I have an interview at Horn & Company for the DACH offices, for the Consultant in Industry & Retail Center. Does any one have tips for the same.

Congrats for getting an interview!

I’m somewhat familiar with Horn’s recruiting process in their Zurich office — just to flag that my perspective is specific to Zurich and may differ across other DACH locations. The Zurich team is particularly focused on financial services / banking, so many conversations and case topics are often aligned with this industry.

In terms of interview format, Horn follows a structure fairly similar to MBB, typically including:

1. Personal fit / motivations
2. A case interview
3. Time for your questions (Q&A)

A key difference, however, is that interviews are often conducted directly by partners, which makes the conversations more personal, senior, and experience-driven. In my experience, personal fit carries even more weight than at MBB. They are very attentive to whether candidates match their values, communication style, and collaborative approach.

I also always had the impression that Horn invests heavily in their culture (at least in Zurich for what it is worth).

Hi there,

Horn & Company’s interviews for the DACH region are quite similar to Tier-2 consulting firms but with a stronger emphasis on operational excellence, transformation and hands-on problem solving, especially in the Industry & Retail practice. Here’s what to focus on:

1. Expect very structured, practical cases

• Retail pricing and margin improvement
• Supply chain and logistics optimization
• Store performance, assortment optimization and cost reduction
• Industry cases around manufacturing efficiency, OEE, production bottlenecks

Their cases are less “strategy only” and more about drivers, levers and concrete actions. Be ready to quantify impact.

2. Strong fit/behavioral focus
DACH firms value clarity, precision and down-to-earth communication. Show that you can:

• Work with clients on the ground
• Handle stakeholders in operational environments
• Stay calm and structured under pressure

3. Brush up on key technical themes
Especially for Industry & Retail:

• Cost structure of retail (COGS, shrinkage, store labor, logistics costs)
• Basic supply chain math (utilization, throughput, inventory turns)
• Manufacturing KPIs (cycle time, scrap rate, capacity)

4. German-style communication matters
Be direct, top-down and very clear in your logic. Always end with the “so what.”

If you want to run through a retail or industry-style case, I’m happy to help you prep.

Happy to help you prep – feel free to reach out.

Best,
Evelina