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„The channel through which the customer buys our beer is often secondary for them“
Christian Klemenz from Franconia entered the beer business in 2012. He was fresh out of university and founded St. Erhardt, a beer brand that wanted to get into the craft beer business. Less than a year later, it dawned on him that good beer alone was not enough - he also needed solid sales channels. In summer 2014, he opened the first shop called Bierothek.
Today, Bierothek operates 18 franchise shops in Germany and Austria. In addition, there are so-called partner traders, i.e. independent companies that are connected to the Bierothek's cash register system but appear with their own brand, such as the Braustättchen in Hamburg. As a wholesaler, the Bierothek also supplies other traders and the catering trade and carries out imports and exports.
Tell me, what was it like being one of the first online beer retailers in Germany?
Christian Klemenz: Of course there were hurdles, but for the past two years we have reached a flying height where we can operate the online business in a really professional style, where parcels are no longer just packed on the side. In the meantime, several hundred parcels a day go out directly by DHL truck. The last twenty months with Corona have also greatly accelerated the acceptance of online beer retailing, both on the producer and consumer side. Breweries realise that it's not about the big hectolitre numbers, but also about their own brand.
But you say yourself that Corona had an influence. So is this sustainable or an effect of the pandemic?
Klemenz: We could see in the past lockdowns: At the beginning of the lockdown, sales jumped up, but at the end, the numbers did not go down. We also believe that it is important for breweries to have a direct line to the end customers - completely independent of the pandemic. For example, if the brewery makes a special beer: how does that get to the customers who appreciate special beers? Selling by the pallet to the GFGH is not the best solution.
„It is important for breweries to have a direct line to the end customers.“ Nevertheless, you still have your foot on the gas in the stationary trade as well.
Klemenz: It's not an either/or question. People should not only buy online. The online offer is a sensible supplement to the stationary trade.
But one could have said, especially against the backdrop of the pandemic: if the online business is up and running, why tie up the rent and staff costs of the shops?
Klemenz: From the beginning, our idea was a hybrid model with online and offline offers. We simply thought in a customer-centric way: the customer knows us as a beer store and expects special beers from us. The channel through which they ultimately buy them is often secondary for them. There are times when they would like personal advice, when they enjoy buying beer as a shopping experience in the city centre. But there are also moments when the digital channel makes sense for them.
And so one channel does not harm the other?
Klemenz: This is, of course, a special challenge, but one that we are facing up to. We have to let all participants participate so that stationary trade and online trade are not in conflict with each other. But this works quite well by creating synergies. The best example is our beer advent calendar. It's big and heavy. Customers don't just pick it up in the shop. The branch can offer a shipping service. That's a competitive advantage for them.
Ok, the advantages of the hybrid model for the customer are clear. How does it benefit you as a beer store?
Klemenz: I would say: the best possible and holistic brand experience. The brand experience at a beer seminar in one of our branches is the highest form of brand experience and cannot be replaced. Also, the personal relationship that can result from a consultation between customer and salesperson in the shop cannot be represented by telephone consultation in online retail. In this respect, these are not two silos for us, but part of one brand.
How are you reacting to the trend towards D2C business, i.e. direct-to-consumer?
Klemenz: What if breweries now all build their own webshops?
We are taking this on board and have already started to develop our online shop into a marketplace. We offer breweries a platform that enables them to list their products with us. This involves goods that are not stored in our central warehouse, but which the brewery sells directly to the end customer. They can use our platform for this and don't have to cobble together a shop with Shopify. We have just hired three programmers to expand this. There is a larger vision behind it.
For Christian Klemenz, the personal relationship between customer and salesperson and the direct brand experience at a beer seminar in one of the branches are still irreplaceableA vision? Which one?
Klemenz: We want to become THE distribution software for breweries. Many small breweries still work with Excel lists. We want to help digitalise that. For this, we are working on an interface that allows breweries to create and maintain their articles, connected to a small ERP system. Once the digitalisation has taken place, it is easier to expand that, to add B2B interfaces and so on. And: after a change in European VAT law, online trade in other European countries has become more complicated. We have found a solution by being registered with fiscal representatives in all European countries. So it will also be possible to sell beer legally to Sweden, Finland, Italy etc. via the platform. We take care of the bureaucracy. The brewery doesn't have to worry about anything, it just has to pack and ship the package.
