Although Showme Stores is still a relatively young project, it is part of a larger corporate group that includes a digital agency and several online shops. As a result, nearly 15 years of experience in online marketing, e-commerce, and development as an agency form the foundation of Showme. At the same time, the company is supported by almost 10 years of hands-on experience as an online furniture retailer.
Our story began with a passionate web agency whose ambitious CEO made it his mission not only to manage client projects but also to launch his own ventures. These initiatives were created, among other reasons, to gain additional experience and test online marketing strategies that clients were not always ready to implement. The result of these efforts was an online retail business specializing in box spring beds, which, over time, was expanded to include a physical showroom.
It became clear:
However, one single showroom is, of course, not enough to cover all of Germany. This led to the idea for Showme Stores: creating additional exhibition spaces to expand this successful concept and make it accessible to more retailers and customers nationwide.
We are deeply familiar with the challenges faced by both online retailers and brick-and-mortar retailers who also operate their own online shops. In the furniture industry in particular, a physical presence remains essential. While many customers conduct their research online — a phenomenon known as ROPO (Research Online, Purchase Offline) — which highlights the need for an effective and informative website, they still prefer to see and test products in person before making a purchase. This is especially true for larger, higher-priced furniture pieces that are intended for long-term use.
Opening your own retail stores poses a significant entrepreneurial challenge and high financial risk for online shops. It requires extensive expertise in areas such as real estate development, personnel management, and administration — not to mention the considerable fixed costs involved.
This is where Showme Stores comes in: We handle the time-consuming search for suitable properties, take care of attractive store design, and hire qualified sales consultants, who are carefully trained by us. As an exhibitor, you can focus entirely on delivering your products and presenting them perfectly in line with your brand.
Our first location opened in Dreieich near Frankfurt.
The next will follow in Bad Säckingen near the Swiss border, and another showroom is scheduled to open in Bielefeld in July 2024.
Showme Stores was born out of a deep understanding of customer needs — in B2C (Business to Consumer), B2B (Business to Business), and D2C (Direct to Consumer) markets. Paul Sidelnikow recognized early on the challenges online shops face, while also seeing the enormous potential to create an innovative startup.
The name Showme came to life in June 2022, just before midnight, in a hotel in Leipzig during a market research trip. It was first quickly scribbled on a piece of paper, along with some initial logo ideas, and then refined over the following months through an in-house corporate identity process.
The name Showme reflects two perspectives: From the consumer’s point of view, it expresses the desire: “Show me the product” — highlighting the importance of physical retail. From the online shop’s perspective, it means: “Show me to the customer” — emphasizing brand visibility and connection.
Our mission is to provide the online retail industry with an innovative, future-oriented gateway to physical sales channels, while strengthening brand awareness. At the same time, we aim to deliver an outstanding offline shopping experience for customers who value seeing, touching, and experiencing products before they buy.