Together towards the future
To kick off the event, Corinna Milborn interviewed the managing director of Markant AG, Dominik Scheid, and the managing director of Markant Austria, Thomas Zechner, on the current market situation and new developments within the Markant Group.
«As Markant, we are constantly growing and are currently experiencing a very strong increase in the need to further expand our range of services», explained Zechner by way of introduction. The current situation is tense, and people are reacting with a reluctance to buy. «That's why we want to support our partners even better and establish efficiency and process optimisation», added Scheid. Markant has therefore set itself the task of further developing what already exists and creating something new at the same time. In the meantime, a broad service portfolio has developed along the value chain.
As a data-driven company, special attention is paid to the topic of cyber security: «We have a high level of resilience and continue to work on it every day by means of consistent digitisation – for ourselves and our partners», says Scheid. The Markant marketplace of services also deserves a special mention. Over 2500 companies are already using the platform and the number is increasing on a daily basis. «We have come a good deal closer to realising our vision of becoming the leading service platform in Europe and some of the services are already in use in Austria», say the managing directors.
There is a lot in store for the industry, especially with regard to environmental issues: «It is becoming particularly difficult for small and medium-sized companies to keep track of everything. We therefore want to create transparency», announced Scheid. «Thanks to Markant Austria's initiative, it has been possible to set up a comprehensive ECR working group that deals with the European Supply Chain Directive (CSDDD). Together with all retailers and many industrial companies, we have set ourselves the task of organising the preparatory measures for this new EU directive as consistently and optimally as possible», says Zechner.
Artificial intelligence is also playing an increasingly important role within the industry: «By the establishment of our start-up Retail.ai, we also offer AI services such as the ProductWizard, which has just won the ECR Award», emphasised Zechner proudly. The objective: «We want to become a reliable partner when it comes to generative AI», announced Scheid. Despite the dynamics and innovations on the market, one thing has not changed: «Our corporate culture is based on the values of trust, cooperation and progress, and we invite our partners from industry and trade to help shape developments and create added value together with us», the managing directors appealed.
Top-class speakers
Klara Fichtenbauer, Senior Marketing Consultant of Consumer Panel Services GfK Austria, opened the specialist lectures with an overview of current purchasing habits on the topic: «FMCG shopper trends 2024 – end of the perma-crisis?» and invited participants to join interactively.
The ongoing crises frustrate shoppers and increase their desire for more security. While the proportion of households with financial worries rose significantly between 2021 and 2023, we are currently seeing an improvement in the financial situation of households. Nevertheless, the price focus remains and consumers are shopping pragmatically. Trust in branded products is declining and the trend towards private brands, particularly among younger households, is continuing. The stake in shares also rose to a new record in the first half of 2024.
In addition, health issues are gaining in importance across Europe: In Austria, concern for physical health is the most important. Nevertheless, the willingness to spend more money on sustainable products remains low: since 2021, the willingness to pay more for organic products has fallen from 51 to 41 per cent. Fichtenbauer advised taking shoppers' concerns seriously but also keeping an eye on actual purchasing habits. For her, one thing is clear: «You need to know the consumer: It's not a time for generalisation but individuality.»
He then moved on from consumer behaviour to the hotel industry: In his presentation «Innovation by tradition – challenges facing the luxury hotel industry and its partners", Matthias Winkler, CEO of the Sacher Hotel Group, took a close look at the current hotel industry and went into more detail about the hurdles that need to be overcome.
The topics of sustainability and innovation do not stop at the luxury segment either: «A lot has changed and short-term nature and volatility are increasing exponentially», explained Winkler. He sees the three biggest challenges as being digitalisation, individualisation and the human-to-human area. "We have to welcome both – offline and online," emphasised Winkler. Digitalisation also holds potential: guests can already be offered a digital room key or a virtual 360° tour. «We want to create trust with total transparency», emphasised Winkler. The hotel industry cannot ignore AI either: room control via chat and voicebot is already possible.
«Individualisation will have to increase in the hotel industry – for us, this means offering experiences. Only individualisation leads to success», says Winkler. To counteract the shortage of skilled labour, he has set himself the goal of making work meaningful and fun, as this is the only way the entire team can perform together. Training and advanced training, flexibility and active participation play a major role for him. «The centre is an intensive human relationship».
We continued with the future topic «Brain vs. artificial intelligence – who gains the upper hand?»: Henning Beck, neuroscientist and author, provided exciting insights into the differences between humans and AI and backed these up with short experiments with the audience.
These days, information is permanently available. However, it is important not to confuse information with knowledge. Beck emphasised: «People think in models and concepts, and this is what distinguishes a human brain from artificial intelligence». He explained that there are two possible ways of processing data in the universe: You can either look at a lot of variants of something and take a best-of variant – this is how AI works. Or you internalise the construction or the blueprint – just like we humans do. This allows us to construct any number of new variants of something.
Beck went on to explain that AI only works if all basic conditions remain unchanged. However, if they do change, human thinking is required. AI does not understand the difference between cause and effect; it has no conceptual understanding. For him, it is clear that it will not be able to replace human thinking: «We question things and break the rules. This is how people change the world». He is certain that the next big idea will be invented by a brain – perhaps with the support of AI, but not by AI alone. "We understand the world instead of merely analysing it. We must utilise this strength. It is what makes us human», emphasised Beck.
The closing speaker was the former ski racer Felix Neureuther, who is also known as a book author and founder of the Felix Neureuther Foundation. In his presentation «How commitment grows from success», he revealed what drives him after his success in sport and how he has defined his identity after his sports career.
With private stories from his life, he offered an insight into his personal experiences as an athlete and shared how he dealt with setbacks. His advice: «Put everything in perspective. You need courage and optimism in every situation.» The transition from competitive sport to normal life was not easy for him, but he was able to learn a lot from his parents' experiences. He has set himself the task of promoting children's creativity and encouraging more movement in everyday life, especially in the age of AI and increasing digitalisation. By establishing the «Beweg Dich schlau» («Move smart») programme, he wants to bring about long-term change and promote greater health awareness.
Skiing still has something magical for him, because you can spend time with your family and show children the joy of exercise and nature. However, his adrenaline is now focused on whether the nappy is full when he changes it, he joked. «When you have children, you no longer live just for yourself. You put your own interests to the side and prioritise those of the children. Our time is not infinite, it is something very valuable», he concluded.
Corinna Milborn and Thomas Zechner thanked the speakers for their interesting speeches. «We took a lot of positive things away with us today. The words 'courage, people, trust and positive continuation' in particular summarise the day well. That is what we have to do as an industry. Success means thinking ahead in a creative manner. We need AI, but we also need people», summarised Zechner. The topics were discussed in more detail at a closing lunch together. The 12th Information Day will take place on 23.10.2025.
