Story: Interview Masterarbeit | Hochschule Geisenheim University
The following article is based on an interview that Thomas Berger conducted with Tobias Strunz as part of his Master's thesis at Hochschule Geisenheim University:
Thomas Berger's master's thesis dealt with the question of what skills successors in the owner-managed specialist wine trade need to develop in order to survive in this field of tension. The framework for this is provided by the Master's degree course in wine management at Hochschule Geisenheim University in Rheingau in cooperation with Justus Liebig University Giessen. The joint interview with Tobias Strunz from the Italian Wine Depot in Huglfing provided valuable practical insights. In addition, fourteen further interviews were conducted throughout the Munich metropolitan region.
This has shown that the owner-managed specialist wine trade is in a transitional phase between the old and new specialist retail world. The generation of previous owners, who have built up the wine trade in the Munich area with great enthusiasm and commitment, is increasingly confronted with the question of succession. This also shows that a successful (family-internal) handover of the business is an exception for the specialist wine trade, with the majority of interviewees reporting failed handovers and unsuccessful searches. In smaller businesses in particular, the successor must combine all the necessary skills and process knowledge in one person.
The competitive situation is perceived by the interviewees in the Munich metropolitan region as pronounced, the product wine is heavily distributed and available almost everywhere. The relationship between specialist wine merchants is predominantly collegial, the merchants of the large grocery chains are said to be loyal to the line with central product ranges without advice, and there is no willingness to invest personnel costs in a wine department. The impersonal online wine trade with its pronounced price transparency is the main competitor, regardless of location. With competitive prices as the most important sales argument and economies of scale, greenfield companies are putting pressure on specialist retailers.
In this field of tension, owner-managed specialist wine retailers with their traditional retail services will also have a chance in the future - because despite all the digitalization, what people are actually looking for is a good conversation, a counterpart, a shopping experience. In this respect, the independent and autonomous compilation of the product range with the selection of suitable suppliers, personal advice and service in the store, the tangible personality of the owner for customers and employees, an experience component with emotional stimuli and a diverse range of services remain key services that cannot be replicated online. The personality of the owner and employees has always been an important success factor in the owner-managed specialist wine trade and, in addition to the product range, also has a decisive influence on the basic mood and atmosphere in the store - in short: personality sells.
For succession in the owner-managed specialist wine trade, this means being open to future-oriented business models, meeting the changes in consumer and purchasing behavior with proactive entrepreneurial action and using the resulting opportunities in a positive sense. - Thomas Berger & Tobias Strunz for the Master's thesis at Hochschule Geisenheim University [03/2025]
Thomas Berger's master's thesis dealt with the question of what skills successors in the owner-managed specialist wine trade need to develop in order to survive in this field of tension. The framework for this is provided by the Master's degree course in wine management at Hochschule Geisenheim University in Rheingau in cooperation with Justus Liebig University Giessen. The joint interview with Tobias Strunz from the Italian Wine Depot in Huglfing provided valuable practical insights. In addition, fourteen further interviews were conducted throughout the Munich metropolitan region.
This has shown that the owner-managed specialist wine trade is in a transitional phase between the old and new specialist retail world. The generation of previous owners, who have built up the wine trade in the Munich area with great enthusiasm and commitment, is increasingly confronted with the question of succession. This also shows that a successful (family-internal) handover of the business is an exception for the specialist wine trade, with the majority of interviewees reporting failed handovers and unsuccessful searches. In smaller businesses in particular, the successor must combine all the necessary skills and process knowledge in one person.
The competitive situation is perceived by the interviewees in the Munich metropolitan region as pronounced, the product wine is heavily distributed and available almost everywhere. The relationship between specialist wine merchants is predominantly collegial, the merchants of the large grocery chains are said to be loyal to the line with central product ranges without advice, and there is no willingness to invest personnel costs in a wine department. The impersonal online wine trade with its pronounced price transparency is the main competitor, regardless of location. With competitive prices as the most important sales argument and economies of scale, greenfield companies are putting pressure on specialist retailers.
In this field of tension, owner-managed specialist wine retailers with their traditional retail services will also have a chance in the future - because despite all the digitalization, what people are actually looking for is a good conversation, a counterpart, a shopping experience. In this respect, the independent and autonomous compilation of the product range with the selection of suitable suppliers, personal advice and service in the store, the tangible personality of the owner for customers and employees, an experience component with emotional stimuli and a diverse range of services remain key services that cannot be replicated online. The personality of the owner and employees has always been an important success factor in the owner-managed specialist wine trade and, in addition to the product range, also has a decisive influence on the basic mood and atmosphere in the store - in short: personality sells.
For succession in the owner-managed specialist wine trade, this means being open to future-oriented business models, meeting the changes in consumer and purchasing behavior with proactive entrepreneurial action and using the resulting opportunities in a positive sense. - Thomas Berger & Tobias Strunz for the Master's thesis at Hochschule Geisenheim University [03/2025]
| Name | Interview Masterarbeit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Category | Hochschule Geisenheim University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
