When Kim Hoetjes came to study in Groningen, she was immediately sold on the city. She felt at home, found her community and took over the shop where she had been a regular customer for years. She has been the owner of Wirwar, one of the oldest games and puzzle shops in the Netherlands, since 2015. "Wirwar is the alternative to a toy shop, here adults can play without embarrassmentbuying a game."
From customer to owner
"We used to play few games at home" says Kim. When she came to live in Groningen, she made up for lost time. She visited Wirwar, which at the time still belonged to Willeke Christiaans. When Kim asked her about places to play games, Willeke tipped her off about the Roleplay Cafe in Simplon. On the first night she stepped in there, she met her best friend and future husband. After her studies, she went to work at the UMCG, but the dream of having her own games shop remained. When Willeke became seriously ill, everything accelerated. Kim quit her job and took over Wirwar, the shop she had frequented for years, together with her husband.
The nice thing about doing business in Groningen is the pride in the city, thinks Kim. "We notice this especially with real Groningen products, for example the puzzle of the University building and Bommen Berend or the Grunn game. People are so enthusiastic about these, they come to the shop especially for them." Even during the corona time, Kim felt supported. "We have the best customers, people come in happy and leave happy. It was spicy during corona, but I really felt we were not forgotten. People kept ordering and stopping by the door."
Concullegas
As a hospitality tip, Kim shares that she thinks it is important to have good contact with competitors, or 'concullegas' as she prefers to call them. She regularly speaks to people from the Purple Dragon, Riemer, Warhammer and Intertoys, among others. "Suppose a customer comes into the shop and can't find what he's looking for at our store, I'll call Martijn from the Purple Dragon and ask if he has it and can put it behind. Then a customer might not buy anything from me, but they have a good experience. The city is good to us, therefore we also want to be good to the city."
As a Groningen entrepreneur, you are never alone. "You have a lot of small shops here. For example in Oosterstraat, Oude Kijk, Folkinge and Ebbinge. Here there are all self-employed people going through the same thing as me." Kim also experiences the cooperation between entrepreneurs with the ULaaDS project. Together with the Groninger City Club and other entrepreneurs, she is talking a lot about this. ULaaDs is an initiative to have products transported in a sustainable way. It gives Groningen entrepreneurs the opportunity to reserve an electric vehicle to supply their shop. "We have to move with the future, it's great that we are in conversation with other independents about how best to make this process work," she said.
A place for everyone
Kim describes herself as a real city person. Her favourite place in the city is her own house, above the shop. "I love the liveliness of the city. Of course, I'm in the middle of the students but I actually only like that. And in Groningen you can find a community for everyone. Things always work out here, people can be found for everything and I love that."
This entrepreneurial portrait was made as part of the Gastvrij Groningen programme. The Gastvrij Groningen programme is run by Marketing Groningen and implemented and financed on behalf of The Fund for Enterprising Groningen, the Municipality of Groningen and Groningen Bereikbaar. Koninklijke Horeca Nederland and the four Groningen business associations: Groningen City Club, Bedrijvenvereniging West, Bedrijvenvereniging Zuidoost and Bedrijvenvereniging Noordoost are also involved in the programme.