Content unchanged new edition. The trend towards horizontal cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises in the German-speaking region remains unbroken. What is the reason that many companies, especially in the textile retail sector, are willing to curtail their highly praised entrepreneurial freedom? What advantages do they hope to gain from cooperating with supposed competitors? And what compromises must they make in the process? This book addresses these and other questions. To discuss the issue as practically as possible, the author analyzes one of the most successful cooperations in textile retail, the Masculin Modekreis. Based on extensive research of the literature and personal interviews with members of the cooperation, different forms of cooperation and their advantages and disadvantages are first analyzed, followed by concrete recommendations for action and strategic proposals aimed at ensuring the economic survival of the cooperation. The book is aimed at both those entrepreneurs who have already recognized the signs of the times and are cooperating with other companies, as well as those who have not yet dared to take this step.