, I had to take care of Tefla & Jaleel's merchandise and thought that someone had to do it for you. Then I took over the Phlatline shop and the idea of becoming self-employed gradually grew. But even before 2006.

Briefly describe what you do.
The idea is a kind of full service for merchandising, from creation and procurement to complete distribution. Whether online or offline. A concrete example: an artist comes to us, says that he has a new album and needs merchandise items for it. We then sit down and develop concepts. What target group does the artist want to serve or what products does he need? Most people think merchandise is a black T-shirt with a logo on it. But there are also artists for whom T-shirts wouldn't work because the target group doesn't wear them. But instead they buy programme booklets or photo books. That's very different.

That all sounds very analytical.
That's the key to being successful. Not to offer a sales area, like an online shop, but to know which products suit which artists.

You have to empathise with the target group. What and where do they buy, what does it cost?
We not only create individual products but also brands in some cases. For example, VIOVIO, the brand of the artist Cro, or Corbo, by RAF Camora. Together with the artist, we develop a complete concept from the brand identity to sales in the shops. That sets us apart from the competition.

The merchandise store is a partner of artists such as Marteria, Die Fantastischen Vier and Beginner, as well as internet stars who are primarily known to young people: Julien Bam, Mrs Bella and Ape Crime are among the customer base, as are increasingly entertainment companies such as Mediakraft and TubeOne. Almost four weeks ago, he was a partner of ProSieben's Red Nose Day. He has also made forays into the sports business - as a partner of Schwatzgelb, a Borussia Dortmund fan magazine. "They approached us. I wouldn't normally do that. But our senior brand manager is a BVB fan. So there is a good level of communication and exchange of ideas," says Tino Kunstmann with a laugh. But the core business is urban entertainment and they try to stick to that. "We know a thing or two about that. We're not pop experts. We wouldn't do a great job there. And we're not metal either. Others do that very well. But that's not where we come from and that's okay."

Has your success in hip hop helped you? Keyword authenticity.
I didn't actually tell anyone at the beginning that I was behind the merch store. In hip hop, one doesn't begrudge the other anything. But my experience in the music business helped me a lot, of course. I set up the merch store from the perspective of an artist and not from that of a businessman. Which I should perhaps do more of sometimes. (laughs) But that's what sets me apart from everyone else who does merchandising, who does things out of passion - that was the driving force.

How do you find out what the fans want? Are there any surveys?
We have a good art director. He is mega-fit in the fashion sector. You have to actively engage with the fan scene and with fashion. And not everyone in the team is as old as me. (laughs)

The 40-year-old is a true Chemnitz or Karl-Marx-Stadt native. Even as a rapper or now as a businessman, the flair of the German capital Berlin, for example, has never appealed to him. "We were recently looking for an employee in Berlin. Although there are so many people there, it was damn hard to find one. There's a lot of blah blah blah and a very volatile society. The start-up culture is so big there that people don't want to commit themselves. You don't have that here in Chemnitz. There's nothing comparable to us in Chemnitz. At least I can't think of one. And having a unique selling point in a city is pretty cool." Although he moves around Germany and Europe, he feels at home in Chemnitz. "Why should I leave? I'm really happy with the city and the quality of life. I'm a very home-loving person. A lot has to happen before I pull up stakes." What Kraftklub are today with their Karl-Marx-Stadt song - ambassadors for their city - Tino, alias Jaleel, was also, only almost two decades earlier. "I like the city, I have nothing against it. I even defend it." Not without losing a critical eye, also with regard to the city's priorities: "It mustn't seem corny, they would say in hip hop. At the end of the day, you have to stand by what the city is. And the city is a working-class city. If you try too hard to portray a working-class city in a glossy way, it comes across as artificial. That usually ruins more."

What are Chemnitz's strengths?
We should focus more on entrepreneurship and industry. We have a great industry. What I wonder is why we don't have a great infrastructure? Why isn't there an ICE train here? How often I hear this from customers: "Do you know how long it takes me to get to Chemnitz? Let's meet in Leipzig." That's terrible.

What do you show customers or artists when they find their way to Chemnitz, even without an ICE train?
Firstly, we're sitting in the Schönherrfabrik, and everyone is open-mouthed in amazement at the sight. And with the office rents, compared to Berlin, their mouths only get bigger in amazement. Then I show them the Schloßviertel with the Miramar, preferably the Kaßberg, and suddenly they realise that it's really cool here after all.

Tefla & Jaleel have already shown a lot of local patriotism in their videos. The modest father of two, who prefers to let his work or his team speak for him rather than taking centre stage himself, still embodies this. "Merchstore is 18 employees and not just me." He feels right at home with his company in the Schönherrfabrik and never wants to leave. "For me, it's one of the most beautiful places in Chemnitz. I absolutely take my hat off to the owner and the investors. They have created something special in an unconventional way, with perseverance and great attention to detail."

Is Chemnitz a good place to set up a company?
I can't say anything negative. Of course, I can't project that onto others. It wasn't a problem for me. But we also have a business where the location doesn't matter. Would I open a shop in Chemnitz now? Probably not. It wouldn't be a good place to open a fashion store at the moment.

If you could design a cool merchandise item for Chemnitz, what would it be?
Oh, that can't be answered in half a minute. I'd have to think more about that now. The obvious thing would probably be a bronze Karl Marx head. I think the whole Karl Marx thing is great. People identify with it, for example Kraftklub with their Karl Marx City song. That's really something cool.
You definitely have to dig deep enough to find what Chemnitz stands for. What does Chemnitz stand for? For me, Chemnitz stands for Auto Union - for the birthplace of the German automotive industry. That's something! Many people out there don't even know that. We have to publicise that. That's Chemnitz and we can be proud of it.

Standard question: Do you have to encourage the people of Chemnitz to stand by their city more?
I don't think the people of Chemnitz have a problem standing by their city. They may sometimes find it silly where the city sets its priorities. We are not just about culture and cool exhibitions. We need that because we all want to see an awesome exhibition. But we don't epitomise that, Dresden or Leipzig do. We are workers, that's my feeling. It's not all glossy, but that's quite good.