Germany’s top distributors

Germany is the world’s number one import market, but understanding it takes time and effort. Sascha Speicher’s list of top distributors offers some help.

Bernd G. Siebdrat, Christoph Mack, Dirk Schneider, Maximilian Brandner, Rudolf Knickenberg and Karl-Heinz Kühn
Bernd G. Siebdrat, Christoph Mack, Dirk Schneider, Maximilian Brandner, Rudolf Knickenberg and Karl-Heinz Kühn

Germany may be the world’s biggest import market, but it’s also known as a tough place to do business, with fragmented distribution and a wine-drinking population that is always in search of value. However, the 2016 results of the country’s largest distribution companies offer cause for celebration: There are clear signs of up-trading, which is comforting after the years of price wars at the bottom end of the market.
The results also show clear market trends. It is striking, for example, how many of the major companies focus mainly on Italian wines, such as Mack & Schühle, Schenk, and Tophi. The organic wine segment is also developing at a rapid clip. What is less comforting for international producers is there is a trend towards German wines in the specialist wine trade and on-trade sector.
 

When coming to grips with Germany’s distributors, it’s important to note that the large companies may have multiple points of focus apart from wine. For Eggers & Franke, Schlumberger, and Heinz Eggert, spirits play an important role, while Bernard-Massard has its own sparkling wine production. At Schlumberger, too, sparkling wine sales produced by its shareholders in Vienna and Reims also play an important role. Some companies operate their own vineyards and wineries abroad, including Mack & Schühle and Schenk.

The following ranking has been compiled on the basis of overall sales.

Hawesko Holding

Hawesko is Germany’s leading distribution company and, indeed, one of the largest wine companies in the world. It consists of three complementary business segments: direct sales through Hanseatisches Wein- und Sekt-Kontor (hawesko.de); Jacques’ Wein-Depot, the largest wine retailer in the country; and the leading wine wholesalers, Wein Wolf and CWD Champagner- und Wein-Distributionsgesellschaft.

Wholesale sales in 2016 amounted to around €172m ($185m). A total of 26m bottles were distributed via the wholesale trade, with a third each going to the (high-quality) food retail sector, the specialist wine and beverage trade, and the restaurant trade. Italian wines play the leading role, with a share of 38%, followed by France with 22%, Spain with 12% and Germany with 10%.

WIV Wein International

From Pieroth Estate, the Burg Layen-based company has since grown to become WIV Wein International, one of the world’s biggest direct sales wine companies. The company sells wines direct to consumer in a variety of ways, from wine tastings to trade fairs, hotels and private tastings at home. It also distributes wines through the wholesale and specialist retail trade. The majority of the business is focused on Europe, where 77% of sales are generated; 38% of this comes from Germany. The next most important markets are France, the UK, Japan, and Switzerland. Direct sales remain the company’s core business with a sales share of 58%, and includes Vino Weine und Ideen, a retailer with 20 physical outlets and an online shop. “We are very satisfied with the development of our direct sales business in Japan, Switzerland, and Austria. Our World Wine Bars concept in Japan is also successful. Last year, we opened the tenth Pieroth wine bar in Nagoya,” reported Dieter Freisler, who has been board spokesman since 2016.

Mack & Schühle

Founded in 1939 as a wine shop in Hechingen, Mack & Schühle now offers branded wines marketed to food retailers, and also creates private label wines. It works with the specialist trade, restaurants, hotel chains, and specialist wholesalers. The company has a sales force across Germany, and offers a full service, from procurement through to creating marketing and point-of-sale campaigns. Mack & Schühle also holds shares in wine companies in Italy, Spain, and Germany, and distributes such major international brands as Trapiche (Argentina), Gallo (USA), Nicolas Feuillatte (Champagne), and Wolf Blass (Australia), among many others. It owns the import and distribution company Weinwelt, which supplies the specialist trade and on-trade. In 2016, sales volumes reached 124m bottles. With an operation of this size, securing procurement is of particular importance. “With a significant stake in Latentia in Apulia and Villa Foscarini in the Prosecco region, we have taken a decisive step towards expanding our Italy expertise,” said CEO Christoph Mack. With a share of 40%, Italy is the most important country of origin in the portfolio, followed by the USA – due to sales activities for Gallo – at 15%.

Eggers & Franke Group

The Eggers & Franke Group consists of five specialist distribution companies: Reidemeister & Ulrichs and Joh. Eggers Sohn supply to the on-trade; Eggers & Franke supplies to food retail; and Ruyter & Ast and Ludwig von Kapff both sell to consumers. Ruyter & Ast mainly specialise in New World wines, while Ludwig von Kapff has grown from an historic Bremen wine shop to a chain of nine specialist stores and an online retailer.

No company in the top 10 grew as strongly in 2016 as the Eggers & Franke Group, with sales rising by €17m to €155m. The strategy of securing the distribution for large as well as renowned international producers, as in the glory days of Reidemeister & Ulrichs, is bearing fruit. “We have grown significantly across all distribution companies and sales channels. Our subsidiaries Reidemeister & Ulrichs [restaurant sector] and our mail-order company Ludwig von Kapff achieved above-average growth,” said CEO Christoph Meier. In 2016, Ralf Zinke became joint managing director at Eggers & Franke alongside Markus Hotze, and Mirko Ranz took on overall responsibility for the management of Reidemeister & Ulrichs. Hendrik Kopp took over the operational side of marketing at Reidemeister & Ulrichs as the new marketing director.

Schenk

In some respects, the activities of Schenk GmbH in Baden-Baden coincide with its competitor Mack & Schühle. Both are strong in the Italian segment, both rely on their own production sites in Italy (and other countries), and both have a subsidiary that specialises in the specialist retail trade and the restaurant sector, but which is overshadowed by sales to the food retail sector. But here the similarities end.

The parent company of Schenk SA, which is based in Switzerland, has an almost European-wide network of vineyards and wineries. With the Bacio della Luna Prosecco winery and the Lunadoro estate in Montepulciano, which it acquired last year, Schenk is also expanding its range of premium brands. Amicone Appassimento and Castello di Querceto Chianti Classico, at €9.99 are among the top sellers, which shows that there is plenty of scope in the premium segment of the food retail sector. In 2016, Jochen Sammüller was appointed purchasing manager.

Global Wines

Cologne-based Global Wines GmbH & Co is a distributor of wine, wine-based drinks, and soft drinks across Germany and Central Europe. As well as distributing wines to retail chains, it also produces its own brands; in 2016, this section of the business increased 14%. According to CEO Dr Marc Steiner, the discount sales channel saw the best growth in 2016, with an increase of 16%. With only 45 employees, Global Wines has a particularly lean structure.

Tophi

Founded in 1978, the Hamburg-based company distributes wines from all over the world, with a particular emphasis on Italy. The company looks for interesting niches to the right and left of the classic wine range and makes the most of having WSK Ostrau, a bottling plant that can fill 104m bottles a year. In the past two years, Tophi has undergone structural changes, with CEO Maximilian Brandner saying, “All business areas were consistently positive. The introduction of our brands and especially our umbrella brand Rosso Nobile al Cioccolata has gone very well.”

Schlumberger

Vienna-based Schlumberger began as a producer of sparkling wines – indeed, the first such in Austria. Today, it is one of the leading distributors of premium wines, sparkling wines, and spirits, with its German headquarters being Meckenheim. All told, there are more than 1,200 products on its books from the world’s best regions, and the company is a full-service provider, offering storage, delivery, and even a display service. Schlumberger’s area of expertise is the high-end specialist trade and department stores, and it has two subsidiaries: A. Segnitz & Co. GmbH, a classic wine importer that deals in fine wines such as top Bordeaux and Burgundy, as well as wines such as Vasse Felix and Henschke from Australia; and Bremer Weinkolleg, a leading wine retailer.

Bernard-Massard

Sparkling specialist Jean Bernard-Massard founded a winery in Trier, Germany, in 1919. The acquisition Château Fontesteau in Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, laid the foundation for what has become a major importing business to the specialist retail trade (45% of business), followed by the food retail and restaurant sectors (15%). Sabine Immelnkemper and Bernhard Mohr manage the company. In terms of wine sales, the word from Trier is that a slight shift could be seen in favour of traditional European wine countries in the future. There was a slight increase in sales of sparkling wine, with the relaunch of Bernard-Massard traditional-method sparkling wine having a positive effect. There is also a sustained positive trend in the area of own-brand sparkling wines. This is one of the reasons why the company is investing in technical equipment for sparkling wine production in 2017.

Peter Riegel Weinimport

Germany’s market leader in the distribution of organic wines – 13.5m bottles sold in 2016 – achieved double-digit sales growth last year, raising its turnover from €32m to €35m. “The rapid growth of organic supermarket chains, particularly in terms of the floor area, had a positive impact on us,” says CEO Peter Riegel. “While Spain and Italy, as well as Austria and Greece, are showing stable growth, France is slowly losing market share, despite the good figures for the wines from our own vineyard and an increase of 40% for Champagne. A big winner is wine from Germany; the trend towards greater regionality seems to be continuing unabated.” With so much growth, investment was inevitable, and the company has built a new logistics facility so they can optimise supply. The sales manager is Henning Tichelkamp, while Peter Riegel’s sons Felix and Florian are increasingly taking on more responsibility in the sales area.

Saffer Wein

A number of major German distributors focus on Italy, and nowhere is this more pronounced than at the wholesale company headed by Andreas Saffer, Saffer Wein, which focuses on premium retail and on-trade. Last year, the range was further expanded by the addition of the Cantina Valle Isarco winery.

Heinz Eggert

This family-owned company imports and produces spirits, wines, and fortified wines. It has a wide range of wines which are a mix of New and Old World, including from Uruguay and Canada. The company is run by Ute Eggert and her brother Arne Eggert.

 

A version of this article first appeared in the German trade magazine Weinwirtschaft, also published by Meininger Verlag. Editorial additions by Felicity Carter.

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