„Give back a little, of what life gave you…“,
my motivation to be a partner and sponsor of the Yasin-Ehliz-Cup. Home – is family, the city and the region, where one grew up, the people, by whom you feel comfortable and you love to meet. These are the wonderful memories… I treat this event with the greatest respect, because it takes many hundreds of hours of volunteer engagement of the local ice hockey community to organise and promote such a championship.
Cengiz Ehliz
„Cash instead of loyalty points“ Interview with Cengiz Ehliz
Cengiz Ehliz is the founder of the weeCONOMY AG that established a global Cashback-System. In the future, the region around Bad Tölz with all his diverse retailers and especially the tourism should benefit from the weeCard. This includes showing charity and society engagement. „An essential of our company’s philosophy is weeCHARITY for kids e.V., a charity organisation, that wants to help sick children in need. Especially in countries, where we advance our business.“
What´s your vision?
wee will revolutionize the future of shopping worldwide and strengthen retail in all of its affiliates. We acquire and bind customers for individual retail clients; we connect them, if not effectuated, to the Internet. And they profit with low costs and expenses from their own E-Commerce. This is a turbo!
We will connect the local retail stores with the online trade on a global marketplace, in the way, that the local traders, like the bakery, the butcher, the hairdresser, the restaurant or the boutique – profit together with their clients. Online and offline.
Ultimately, and this is almost a philosophical approach, I want to help people around the world to improve their quality of life. I want to revive the retail trade, the engine of every economy, with a turnkey solution innovative thrust.
What is your task within the project wee?
As founder of the weeCONOMY company, I am the initiator of our global project. I define the goals and check them. When it comes to operative implementations, I can rely on my highly qualified and professional managment team for the project wee, which is part of the weeCONONMY AG.
How important is the ability of being innovative on the Cashback-Market for wee?
Developing innovations is the key element to be individual in the highly competitive market. I would like the weeCard to become an integral part of everyday life for retailers and consumers. Because the everyday life with the weeCard becomes easier and more comfortable, more cost-effectively, and at the end of the day everyone can benefit financially from the active use of his weeCard. And is should be also recognizable at the bank account, where wee, the granted rebates, can be disbursed. In Europe, one wee corresponds to one Euro – always depending on the respective national currency.
We dont focus on online or offline, not on large trading chains or segmented markets. We open up the markets locally – and integrate the retail business comprehensively. If the consumer purchases a pizza at the restaurant, his wee is directly charged and he pays less. The system includes, for example, a wee terminal at the dealer’s point of sale. This tool is directly connected to our database. The dealer has almost no effort as we take over the work with an integrated backoffice system.
How was the development during the last 12 months?
The past year, the so-called testing period, was dominated by the development of the market in diverse countries. Here, the traders connected to the weeCONONMY, have generated revenues in the seven-digit range with onlineshops, equally applies to the stationary trade.
The roll-out is linked to our integrated communication and marketing campaign, which we implemented in nine European countries until the end of January. The heartpiece is a TV spot, which was aired more than 20,000 times in the most important and well-known TV channels. In Germany, for example, RTL and ZDF.
How about your fascination for ice hockey? Regarding your brother Abdullah and his sons Yasin and Azis, there is no way to escape, right?
When I learned years ago that the boys are playing ice hockey, I thought it was just a crazy idea. But soon I recognized that they were passionate about this sport. My brother Abdullah has also managed this excellently, never made any pressure … It was the boys decision to initially try the sport with their friends- later they focussed on a professional career. I myself got affected by their enthusiasm: I was and still am, a fan of the Tölzer Löwen and watch their games. I have been a loyal fan since the beginning of the Yasin-Ehliz-Cup. I am really proud of my nephews, and I am grateful for the engagement at the EC Bad Tölz, because nothing is better than sport being a part of integration.
What is important to you besides your successful work, how do you keep the necessary balance?
The most important part in my life is my family. At home I can relax and switch off. In the spare time I really enjoy the region where I live, Oberbayern. I love long walks with my family on Lake Starnberg, as well as hiking in the mountains with friends in the Tölzer region. Moreover I enjoy the stop at a traditional restaurant to eat roasted deer with bread dumplings. Instead of the obligatory beer, I then allow myself a glass of red wine and we grow, philosophize about God and the world. Above everything – except my job …
What makes the Yasin-Ehliz-Cup so special to you and do you also engage yourself in other charity projects?
As I mentioned before: with a lot of manpower and financial help, it is easy to organize such a tournament. Working without a big budget and implementing the planning and execution of a high-class international youth tournament with honorary commitment is simply incredible. That makes the difference over similar events.
Yes, of course, I am committed in charity projects. There is the personal part, where I help or support one or other organization. This is private and I do not want to advertise with it. When it comes to weeCONOMY we have initiated the weeCHARITY for kids e.V. a non profit charity association and subbrand of wee. This charity project is designed in such a way that each transaction of our cash-back system is a fraction of this social promotion pot and can be activated for children in need. The work is also honorary here – colleagues from our management and wives from top managers of our company have made the project a very special thing.
Is there anything you can recommend to the participants from your years of management experience, that can help them in sports, as well as in life?
I want to explain within a metaphor of being a boxer, because boxing is still one of my passions: Only hit, when you are absolutely sure, that you will strike. Translated, this means: Always prepare yourself well, physically and mentally, always give your best, take things seriously … And have fun with it. Without fun, you will never be successful. And it is only with fun that hard training can endure, which applies to sport as well as to the job. Fun and passion are the main factors for standing up, when feeling down and overcome frustration. And always remember – falling down is normal, crucial is always getting up again!
Cenhiz Ehliz, Founder wee, left, with Micheal Scheibe, Co-founder and Chief Sales Officer of wee, testing the new POS-Terminal. Yildiz Meysem, owner of the gelateria Mylano in Germering near Munich, is happy to have the two Top-Managers in his store.
