The STRATO Web shop "Oma Schmidt‘s Masche" won a 2009 Young Business Award at the 13th German Mail-Order Congress. The panel of judges was impressed by the innovative and extraordinary idea of offering high-quality handicrafts made by senior citizens — online.

The online shop at www.omaschmidtsmasche.de, based on ePages technology as are all STRATO Web shops, sells "handicrafts made by seniors for all generations": from skull-and-crossbones oven mitts to a crocheted Granny Schmidt 3G iPhone sleeve. One older gentleman and some 40 elderly women from all over Germany use the Web shop to earn some money with their hobby of crocheting.

Manfred Schmidt, the company’s founder, recently built on the success of his online shop by opening a brick-and-mortar store, MAsCHERIE; it has further boosted sales at Oma Schmidt’s Masche to establish the perfect synergy of online and offline business.

Manfred Schmidt, award recipient and the company’s founder, remains enthusiastic about his Web shop: "The rental shop allowed me to start small — without any equity capital or technical expertise. I was thus able to develop Oma Schmidt‘s Masche bit by bit to succeed in the long term."

"The success story of Oma Schmidt’s Masche demonstrates that rental-shop models are particularly ideal for starting out in online business. The shops’ flexibility and low capital costs allow potential and ideas to quickly become a business success story," adds Wilfried Beeck, CEO of ePages.

The panel of judges which selects Young Business Award nominees and winners consists of young executives and managers in the mail-order industry, who also comprise the Young Professionals Group of the German E-Commerce and Distance-Selling Trade Association.