Shapers of the Future: The Customer Understanders – How Fielmann Wants to Win Customers Back with Digital Tools
Every year, the optician lost 700,000 customers due to waiting times that were too long. With the help of AI, Fielmann is now simplifying eye checks and glasses purchases, and has thus increased its market share.
On this afternoon in Hamburg, the Fielmann flagship store on Mönckebergstraße is bustling with 1,200 to 1,500 daily customers. This optical shop caters to nearly 45,000 people annually, making it the largest location of Germany's leading optician chain, which operates over 600 stores nationwide. Fielmann, with over 600 locations in Germany, has seen its yearly turnover double from 5 million Euros to nearly 10 million Euros thanks to a 90-person team.
With a workforce shortage, Fielmann innovated by embracing digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve customer service and reduce waiting times. Marc Fielmann, the company's grandson and CEO, explained that every new customer generates an average of 170 to 200 Euros in revenue. Fielmann's digital customer strategy has already paid off, as the company reached record revenue and profit in 2025, with a 7.4% increase in sales to 2.4 billion Euros and a third-year profit increase to 205 million Euros.
The business aims to reach four billion Euros in revenue by 2030 and a 57% market share in Germany, based on unit sales growth of four percentage points.
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