2024-02-09 19:08:34
February 9, 2024
She actually only wanted to work for Ottakringer for two months, but then it turned into 25 years. Today, Christiane Wenckheim is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country; she has given the group new shine and opened it up to the Viennese.
It was in 1997, Christiane Wenckheim had just returned from the USA when her father asked her for support: the marketing manager was out and her daughter was supposed to step in. She would stay for two months, that was her plan. But she soon became fascinated by the Ottakringer world. “I leafed through all the folders; my father always brought home labels or beer bottles,” says Wenckheim; there has always been a closeness to the company. She learned the business from scratch from him and really fell into it. And she was soon to have a career there: After three years, Wenckheim took over the reins and was CEO of the company for 17 years, then chairman of the supervisory board for another eight years. A lot happened during this time: “We opened the brewery to the Viennese, held events and rejuvenated the brand.” She enjoyed doing fun things. The brewery was spruced up and made more visible. Today, up to 300,000 visitors come to the site every year and have fun at events such as the Feschmarkt, the FM4 clubbing or the rum festival; usually it’s regarding fashion, food or drink. Ottakringer is also increasingly organizing events himself, such as a May festival, a “Harvest Tank Festival” (no spelling mistake!) and a beer festival in the summer. “We have a great location and it’s also a great connection to the Viennese market,” says the 58-year-old.
For a long time, Ottakringer was the most popular beer brand in Vienna, but today it is still in second or third place. The Ottakringer Brewery has a great tradition in Vienna: It was founded in 1837 and expanded into a large brewery by its second owners, the Kuffner family. Because of their Jewish origins, the Kuffners had to give up the brewery in 1938 and the Harmer family took over the business. According to a historian’s report, such a correct takeover was said to have rarely occurred during the Nazi era: The Harmers are said to have done everything they might to fairly compensate the Kuffners and their descendants, not only in 1938, but also following 1945. The name Wenckheim first appeared in the early 1960s: Engelbert Wenckheim married into the Harmer family and gradually took over the management until his daughter Christiane followed. Today the group consists of the brands Ottakringer Bier, Vöslauer Mineralwasser and the drinks retailer Del Fabro Kolarik.
After 17 years as CEO, Christiane Wenckheim is now chairwoman of the supervisory board of Ottakringer Drinks AG.
That Wenckheim did it as a woman She can’t confirm that she had a harder time in this male-dominated industry, on the contrary: “It was actually always an asset because it was so unusual.” As a woman, she always got appointments quickly with all customers, and it was actually an advantage. The innkeepers found it funny and it was easy for her to acquire new customers. Even back then, gender equality was an issue, but she didn’t pay attention to it if her male business partners didn’t really pay attention to it. “I took it with humor,” says Wenckheim. She only sent her male colleagues to gentlemen over 60 who had no daughters. “I had my limits.”
Today, however, she sees the gender issue more critically and finds it positive that more and more attention is being paid to equality. But this doesn’t just apply to women; In general, more should be done once morest exclusion and different treatment wherever possible, says the head of the Ottakringer supervisory board. She originally didn’t believe in quota regulations, but noticed that it wouldn’t work without them: “We only have a few women on supervisory boards in listed companies, we are still at the bottom in Europe,” says Wenckheim. How did she still make it to the top management floor? It is important to communicate with people at eye level and not to forget humor. You have to accept that there are many different voices and show tolerance for those who think differently. According to Wenckheim, other opinions should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat. In her family, a family charter was even written that incorporated all of these values. It was signed by all 15 family members. The charter places great value on cooperation and listening – and in Wenckheim’s opinion this is also responsible for Ottakringer’s success: “The fact that we have a company that has brands that are indispensable is a team success.” Wenckheim also sees a social contribution in making people enjoy drinks.
For a long time, Ottakringer was the most popular beer brand in Vienna, but today it is still in second or third place.
The people who work in the group play a large part in the success, says Wenckheim. They identify strongly with the company; it almost has a family feel to it. They enjoyed going to work and were lucky enough to be able to toast with a beer whenever there was something to celebrate. Unlike other companies, Ottakringer finds employees easily: “We have a lot of talent,” says Wenckheim. In addition, we are present in the region as a family business, be it at festivals or events, be it at the State Opera or at the Nova Rock Festival. But none of this helped during the corona pandemic, because Ottakringer also suffered badly. Reason for the lull: The inns were closed; a nightmare for a brewery. Sales fell from €242 million in 2019 to €181 and €193 million in the following two years. Things went up once more in 2022 (€238 million), and 2023 is said to have been a good year once more.
However, there has been little recovery on the profit side, and the enormous price increases are weighing on the result. The company is doing well once more, but not excellently, said Wenckheim. She doesn’t particularly enjoy the beer market either, as it is declining. Nevertheless, some interesting trends can be seen: Non-alcoholic beer is being used more and more often, and its share of sales has more than doubled to 3.3% in the last ten years. Furthermore, more and more women are enthusiastic regarding beer, says Wenckheim. The sweeter Zwickl in particular is more drinkable for women, but also shandy, like the latest creations with watermelon and mango flavors. In addition, there is increasing demand for lighter and lighter beers with an alcohol content of less than 5%. Things aren’t going entirely smoothly in the water segment: here, sparkling water makers, such as those offered in supermarkets, are causing more and more problems for mineral water manufacturers. After the stagnation in 2021, the mineral water market in Austria grew once more in 2022. There were increases primarily in the convenience segment, such as small containers, as well as in the near-water market (drinks flavored with fruit or herbal additives).
The Ottakringer Group sells around 550,000 hectoliters of beer every year, making it one of the top five breweries in Austria – despite strong international competition on the domestic beer market.
For the future The Ottakringer Group still sees itself as being well positioned because the beverage trade is growing and growing and, according to Wenckheim, its own market position is strong. In 2022, the Ottakringer Group sold almost 550,000 hectoliters of beer in Austria. After the slump caused by the Covid pandemic, beer consumption has largely normalized. Sales have shifted from food retail to restaurants.
Nevertheless, it is not easy to assert yourself once morest the strong competition in Austria. “As an Austrian family business, you obviously play hard once morest international corporations in our industry, but I am very proud that we are holding our own very well,” says Wenckheim. Above all, the company can defend itself once morest strong competition with quality, innovation and sustainability. Brau Union is in first place in Austria by a wide margin, followed by Stiegl in second place. Ottakringer is in the top five, which also includes Egger and Zwettler, as data from the Austrian Brewers Association shows. According to the WKO, the beer output of Austrian breweries was ten million hectoliters in 2022, and sales were more than €1.4 billion. Taxes on beer bring in around €700 million annually to the Austrian state budget. The industry employs 3,500 people.
What worries Wenckheim beyond the beer and water market are the current global conflicts. In their opinion, the Middle East conflict that has flared up once more might have even larger implications, for example by strengthening right-wing radical forces. There should be more talk regarding this, says Wenckheim. She is in a Whatsapp group with former study colleagues. Not a single one of the numerous and international members spoke up following the aggression broke out – until a Jewish fellow student pointed this out in surprise. This shows how important communication is.
The war in Ukraine also concerns them, and not just because of the increased costs. “We have employees from Ukraine who have family there. We were able to help people find an apartment here.” Incidentally, the apartment does not belong to her husband Eugen Otto, who works in the real estate business and is the managing director of Otto Immobilien; it is privately owned by the Wenckheim family. What is it like when two entrepreneurs sit at the family table? “There is a lot of talk regarding business. My sister always said that our children were attending business school when they were four – at home, that is,” says Wenckheim.
Christiane Wenckheim keeps the company on track through quality and sustainability. Innovations are also important to her – creations such as shandy with watermelon or mango flavor were created.
your further path At Ottakringer she has already planned carefully: “I want to prepare the next generation in the next five to seven years and hand over our company in great condition.” She has two children herself, but overall there are many successor candidates from two to 33 years old the entire family. “We don’t have a specific successor in mind yet, that’s not yet ready for a decision,” says Wenckheim. It is important to make the young people understand that it is regarding responsibility and that the company should not be seen as a money machine. “You have to deal with it carefully; You should have great ideas, and the focus should be on people and the environment.” And if the young people see it the same way, then they might not just stay with the company for a few months, but for many years.
Christiane Wenckheim is chairwoman of the supervisory board Ottakringer Drinks AG. Before that, she was CEO of Ottakringer Brewery AG. Wenckheim was born in 1965, is married to the real estate expert Eugen Otto and has a daughter and a son.
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