It's getting very Christmassy in the German Odenwald region. In Michelstadt, fan merchandise from local Bundesliga club SV Darmstadt 98 is now being flown to its supporters - but not on a flying sleigh with harnessed reindeer. The Bundesliga club is the first soccer club in the world to deliver popular items from its own store to its fans by delivery drone. This is made possible thanks to a cooperation with the Hessian delivery drone pioneer Wingcopter as part of the "LieferMichel" pilot project.
Residents of two Michelstadt districts can order a selection of Darmstadt 98 products such as jerseys, scarves, and Christmas accessories via the LieferMichel website. Within the selected delivery window, these are then flown by Wingcopter delivery drones to fixed landing points just outside of the villages, from where they are transported the last few meters to the customer's front door by electric cargo bike - conveniently, quickly and emission-free.
"We have established in our mission statement that we want to combine tradition with innovation and modernity. The cooperation with Wingcopter is a perfect example of this: We want to be pioneers of innovation and constantly develop new ways to bring our fans closer to the club - or vice versa in this case," commented Martin Kowalewski, Managing Director of SV Darmstadt 1898.
LieferMichel is a pilot project of the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and Wingcopter, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport (BMDV) as part of the "Innovative Air Mobility" funding directive. Already since October residents of the two participating districts of Michelstadt can order everyday goods from the local REWE Center and have them delivered by Wingcopter. Other partners in the project are Vodafone and cargo bike manufacturer Riese & Müller.
"We are proud to have gained an exciting partner for the LieferMichel project in SV Darmstadt 98, who are working with us on innovative ways to reach people in rural regions. We look forward to soaring to new heights together in the coming weeks," says Ansgar Kadura, co-founder and Chief Services Officer of Wingcopter.
