In Eyebook nr 18 your father told us about the success of a brilliant idea: to provide the slightest faces with the opportunity to wear fashionable and design frames. Do you think that the final customer is now more ‘aware’ and demanding?
I think that the selection of frames for petite faces in optical stores could be even larger, so that buying glasses is a great experience for people with slim heads and you don't have to leave the store with a compromise. We perceive that end customers with small faces are well informed and specifically looking for glasses that fit. Especially since the beginning of the pandemic, our platform ‘Colibris Click & Connect’, which has been around since 2016, has been very busy. final customers can select up to 4 frames online and have them sent to their local optician. The consultation then takes place there. We currently offer this service only in Germany.

Your family is all involved in the business, it's  a sort of ‘legacy’: after your father it's your turn now (Elena became managing partner in September 2021). How important is this family relationship in building a successful business story?
The fact that Colibris is not just any company, but a family business, gives the work a sense of purpose that I don't know from any other context. you work on something that is a kind of life's work, which in the best case will outlast your own life. for me, it is a great honour to follow in my parents' footsteps and I take on the task with a strong sense of responsibility. Succession is a very important and sensitive phase in the family business. I have the greatest respect for the work of my parents and at the same time there are of course things that I would like to change. In doing so, it is important for me to proceed cautiously and to take everyone with me, the family, the employees, but also, of course, our customers. My expertise as  a business psychologist helps me in this process of change. To be specific about changes: one of my current projects is the further development of the brand, which will become visible and tangible in the coming months, for example in the form of a new corporate identity and a new corporate design.

What do you think are the main distinctive aspects of Colibris compared with other independent brands in the market?
Certainly, an important aspect is that we are a family business and therefore attach importance to a sustainable and long-term development of the company. In addition, we have a very close relationship and a good understanding of our customers through our two eyewear stores in Lübeck. We know the needs of Opticians and are also deeply in touch with our final customers. So, in addition to our collection, we are always developing physical and digital products for the specialized trade. for example, our ‘Colibris Manufaktur’, where many of our acetate frames can be individually adapted to the needs of the final customer’s face as a one-of-a-kind pair of glasses.