Podcast #010 – Stylefile Krixl

For this podcast they talked to the Aschaffenburg graffiti writer and former entrepreneur Markus Christl – probably better known to many under his pseudonym Krixl.

Exactly 20 years ago – in November 1999 – the graffiti magazine Stylefile was launched by him and his companion Jörn Stiller. This formed the basis for the online shop of the same name as well as the publisher Publikat, which was founded a short time later, and has published more than 100 books and magazines in the field of urban art over the years.

This was followed by rapid growth: At peak times, the workforce had over 300 employees, of course the e-commerce area with sneakers and streetwear was the biggest driver for the constant expansion. However, the origin, i.e. the graffiti magazine, was not dropped, but remained an integral part of the company over the years.

But … what comes up, must come down: in a market dominated by giants like Amazon and Zalando, it became increasingly difficult to sell shoes and textiles online profitably. In the end, this also led to a painful step in spring 2018: the two founders had to separate from their now grown-up “baby”, and economic operation was only possible as an alliance. Publikat has now found this support in the Signa Sports Group network and will continue to operate there under new management, so that nothing stands in the way of further Stylefile magazines being published for the time being.