Business partners for almost three decades, friends for life
Oliver Kluger leaves the Scooter Center after 29 years. Ulf Schröder continues what they have built up together.
It is 1992. In the central organ of the German-speaking scooter scene – the Motoretta Magazine – you find a message that Oliver will now officially operate the scooter and parts trade. He is known not only for his Vespa GS 160 Good Thing with a Malossi engine, but also for a brisk trade in everything that made the Scooterist’ s heart beat faster in the 90s. Permanent trips to Italy bring supplies and with the free movement of goods in the EU in 1993, things get even more dynamic.
Soon Italy is not enough and Oliver takes the risk to order a container full of new SIL GP 200 from India. The risk pays back and the Lambrettas are indeed delivered in May 1993. The complete delivery of the 25 scooters is sold out within three weeks.
At the same time and not far away, Ulf developed a similar business model. Here, however, the focus of desire is not so much Italy but much more England, the other motherland of the cult around the Italian scooters. Just in time for the monthly appearance of Scootering – the Motoretta for England, only older and bigger – he is on the way to the ferry. The classified ads offer sufficient potential to start the return journey with more and more Lambrettas, Vespas and tuning parts from the large English Tuners and shops.
On January the 3rd of 1994, the time has come. Oliver and Ulf joining forces and from then on operate Scooter Center Cologne in the Rosengarten. The automatic models from Piaggio join the classic Vespa and Lambretta scooters. Suddenly there is an e-mail address to order and then there is probably the first web shop for scooter parts worldwide. A remarkable success story begins.
What started out of a subculture around scooters has become a worldwide cult around vehicles with small wheels and free access way. And Scooter Center reliably supplies everyone every day.
Almost three decades are also a long time and Oliver is beginning to miss the atmosphere from the early days. Somehow, he wants to know it again. The love for the Italian icons and for traveling is unbroken and it will be interesting to see what Oliver has planned and will surprise us with.
Ulf will take over the fate of the Scooter Center on his own from 2021 and is well equipped for the probably next thirty years with his long-standing team, who have played a major role in the success story.
Ulf Schröder (links) & Oliver Kluger (rechts)
We wish all our customers and friends a healthy and happy 2021.
Yours Oliver & Ulf
Here we found some beautiful memories, e.g.:
Insights about Oliver’s tattoos, the Lambretta story of Ulf & Oliver in the Motoretta… and did you know that Oliver and Ulf were involved in the founding of the Lambretta Club of Germany and were active as sports and treasurers respectively? Have a look here:
