Roland Bamberger from Salzburg is further developing his platform by adding a shop
It started in March 2020, so in lockdown one. Roland Bamberger from Salzburg noticed that entrepreneurs in his environment offer their products on the Internet, but there was no common marketing platform. That was the original idea for kauftregional.at, which Bamberger implemented within a few days.
A good 3,000 companies from all over Austria have now registered. “At the edges” – that is, Vorarlberg and Burgenland – one is not that strong yet. In principle, however, they are “active throughout Austria”. In the last few days alone, “a few hundred” companies have joined the group. Smaller companies are represented here as well as larger and better-known ones such as Julius Meinl am Graben, the Druckerei druck.at , the traditional confectionery Zauner from Bad Ischl, the book distributor Morawa.at and the herb and spice specialist Sonnentor .
Registration free
Registration on the platform is free, and Bamberger earns money through online marketing. The operator wants to create a kind of regional Amazon, even if he doesn't want to name it that way. That is why a shop is currently being created in the background of his business directory, through which products from various providers can be ordered directly in the future – just like with Amazon. But Amazon is not in itself the enemy. “They do what they do, excellent”, says Bamberger, “only Amazon does not pay any taxes in Austria and takes away the sales from stationary retailers”.
This combination is “a catastrophe”, especially with regard to the financing of the Corona crisis. “Alternatives are needed,” says Bamberger. He would like to offer one with Kauftregional. Anita Kiefer
