Strategy

It is our aim to offer our portfolio companies and their staff a stable business environment and a steady GOOD HOME.

Due to our sustainable support and active development we are able to secure their future and their jobs and to improve their market position leading to a long-term increase of the corporate value.

The applied concepts meet the individual requirements and specific needs of every portfolio company.

Exemplary you can read about the successful reorganization of the traditional spirit manufacturer Berentzen here. Please click on the left menu bar for further case studies and information on the integrated approach to develop our portfolio companies.

Berentzen – new perspectives for a traditional German company

• Turnaround achieved after only six months
• Future secured due to new brand strategy and internationalisation

A long tradition, a strong brand and very innovative products characterised the Berentzen Group for many decades. The invention of the “apfelkorn” liqueur by the brothers Friedrich and Hans Berentzen in the 1970s turned out to be the breakthrough for the company which was founded in 1758.

But even at the time of the greatest success the fate of one of Germany’s largest spirit manufacturers started to turn. Some 30 years later the company, based in Haselünne, a small town in Lower Saxony, was nearly facing the end when AURELIUS AG took over the majority in September 2008.

The small town of Haselünne is not far from Meppen in the middle of the picturesque Emsland where cruisers built in the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg occasionally float the Ems River on their way to the North Sea.

The Berentzen farm yard originating from a court yard built in 1385 is the historical centre of Haselünne. The old knights’ hall still serves as a venue for special events; this was also the case in July 2008 – coincidentally the 250th anniversary of the Berentzen Group – when the family members of the spirit manufacturer gathered there to decide on the company’s fate for the very last time.

For many years Berentzen – as well as other manufacturers – had suffered under the slow but continuous decline of the spirit market in Germany. In 2008, the decisive year for Berentzen, the sales of spirits in the food service industry decreased by another 3.8 per cent showing the same downward trend as in the food retailing business. And even alcohol-free beverages were not doing better in Germany. In the last 15 years the number of manufacturers decreased by one third with the number of employees in this industry being reduced by more than 50 per cent.

In addition to these rather difficult and ruinous circumstances the Berentzen Group had to fight some home-made problems.

Divergent interests within the family shareholders frequently led to changing management structures within the last 16 years (15 new board members) particularly causing the middle management to finally give up their loyalty. Management strategies - in so far as they did exist - were carried out only halfheartedly or not at all. This also affected the strategy for internationalisation which was urgently needed for new growth potentials. The profit situation dramatically declined between 2006 and 2008.

The family members had to make an urgent and important decision in the summer of 2008. And it was in the old knights’ hall of the Berentzen farm yard in Haselünne that they decided in favor of the AURELIUS offer therefore making it possible for the Berentzen-Group to get back on the course for success.

AURELIUS specialists immediately started their work first of all restaffing the executive and the supervisory board as well as other important committees relevant for decisions.

Streamlining, reduction of cost and complexity and reorientation

AURELIUS also started the implementation of a very ambitious restructuring programme to clearly improve the cost structure as one of its first steps. Considerable and immediate cost savings were the result of the spin-off of sales and distribution under more flexible and success-oriented conditions.

The production process itself gave way to considerable savings. The existing production site in Haselünne was moved to Minden and the distillery in Haselünne was closed resulting in enormous cost advantages. The thorough revision of the existing product range was closely connected to these first steps. Berentzen’s product portfolio with too many different articles and beverages had immensely grown over the decades leaving behind a wide scope of different bottle shapes.

During the filling process the lines had to be stopped very often with the used bottles sometimes being changed for only a few and very exotic products. This was highly inefficient. A concentration of marketing forces on only a few but well-known products manufactured in larger quantities was almost impossible. A thorough revision of the product portfolio resulted in the withdrawal of 35 articles as well as of 17 per cent of different bottle shapes.

The reorientation also affected the highest management level. The creation of four strategic business units (Vivaris/concessions, Brand Germany, Brand International and Private Label) made a new structure of the executive board necessary.

Responsibilities and decision-making processes were suddenly clear. The administration was also reduced and thereby made more efficient. Within the supply chain a considerable potential for optimisation was applied and the working capital reduced by one third.

AURELIUS benefitted from the sound core brand of the Berentzen-Group and the high level of acceptance. The steadily continued restructuring measures led to savings of 19 Mio. Euros as well as to a reduction of 10 per cent of material costs. Berentzen has been rescued from an emergency situation supported by an improved funding structure including financial means given by AURELIUS and newly established banking relationships.

A Future with the core brand of “originality”

For the medium- and long-term future AURELIUS specialists have developed a forward strategy including not only the distribution of the core products in the food service industry and of some side products but also a new strategy for the market abroad. Abroad, particularly in Eastern Europe, Berentzen will find some excellent long-term growth perspectives. The consumers like the spirits which appeal to their taste and are already well-known there.

In Germany the brand appearance has been further focused and the marketing activities have been better applied as for example by directly approaching the customer at the point of sale. The core brand of Berentzen has been newly defined. The company now focuses on streamlining and concentration on the essential core brand of the originality of the Berentzen spirits with a new campaign addressing young people. New groups are targeted with product innovations such as the Berentzen fruit mix B2 in lemon and brambleberry flavours.

AURELIUS specialists have made an excellent job. The reduction of production, material and personnel costs contributed significantly to the fact that in the year after the family decision in the old knights’ hall of Haselünne Berentzen achieved operating earnings (EBIT) of 7.3 Mio. Euros compared to a negative EBIT of 5.2 Mio. Euros in the year of the decision. Net debts could be reduced by 15.9 Mio. Euros to only 7.4 Mio. Euros. On the whole profits of 3.8 Mio. Euros remained in the company for the first time after many years have gone by.