Case Study - Trekmates

Company Background

TrekmatesTrekmates as a company cater for outdoor enthusiasts, providing an extensive range of quality products at competitive prices. The company is well established in the UK and Europe and is expanding its markets internationally. Currently Trekmates are active in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Eire, Finland, Germany. Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Poland, Russia and the USA.

Placement History

Trekmates first ISPO internship was undertaken by Karsten Leichsenring, a student of Business Studies at the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida. Karsten helped Trekmates to develop their German market in a variety of ways. He was responsible for carrying out research on behalf of the company and to put the findings to use in promoting products. Karsten also helped to raise the profile of the company through an e-marketing campaign and in participation in trade shows.

Eberhard Thiel, a student of Business Administration  at the University of Applied Sciences in Koblenz has been able to build on the work started by Karsten, further assisting Trekmates in their penetration of the German market. Eberhard had been able to carry on the research and marketing tasks that Karsten began, alongside actively pursuing leads that this work had generated and converting these into sales opportunities. Eberhard is due to complete his placement on 1st September and will be replaced by Verena Satter.

The work undertaken by ISPO students has enabled Trekmates to raise the profile of their brand internationally - not just within Germany. The extra resource provided by the students has meant that the rest of the Trekmates team have been free to pursue international markets outside of Germany and the EU, for example in Russia.

The students have also benefited widely from their internships at Trekmates, gaining a valuable insight into British working culture. In addition to this, the placements at the company have given the students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in a variety of situations, ranging from the introduction of products to customers to the organisation and attendance of trade shows across Europe.

Conclusions

"We have been really impressed by the high quality of the foreign placement students provided by ISPO. We are currently expanding our export activity and the ISPO students have proved to be a valuable resource - their attendance at our two major international trade shows in Germany is a major benefit and we have all gained a better understanding of business culture outside the UK. The enthusiasm and commitment displayed by the students is far beyond what we had originally anticipated and their previous work placements mean that they have been able to integrate very quickly in our team."
Mike Vassar, Export Sales Director.

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