WirtschaftsBlatt: You are mainly known for your wine wholesale business, but you have much more to offer?
Rudolf Wagner: We have three areas. In addition to wine, we also have the non-alcoholic beverage business plus beer and coffee, as well as our beverage and food vending machine business, where we now have almost 5,000 machines.

The buffet vending business will not be easy?
Rudolf Wagner: The market is already saturated. But our "everything from a single source" system means we get in well with the companies.

In the wine business, too, things are changing and are no longer as easy as they used to be?
Erich Wagner: The development was good until five years ago - also in terms of volume. We have reacted and want to change our program: Less mass wines, but we want many small and biodynamic wineries.

That pulls?
Erich Wagner: This year we have again increased the volume, although we have always increased the value. In the program we have 220 wineries and 2500 different types of wine.
Rudolf Wagner: Sales growth in the first three quarters was 6.7 percent, which is a little above plan.
Erich Wagner: Many people look for us through special products.

Where does your core competence lie?
Erich Wagner: We are focusing on Europe.
Rudolf Wagner: Austria accounts for 61 percent. 39 percent are foreign wines. Our target is 50:50.

Where is the trend heading?
Erich Wagner: Germany is the big surprise for us. We already sell 50,000 bottles of German Riesling. Soon we will be selling as much German Riesling as Austrian Riesling.

And the great wine countries France Italy, Spain?
Erich Wagner: Spain only has a share of four percent with us, a little Rioja, Catalonia. In return, France is a lot of fun for us. Especially the south of France and the Rhone-where we are strong.

And Bordeaux?
Erich Wagner: We stopped with Bordeaux. There are a lot of corporations in there as owners. Everyone is selling Bordeaux at wild prices.

Italy has always been important for us Austrians...
Erich Wagner: The importance of Italian wines in our sales has fallen dramatically, we now only make 16 percent. Piedmont is no longer possible, Tuscany is difficult. What does go, however, are South Tyrolean wines.

It doesn't get any easier, does it?
Erich Wagner: Wine sales are pure cut-throat competition. We sell just under one million bottles at an average net selling price of €11.47. That's the only value that has to go up for us.

What about beer?
Erich Wagner: There is huge competition in beer and non-alcoholic beverages. Since we can only specialize in niches. We have traditional beer brands such as Trumer, Hirter and Stiegl in our program-as well as local beers such as Rieder and Maisel.
Rudolf Wagner: With craft beers, we're just getting started with an assortment. In terms of contribution margins, it's a good story.
Erich Wagner: Craft beer is almost the same scene as in wine. The interest is great.

BEVERAGES WAGNER

Q 90 years. Rudolf Wagner KG is a wholesale beverage company founded in 1924. The founder was a landlord, the second generation did good business as a bottler for Coca-Cola. In 1978 Rudolf Wagner joined the company, followed by brother Erich in 1984.
The two bosses run the family business with around 200 employees and a turnover of €36 million, which is divided equally between the wine, beer and vending machine divisions.

(Source: WirtschaftsBlatt, print edition, 2014-12-10; https://wirtschaftsblatt.at/archiv/printimport/4615702/Deutschland-ist-fur-uns-die-grosse-Ueberraschung?from=suche.intern.portal)