Ww 2014 e

Issue

10 | 2014

Th e s t a f f m a g a z i n e o f W I V We i n I n t e r n a t i o n a l AG

Pieroth and Romanet donate Sunshine Bus

Looking back

Insight

Outlook

World Champions celebrated in Riga Page 6

Growing sales figures for Direct Sales Page 9

Andres Ruff talks about the future of WIV Page 4

WineWorld

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Title For the eleventh time, Pieroth and Romanet UK have donated a Sunshine Bus for the young people‘s programme run by the famous „Variety Club“ charity organisation. The new bus allows sick, disabled and disadvantaged children in Mirfield to take part in regular meetings, courses and excursions that will promote and enrich their development.

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World Champions and members of the 100% Club honoured in Riga

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Fantastic success for Stephanie Queen, at just 23 years old the youngest sales manager in the 100% Club.

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Andres Ruff talks about priorities and the future of WIV

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Credit where credit’s due Winners enjoying an exciting trip: the best wine consultants and sales managers in the WIV world.

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Maintaining high quality WIV Winery certified with top marks again

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More than just samba, carnivals and caipirinha mac builds eye-catching stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair

Contents Talking to ...

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Andres Ruff, Chairman of the Board of WIV

Company news

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World Champions honoured in Riga Changes in the Executive Board and Supervisory Board

Dear readers, We are living in a fast-moving era of constant change. There’s a saying that sums it up perfectly: “Anyone who doesn’t change today will be yesterday’s news tomorrow”. That is particularly true in the business world: Companies are called upon to adapt all the time, to leave their traditional pathways and tackle the sometimes risky venture of treading new ground.

New market survey: Direct Sales in Germany is booming What colleagues connect with the WIV annual motto WIV receives award for management trainee scheme Talented sales staff visit Germany

People

12 Five regional directors – five viewpoints 14 WIV Trainee Programmes: for the managers of tomorrow 16 Kurt Watzka, Sales Manager in Austria, talks about his new start Products

18 Innovations and success stories

Yet change and transformation – moving towards something better – also involves savings and sometimes even painful cuts.

This is true for Wine World too. Instead of the original two issues, only the magazine you have before you has been produced this year. But the core of our employee magazine remains unchanged: we would like to offer you a picture of the world of WIV in a way that is exciting and entertaining – presenting our markets and companies, our products and projects, but above all the people who shape our success day after day.

And there’s another innovation: from now on, you can read Wine World online too (http://issuu.com/wir_bei_wiv.com/docs/ ww_2014_e).

Have fun reading!

News from the world of WIV

25 News, projects and campaigns

Sandra Beck

Legal information Publisher: WIV Wein International AG, Burg Layen 1, D-55452 Burg Layen, www.wiv-ag.com, info.wineworld@wiv-ag.com Editorial team: Sandra Beck (responsible as defined in press legislation), Rita Hasslinger, Natascha Höhne, Christiane Martiny, Christian Monetha, Brigitte Schleich, Martina Veith Design and Layout: Christine Krause Languages: German, English, French. Das WIV Magazin wird auf NovaTech Papier gedruckt, zertifiziert nach dem FSC®-Mix für Final copy date for articles for the next issue: 30 January 2015

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Talking to ...

Change is one of the priorities for 2014 The WIV Group has a new face at the top: Andres Ruff has been Chairman of the Executive Board of WIV Wein International AG since April. In an interview with Wine World, he talked about ideas and initiatives aimed at bringing the WIV Group back on track for success, and the measures he has introduced and, in some cases, already implemented.

Mr Ruff, you‘ve been on board with us in your new post for a few months now. Can you tell us: How were things at the start?

My start here was very good. The first few weeks and months allowed me to get to know an exciting and very diverse company. I was pleased to discover what inspiring products we sell.

And what are your impressions?

The WIV Group is complex, the areas and markets in which it is active are multi-layered and present their own very specific challenges. So my impressions are very mixed.

On the positive side, there are our employees. I have got to know lots of committed, motivated people with whom I will be excited to work in the future. I have seen firms that work fantastically and provide

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excellent results – which is good for our company, and also for the people working there.

In other areas I‘ve seen business models that really don‘t work very well nowadays.

In which we haven‘t invested enough in recent years to adapt them to today‘s world. That has also meant that we posted an abysmal result last year. Unfortunately, there is as yet no sign of an improvement.

We have had to react to this and generate some massive improvements.

We have therefore been forced to implement the WIV Fitness Programme, which focuses on securing the future and the economic viability of the WIV Group. In the short term, we need to improve our liquidity and reduce our credit requirement.

In the medium term, we will be giving our company a new strategic direction.

It‘s sounds as if you‘re planning quite a lot: Is the position really that serious?

Yes, because if we continue in some areas as we have been doing, these business models are doomed to failure. But that‘s not what we want, and we need lots of new ideas and improvements that will turn our loss-making businesses around and further strengthen our healthy business divisions.

But please don‘t expect me to show every individual person what he or she needs to do in their own area or own company – I‘d need to be Superman to do that. But I do expect every division to recognise the signs of the times, and to work actively and – most importantly – together on improving and streamlining its structures, processes and marketing models.

Talking to ...

What does this joint pathway actually look like in concrete terms?

In the first stage, we need to implement our measures for improving liquidity consistently and quickly. The first signs of success can already be seen here.

In addition, the Executive Board and management are working on concrete strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening our successful businesses and breathing new life into our weaker businesses and placing them on a competitive footing. By the end of the year, we will have developed a wide-ranging concept and future-proof business models for our business areas, holding company and service areas.

Change is one of the priorities for 2014.

In talking with others, I have found that many people know that we need to make dramatic improvements to take our company back on the road to success. This will also give us breathing space to make urgently needed investments. Because there is absolutely no doubt that we must and will also invest further in our most important and promising business areas, and in our customer and market focus.

Needless to say, that the Pieroth family is also involved. We can be very proud of the fact that the family continues to be absolutely and totally behind the company and is working actively with us on our plans.

Are you already able to specify the planned measures?

Concrete objectives are, for example, breaking down complexity, reducing our stocks and inventories by E 10 million, strengthening corporate branding for Direct Sales and adjusting our Direct Sales model to the era of the internet and e-commerce.

Take our stock levels, for example: Our range and our warehouse stocks are too large. Here, we need a clearer market positioning for each of our companies which is focussed on our customers and target groups. From this, we can derive a target-

ed range that meets almost all our wishes, but is dramatically slimmer. I am absolutely certain that we will manage with just 3050 percent of our current diverse range.

This will lead to more streamlined processes, lower costs, fewer process errors, larger batch sizes in Purchasing and Production – and more time for the important tasks.

What do you feel will be the impulses for sales?

Better concepts and tools will immediately allow Sales to sell in a more targeted way, using best-practice methods and the full support of management and administration, through to mobile sales. I can see that there are great opportunities to be gained from streamlining the range, reducing complexity and – most of all – greater customer orientation across all business areas. By using our strengths in a more targeted way and concentrating more closely on meeting the needs of our customers, we will generate additional added value for our sales which will be reflected in our turnover, revenue and profit.

Will that bring us back on track for success?

No, not yet. But this will change our course so that we can move towards a positive future for the company. Implementing all these measures will take some time. Firstly, the need for and the advantages of our new concept must be anchored in the minds of our employees. And we also need to promote these investments among our financial backers and secure our finances in the medium time. And then it is a question of consistently implementing all these measures without falling back on old behavioural patterns and procedures. By the way, this applies for all our areas of business: Direct Sales, Vino, Production, Logistics and holding functions. Even divisions that are operating well, such as mac, have plenty of potential.

I can’t work out things of that type sitting alone in my office, of course. To implement the necessary measures, I not only need the competence and experience of the entire workforce, I also need, most importantly, the willingness to change. I know that we can only cope with the upcoming challenges, which will undoubtedly be considerable, by tackling them together.

And that will only work if we are prepared to keep what is good, to throw anything bad overboard, to examine things with a critical eye and to make changes.

In parallel, of course, we need to think about our customers and our Christmas business. This forms the basis for any success. Everyone is under an obligation to make sure that the next few months are successful. This would be the most wonderful Christmas present.

Whist we’re on the subject of Christmas, is there anything that you would like for yourself?

The time, of course, to get to know personally the subsidiaries, departments and people I haven’t visited yet. Beyond that, I can hardly wait to report on the first signs of success. Our Fitness Programme already starts showing its effects, even if the structural changes are set to run over at least two years. And once we start to succeed, we’ll also start seeing lots more smiling faces in the company again.

I’m really looking forward to making my contribution towards taking this company, its people and its business divisions further into the future and placing it on a successful footing.

Thank you, Mr Ruff, for talking so openly to us today.

What are your expectations of the employees?

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Company news Looking back at the WIV World Forum 2014

Clear the stage!

A stylish setting, a celebratory atmosphere, a great range of entertainment – the WIV World Forum in Riga lived up to its name once again. The successful directors and sales managers from Germany and abroad, who had battled through to membership of the 100% Club by achieving their personal sales target, had been invited to the World Forum. The highlight of the event was, as always, the Gala Evening honouring all the 100% Club members and the presentation of awards to the WIV World Champions.

Pieroth Austria: World Champion Junior

World Champions Austria: Director Ralf Klefisch with sales managers Kurt Watzka, Albert Pernitsch and Olivier Kröss (sales managers Josef Bogner and Markus Ettinger and commercial manager Marianne Kavan are missing on the photo.)

In his first year since becoming director here, Ralf Klefisch has succeeded in taking Pieroth Austria to B2C World Champion Junior (companies < E10 million sales).

Those who imagined that he would be slowing down a little or working on the Austrian motto of “Let’s just wait a while” were disappointed. Pieroth Austria did not pause for breath from the January start to the Christmas season, and was able to beat off its stubborn pursuer, Pieroth France, in the last quarter.

In his speech, Ralf Klefisch thanked his team in full, emphasising that it was thanks to the commitment of the whole team, all the sales representatives along with the warehouse and administration staff, that this great result and fantastic victory had been possible.

Congratulations to all employees!

In a nice gesture, he also invited Frédéric Séguin from Pieroth France and his team on stage, since they too had played a part in Austria’s victory. After all, it had been the competition with the French team that had spurred the Austrians on to achieve great results time and again.

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Company news

Double Coup for Pieroth Japan Pieroth Japan has pulled off the fantastic achievement of winning both the cup for direct sales - B2C World Champion Senior and for trade sales - B2B World Champion. After winning the B2C title in 2011 and 2012, the Pieroth Direct Sales team has thus achieved the hat trick.

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ale

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S ect Dir

L’équipe des responsables autour de Laurent Faivre a été applaudie frénétiquement en montant sur scène pour recevoir le trophée très convoité.

Toutes nos félicitations à tous ceux qui ont contribué à ce succès exceptionnel !

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d Tra m Tea

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Company news

A warm welcome to the WIV Group!

Dr Josef Spieler becomes new Financial Director The Supervisory Board of WIV Wein International AG has appointed Dr Josef Spieler (60) to the Executive Board of WIV Wein International AG with effect from 11 August 2014. He will take over the Finance, Controlling and IT divisions from Dr Johannes Pieroth. Johannes Pieroth will continue to be in charge of Personnel, Corporate Communication, Law and the Asia Division and will also take over a number of tasks within the framework of the refocussing of the WIV Group.

Dr Josef Spieler has more than 20 years of experience as a commercial director and financial director – in family firms, subsidiaries of corporations and private equity companies. He has excellent contacts with international banks and financial institutions and brings capital markets expertise and experience from companies which have undergone phases of dramatic change or operative and strategic realignment.

Newly formed Supervisory Board

Andreas Pieroth is the new Chairman The newly formed Supervisory Board of WIV Wein International AG has a new Chairman. After departing as planned from the company’s Executive Board, Andreas Pieroth was appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board at its meeting on 23 July.

At the same time, Dr Georg Kellinghusen was appointed as member of the Supervisory Board for the first time; he has held many management positions with German companies and was presented with the FINANCE Award “CFO of the Year” in 2007.

The Chairman to date, Dr Rainer Kögel, and Supervisory Board member Rainer Wagner have left the Supervisory Board. The six-person Supervisory Board in its new composition is completed by existing members Dr Hasso Kaempfe, Dr Frieder Schuppert and the two employee representatives Jürgen Schuster and Oliver Eßwein.

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Company news

Direct selling is booming in Germany The direct sales industry in Germany is growing constantly – recording sales growth of twelve per cent with a total sales figure of E 14.6 billion.

Direct sales companies in Germany were able to increase their sales revenue in 2013 by 12% compared with 2011.

At the end of 2013, they recorded total sales worth E 14.6 billion. This is an increase of €E 1.6 billion over the last two years.

Future prospects are positive too: For the upcoming financial year, the companies questioned forecast on average sales growth of 10%. This is the result of the current market study on the position of the direct sales industry in 2013 carried out by the University of Mannheim on behalf of the Bundesverband Direktvertrieb Deutschland e. V. (BDD) [Federal Association for Direct Sales in Germany]. „The results of the present study show the significance of the direct sales industry for business and consumption in Germany. The sector is growing constantly and the outlook for the future is positive“, says Prof Dr Florian Kraus from the University of Mannheim.

Jochen Acker, BDD CEO, sees the current market figures as proof of the further rise of the industry: „The forecasts are completely positive – German direct sales companies have good reason to be happy“.

Direct sales sector catching up in terms of e-commerce A particular focus of the companies surveyed is on the multi-channel strategy. According to the study, direct sales companies see multi-channel distribution as the most important growth driver and information technology is now set to become the main focus for investment.

Almost half of the direct sales companies (45%) have already introduced an online shop as a supplementary sales channel.

Professor Kraus feels that the intelligent interlinkage of sales channels also provides an opportunity for companies to present themselves positively to the outside world: „Being present in various distribution media enhances the customer‘s perception of the company.“ Source: Bundesverband Direktvertrieb Deutschland e.V., 2014

Summary of the most important results of the market study 1.

Multi-channel distribution – the integration of online trading and the use of social media – is regarded as the most important growth driver

2.

Investments in IT take top priority – followed by marketing and sales in 2nd place and personnel in 3rd.

3. Over 60% of communication and advertising is online 4. Attracting and retaining qualified sales partners remains the greatest challenge.

5. Selling parties are still popular, followed by classic visits by sales representatives.

About the BDD: The Bundesverband Direktvertrieb Deutschland e.V. (BDD) has been committed to safeguarding the interests of direct sales companies in the private consumer goods and service sector for over 40 years. The BDD was founded in 1967 as a working group entitled “Well advised – purchased at home”, and its members have undertaken to comply with behavioural standards aimed at achieving fair relationships in direct sales. Over 30 companies are members of the BDD, including some of the subsidiaries of WIV Wein International AG.

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Company news WIV Annual Motto: Direct.Successful.Inspirational

More than just a symbol Two colleagues talk about what they connect with the WIV motto for the year and what inspires them:

Frieder Schramm Sales Manager Pierre Laforest Plauen (Germany)

Taking a piece of asphalt from the street and then handing it over as a gift is a bit reckless ... But, of course, I had a reason for it.

I was thinking of the street as a symbol for personal contact and direct encounter. At Pierre Laforest, our first contact with new customers comes from visits and home wine tastings. The street takes me to the customer! We need the asphalt, which is where the customer and the sales person meet.

Selling over the telephone is convenient, but it’s often too easy.

The home wine tasting, the element that makes us stand out, is more than just a way of making contact – it is a shared and, hopefully, unforgettable experience. And it produces a good link with the customer, better average orders and a lasting wine friendship.

So it’s time for everyone to get out on the streets, smell the asphalt and get going. Because every sales person’s career starts on the street!

Chris Baur Sales Manager Pieroth Romanet Steinhausen (Switzerland)

I took three Smurfs from the large Smurf family with me to Riga – I connect their different characters with the WIV annual motto.

Papa Smurf: He is the leader and the father figure who protects his family with his wisdom and knowledge and always tries to do the right thing.

We must lead our staff SUCCESSFULLY and then we’ll be as SUCCESSFUL as Papa Smurf.

Harmony Smurf: He loves music and is responsible for communication.

We are in DIRECT communication with customers: “Face to Face”.

The pretty Smurfette who inspires and melts the hearts of all Smurfs.

We must INSPIRE our customers – with our super products, with emotions, with fun tastings and the broad range of wines and services that we offer.

Interesting things and exciting WIV stories: At the World Forum in Riga, all the participants had been asked to bring an item along that symbolises the WIV annual motto of “Direct. Successful. Inspiration” for them.

During the conference, they then swapped “lucky charms” with their colleagues.

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Company news Successful promotion of young talent at WIV

Talents in focus WIV Wein International AG was the only company in the district of Bad Kreuznach to be awarded the “2013/2014 Certificate for Promotion of Young Talent” by the Federal Employment Agency.

The Agency thus recognises the particular achievements of WIV which has been committed to training since the beginning of the 1960s, offering trainees countless employment and international development opportunities and working effectively with the Employment Agency’s Employer Service.

“We are very proud of this award which is an additional recognition of the successful team achievements of the ten trainers and 15 training officers at WIV.” Inge Schichtel, WIV Training Manager

Executive Board member Dr Johannes Pieroth, WIV Training Manager Inge Schichtel, Agency Director Elmar Wagner (Federal Employment Agency), Customer Support Officer Anke Altmayer (Employer Service), WIV Personnel Manager Heiko Brandstätter (left to right)

Newcomers visit Burg Layen and Langenlonsheim In April, Burg Layen and Langenlonsheim welcomed the top new wine sales people in the world of WIV, whose outstanding achievements qualified them for the trip to Germany. During the wide-ranging programme, they not only visited the WIV cellars, vineyard and administration, but also had time to get to know each other better and celebrate together.

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Company news

Taking responsibility and shaping change Many things have changed at WIV in recent months: Organisational structures and responsibilities. In Direct Sales, Executive Board member David Samuel is supported by five regional directors. You can read here what motivates them and what their main points of emphasis are.

Looking forward to the challenges of the German market For many of you, I‘m not a completely new face. After all, I‘ve been working for WIV for 15 years now – albeit not here in Germany.

Now I‘m coming as RED to Germany and looking forward to what lies ahead of me. In parallel, I will still be taking care of my work in Tunisia, Belgium and the Netherlands and as Project Manager for Oenolia.

In my first few weeks and month, I saw many positive things, great enthusiasm and hard work in the External Sales teams at Pierre Laforest and Reichsgraf von Plettenberg.

I was particularly impressed by the entrepreneurial power and sense of

initiative shown by staff and sales partners who organise their own events, such as the one at Peek & Cloppenburg, and generate new customer sales. This deserves recognition, and also produces successful result!

only reach ambitious targets if everyone involved pulls together and believes in the objective.

I would like to say to my French colleagues at Pierre Laforest, Ferdinand Pieroth and WIV France: You‘re a great team and I had a good time with you!

I would like to wish you all success and to support you in this aim with my experience and expertise as good as I can.

On my pathway through work and life so far, I‘ve learnt one thing: You can

Jörg de Signier Regional Executive Director Pierre Laforest and Reichsgraf von Plettenberg (D), Benelux & Tunisia

Growth as the foundation for success in Direct Sales In my view, the sense of self-worth of a company depends largely on the successes it achieves. The simplest measure of the success of a sales company like us is sales revenue, sales revenue growth and a healthy profit at the same time. We’re all familiar with the feeling when we in External Sales record a good sale to a new customer or our sales office completes a brilliant week in terms of sales revenue. In this mood and with this feeling of self-confidence, lots of things are possible.

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The basis for our growth is a healthy regular customer value creation of 80 per cent. We have also reached this figure, more or less, in all of our sales countries and companies in recent years. This is a figure of which we, as direct sales companies, can be very proud.

The challenge that we have to face at the moment is to develop concepts with which we can reach a new customer share of at least 25 percent. Because with a good regular customer value creation and sufficient new customers, an increase in sales revenues of > 5 per

cent is possible. This needs to be our target.

I am convinced that, through a growth in sales, we can overcome our current challenges – and not (just) by cutting costs. With growth, a healthy team spirit and a good mood in Sales, we can look to the future with absolute confidence.

Mario Disch Regional Executive Director Central & Eastern Europe

Company news

Building on experience and shaping the future together I wish to make sure that we utilise all of the resources that we have within our sales force. This means respecting the years of service and experience within our teams in order to benefit the greater business as well as each one of us individually. If directors, managers and representatives all work together for the common goal of success we will all benefit and surely that should be everyone’s primary ambition.

I believe we need more joined-up thinking – and action, of course – where leaders clearly communicate the reasons behind the direction they

are taking the company and where all parties listen to each other with an open mind so that creativity and innovation can thrive.

Our business is evolving at a rapid rate and this is necessary in order to secure our future growth. Change is not always easy, perhaps, but it can also be exhilarating and liberating; from the evidence gained in recent years I would have to report that the feedback on our evolution is overwhelmingly positive.

We have been in this business a very long time and for many years we did not make changes, we were behind the wave of progress but today we are

No fear of change Many changes are planned in France this year, and some are already well under way. The new structures and new projects will help to ensure that we are up with the times now. With the “Optimo” project and new CRM software, we intend to improve processes, enhance efficiency and shorten our delivery times – for the benefit of our staff and customers.

New methods of attracting new customers are being set in motion, such as the sale of exclusive wine tastings, for example. This is a method that has already brought success for colleagues in other countries.

Using all these measures and modernisation approaches, we want to improve and rejuvenate our image – partly so that we are even more attractive for job applicants. Because we also intend to expand our external sales team even further!

Let us have no fear of change! Instead, let us remain receptive to the wishes of our team and our customers and retain what makes the greatest successes possible: a great atmosphere for selling and our contact with our customers.

My main objective is to guide our team in France back to the road to success. With the punch that Pierre Laforest packs, the continuing enthusiasm at Pieroth, the professionalism of the WIV workforce and the magic of the Métairie teams, we have every chance of winning the title of World Champion with France soon.

Christophe Bonvin Regional Executive Director France

riding the wave and this has re-ignited passions and given us all a more confident, enthusiastic outlook towards the road ahead.

Amanda Cox Regional Executive Director UK & Overseas

We set standards The WIV subsidiaries in the Asia-Pacific region (Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and New Zealand) are continuing to work on improving our quality standards and our brand image. This is a top priority for us, because we are all convinced that we can only develop our company further by continuously optimising the quality of our service and the efficiency of our deliveries. Improved service quality increases economic competitiveness, which is undoubtedly largely responsible for our success in Japan and Hong Kong.

How will we achieve this? By understanding and improving our operating processes, identifying problems quickly and systematically, defining binding, reliable service and performance indicators and measuring the satisfaction of our customers.

We will also continue to work on new projects, to transfer successful existing concepts (World Wine Bar, Wine Festival, the Folding Stand, Groupon…) to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and to support WIV in growing its sales and profits.

Laurent Faivre Regional Executive Director Asia - Pacific

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People

Sales training for our managers of tomorrow

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Bad Kreuznach

The WIV Trainee programme has been providing successful managers from our own ranks since 2005.

This year, once again, two intakes completed their training and a new course was started. Our own up-and-coming managers are thus familiarised step by step with the many varied and demanding tasks they will face in Sales.

2013 Trainee Programme successfully completed In spring, the German sales trainees from the 2013 intake met for their last training session. In addition to the specialist training and accompanying measures, such as self-management, leading a sales office or organising Monday meetings, the young managers also took part in a trip run by Weinkulturreisen to Kloster Eberbach (Rheingau). All the participants are now established in their management positions, organising dayto-day sales work.

German sales trainees on the 2013/2014 course (left to right): Serdar Akin (Pierre Laforest), Christian Monetha (WIV Personnel Development), Hanspeter Wüst, Roger Wild (both Laforest Switzerland), Thomas Sens, Peter Mühlenkamp (both Reichsgraf von Plettenberg), Paul Zimmermann (Bacchus), Frank Schlesinger (Graf von Zedlitz).

The first course in the International Sales Manager Programme was also completed in May. For the third time, participants from all over the world met together in Bad Kreuznach to be prepared for their management tasks. The focus of the third training session was on the topics of leadership, recruitment and the monitoring and control of relevant key figures.

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2013/2014 International Sales Managers (left to right): Kelvin Kwan (Pieroth Hong Kong), Christian Monetha (WIV Personnel Development), Edgars Miglans (WIL Latvia), Florent Garitey (Pierre Laforest France), Christian Sigouin (Pieroth Korea, in future Australia), Melanie Atkins (Romanet UK), Elodie Berthier (Métairie France), Nicolas Scenner (Pieroth Japan). Bernard Kukowetz (Australia) is missing from the photo.

People

A great t-shirt concept, when the participants expressed their love of Bad Kreuznach and the region.

2014 sales trainee course safely on track The new 2014 sales trainee course started in April with six new young managers. The participants have now completed three training sessions, covering wine (theory), sales training, team building, communication, presentation techniques and management skills.

Joint team building on the high rope course: Trainees from Direct Sales and mac plus participants in the WIV specialist workforce programme.

2014 sales trainees (left to right): Marcel Dixon (Laforest Switzerland), Christian Monetha (WIV Personnel Development), Nils Geveshausen (Pierre Laforest), Olivier Kröss (Pieroth Austria), Maximilian Lingenthal (WIV, guest), Philipp Kreutzer (Graf von Zedlitz), Patrick Müller (Graf von Zedlitz), Ken Schoenfeld (Pierre Laforest).

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Kurt Watzka (front right) and his successful team

Moving out of the comfort zone “Nothing is good unless you do it” was said originally by Erich Kästner (German writer). You can find out how employees transcend their own limits, inspire other people – whether it’s colleagues or customers – and provide motivation in this interview with Kurt Watzka, Sales Manager at Pieroth Austria. With hard work, courage, inspiration and a strong belief in his own idea, he achieved extra- ordinary results last year – and is on track for success in 2014 too, of course.

Mr Watzka, what were you thinking when you simply gave up your successful office in Salzburg last year to build up a new telemarketing office from zero?

My motto is: „If you don‘t dare, you can‘t win“. Ultimately, I trusted my intuition, which said „Do it!“ and hoped for the reward.

But it wasn‘t that easy, was it?

Before the decision, I didn‘t sleep for three days, because I didn‘t really know what a telemarketing office was. There‘s never been anything like this in Austria.

But I ultimately recognised that I wasn‘t moving forward, professionally or priva-

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tely, by holding onto my card index and my office. And running the telemarketing office at the same time as the existing office in Salzburg was simply impossible.

Mr Klefisch‘s saying „If you want to experience the kind of success that you‘ve never experienced before, you must do something that you‘ve never done before!“ then also finally provided the additional motivation for me to take on the new telemarketing office and to move out of my comfort zone.

Did everything run as you had hoped and wished it would?

In terms of sales, definitely. We have exceeded our annual sales target by a long

way and been named „Office of the year in Austria“. At the 100% Club in Riga, we received the award of „Third Best Office“.

On the other hand, employees have left us again and productivity has sometimes been less than satisfactory.

Have you ever wondered whether you made the right decision?

No. And you should always think positively and believe that something new or unusual can work too.

People Mid Year Cup

Was there anyone who helped or supported you?

Definitely my team manager, Maria Ausserlechner, and all the staff at the Salzburg sales office and the telemarketing office who stood – and still stand – behind me. And then the director, Ralf Klefisch, who always believed in my success and the commercial management team, with Marianne Kavan and her team in Langenlois. We embodied the motto of „WE ARE FAMILY“ and have grown together into a fantastic team!

Was the new telemarketing office your biggest professional challenge?

Yes, 100%. My biggest private challenge was undoubtedly the fact that I wanted to carry on earning at least the same salary, without managing the direct sales office.

How do you relax after work?

My family and my faith give me great support. In my free time, I like to go to the sauna, treat myself to a massage or go walking and jogging..

WIV managers enjoy a weekend on the Côte d‘Azur

52 sales managers from all over the world, along with their sales offices, reached or even outstripped their sales targets for the first half-year 2014 and qualified for the winners’ trip for the WIV “Mid Year Cup”. The winners enjoyed a long weekend and countless highlights in Nice on the wonderful Côte d’Azur.

What do you particularly like about your work?

Firstly, working with „wine“ as a product.

And secondly, motivating people, training them and working successfully with them.

What are your goals for the future?

After coming third last year, I would like to see my telemarketing office in first place in the WIV world, of course. And if it doesn‘t work out this year, then next year at the latest.

Mr Watzka, we wish you every success and congratulate you on taking this courageous step.

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Products

Oenolia sales pick up speed The large-scale “Oenolia” project, aimed at expanding the sales success of the cosmetics range in France to other markets and sales companies, was started two years ago. It took a little while for Oenolia to get really going, but net sales worldwide of over€E 2.7 million were nonetheless recorded in 2013. Sales revenues of 5 to 6 million euros are planned for the current year.

Worldwide expansion The Oenolia cosmetics range was developed by our colleagues in France, where it has been an important element of the product portfolio for years. The high, double-digit growth rates in France in 2013 show that the market is not yet saturated, even here. Today, Oenolia is sold in Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, the USA, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong, Austria, Italy, Denmark and Germany.

Sales picking up speed It is pleasing that sales are now - after initial difficulties - getting going as planned. More and more companies are developing their own Oenolia strategies and placing the cosmetics successfully in the market. The routes chosen vary completely. Whilst some focus almost exclusively on telephone sales to regular customers or solely on new customers, others swear by cosmetics presentations at trade fairs or home wine tastings. So sometimes sales arguments and sales techniques are the central point, and at others personal experience and personal contact. Both approaches work brilliantly, and the aim is thus to increase sales of Oenolia this year by 100% to over E 5 million.

Further prospects The successes that we are achieving with Oenolia provide us with a clear indication that the potential for the cosmetics range is probably even greater than it appeared to be at first sight. Today, the cosmetic range is mainly positioned as a cross-selling product for wine direct sales, i.e. it is primarily an extra product and sales alternative to wine. However, at GWK they are concentrating solely on selling to new customers (see the article on the right), with telephone sales staff taken on especially for this, and are consistently opening up new market potential that is completely separate from the existing wine business. Oenolia can therefore satisfy many needs, from the wine consultant’s desire for the chance to increase sales through to the strategic plan to capture new markets.

I would be happy to answer any questions about Oenolia.

Jörg de Signier, Regional Executive Director jdsignier@wiv-ag.com

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Products

German Oenolia web shop: www.oenolia-kosmetik.de

Graf von Zedlitz Wein- und Sekthaus Alt Kreuznach

Incredibly successful Oenolia campaign: 21 per cent (!) activation ratio Graf von Zedlitz Wein- und Sekthaus Alt Kreuznach (GWK) achieved a fantastic result with its Oenolia mailing campaign.

With its spot-on approach and an attractive gift, the message of “We’re celebrating a birthday – Oenolia is 1 year old” was attractively presented. The result: After the offer had been sent and followed up by telephone, 21.5% of the mailshot recipients bought further Oenolia products. For two thirds of the customers, it was also the first purchase this year. The workforce at GWK were absolutely over the moon – no surprise, when almost one in four calls leads to an order.

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Products Efficient quality management

Winery in Langenlonsheim awarded top marks in certification again When WIV decided to implement a quality management system in the Langenlonsheim production centre in 1995, no-one really knew what to do with the ISO 9000 series of standards then. Things have changed a lot since then. Today, the winery in Langenlonsheim is certified according to IFS, BRC and DLG and voluntarily undergoes the unannounced IFS Food Check.

IFS and BRC certification complies with one of the most demanding standards in the food industry. Its aim is to develop the highest possible level of trust in the quality and performance of our company

and to position WIV in the international wine market as a reliable partner both for our subsidiaries and for our external customers and agents. It means that our processes – from order receipt through wine preparation, monitoring to filling and traceability – must be structured in such a way that the specified quality standards are reached and, if possible, continuously improved. Every two years, the documents, procedures and processes in the areas of oenology, production, laboratory work, quality management, maintenance and purchasing are subjected once again to a rigorous and intensive two-day audit by the accredited certification body, TÜV Süd.

We are delighted that our efficient quality management system has once again led to a confirmation of our certifications in 2014. The high quality of our process and thus the high quality of our products remain constant at all times.

Naked Wines tests same-day delivery

WINE WORLD 10 / 2014

BRC (Global Standard for Food Safety) Like the IFS, the BRC is a system for the demonstrable control of the measures to ensure food quality and hygiene standards. It was established as a common standard for the food retail trade.

DLG (Deutsche LandwirtschaftsGesellschaft) DLG TestService GmbH is a leading service-provider in the field of quality assurance and quality promotion of wines, beverages, foods and associated product areas.

e do it. elivery - How w D e in W ay D e Sam 4JY ch?v=pd2oKQfH at /w om .c be tu https://you

Wine lovers from San Francisco who place their wine order by 1 p.m. can have their wines delivered the same day. Their wines from Naked Wines will be on the table in plenty of time for dinner or a party with friends.

“Our business model has already turned classic wine selling on its head: An online platform that provides a forum for customers, gives them the opportunity to communicate with vintners and other customers, to get to know their preferences and evaluations and to pick up trends”, says Rowan Gormley, founder of Naked Wines. “To gain some leverage on the delivery time was just the next logical step here.”

Whether the service is available is shown to the customer when the order is placed. Sameday delivery is still free of charge for Naked Wines customers.

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IFS (International Food Standard) An internationally recognised quality standard for foods with the emphasis on food safety, developed by leading national and international retailers.

Produkte Products

314,057 bottles of the South African Cape Root wine range were sold by the WIV Group in Germany in the period up to end of September.

Viticulture in South Africa dates back over 350 years, to the time when a Dutchman called “Jan” van Riebeeck brought wine growing to South Africa. In 1652, he was sent from Holland to establish a settlement at the Cape on behalf of the Dutch East India Company and quickly recognised that the Mediterranean climate in South Africa was ideal for producing wine. For this reason, a ship arrived in 1655 bringing the first vines from the Rhineland, France and Spain and the first wine was pressed in 1659.

The roots of South African vine cultivation still lie in the fertile soils around the Western Cape province, which is also the home to all “Cape Root” wines.

This year, the ostrich, which originally came from South Africa, adorns the labels of the “Cape Root range”.

exclusively by Bacchus For 20 years now – ever since the end of apartheid – Bacchus Weine der Welt has been regarded as a specialist in South African wines. With Angel’s Drop, an exclusive red wine from the highest vineyards in South Africa, Bacchus is adding another accent in its anniversary year. This extraordinary red wine cuvee comes from the small “Nooitgedacht Farm” estate, whose passionate work is rewarded with awards each year. Not only Bacchus claims that this is one of the best Cape wines ever to be included in its range. At the international wine competition MUNDUS VINI 2014 Angel’s Drop was honoured with the gold medal. But it’s not just the quality that is remarkable.

The package is also perfectly harmonised, from the original box through the attractive tissue paper wrapping to the flyer telling the story of this extraordinary wine.

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Products English sparkling wine: from an exotic rarity to a sales hit

Thanks to climate change ...

The UK is not necessarily the first place that springs to mind when you mention wine growing. And yet wine production has developed at a breath-taking pace there in the last 15 years: the area covered by the vineyards of the British Isles has increased by 500 hectares in the last two years, and has risen to 1,450 hectares in England and Wales. Around 45% of total vineyard area is planted with the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grape varieties and the production of sparkling wines has increased fifteen times over since the millennium from around 250,000 bottles to nearly four million. Then there is half this quantity of still wines too, amongst which the rosés are becoming increasingly popular.

The most ambitious vineyards include Chapel Down and Bolney, West Sussex, which not only sweep the board when it comes to international wine competitions and are on the wine lists of the greatest restaurants but which are becoming massive hits for Naked Wines. At Naked Wines, sales of English sparkling wines have tripled, because British “Angels” are tending to prefer regions such as Kent and Sussex over Reims or Epernay.

No wonder – because many Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier vines grow in the South of England on exactly the same chalky soils and in similar climatic conditions to those found in the Champagne region. Thanks to climate change …

Did you know?

In 1980 and 1981, German employees of WIV (still Pieroth at the time) managed a vineyard in Barnsgate (East Sussex), planted vines and pressed English wines.

Successful cooperation

Pieroth Japan sells official World Cup champagne Within ten weeks, Pieroth Japan sold 10,666 bottles of Taittinger Champagne in the limited edition “2014 FIFA World Cup™” packaging.

Because the first test was so successful, the cooperation between Pieroth and the famous champagne house will be continued.

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Products Sparkling prospects: Crémant from Germany

Sektkellerei Baum sets new standards in sparkling wine production Our new product, a crémant from Germany, Sekt extra dry, sets new standards in sparkling wine production. But first, a few facts – then the excitement: our new crémant is made 100% from Spätburgunder grapes. It comes from the Palatinate, is harvested by hand and is produced using the traditional method for making champagne.

It made its début at the WIV Wine Tasting at the end of October.

You can look forward to delicate aromas of ripe peach, strawberries, blossoms and marzipan. Beautifully dry, very elegant and with a fine perlage, it has captivated connoisseurs and lovers of sparkling wine.

After all, if the word ‚crémant‘ appears on the label of your sparkling wine, you can be certain that it is one of the highest categories of sparkling wine that can be achieved in Germany.

Protected designation of origin The designation “crémant” was previously only permitted for sparkling wine that was produced in French wine-growing areas (outside Champagne) using the “méthode champenoise”; however, this quality designation is now also permitted in Germany.

The must for our crémant, which can only be obtained by careful pressing of the whole grapes, is pressed in the Palatinate from healthy, fully ripened Spätburgunder grapes as Weißherbst.

Healthy grapes with 90° Oechsle and monitoring during picking guarantee the best results and full flavour.

In Germany’s wine-growing regions, different provisions apply as regards the grape varieties that are permitted. In the Palatinate region, Riesling, Grauburgunder, Weißburgunder, Chardonnay, Spätburgunder and Müller grapes (Schwarzriesling) are permitted for crémant.

Traditional manufacture After the must has fermented into wine, the second stage of our “mission crémant” is carried out in our sparkling wine production unit in Rüdesheim: bottling and the second alcoholic fermentation on the lees which turns the wine into a crémant. This is known as traditional bottle fermentation and must take at least nine months.

After this comes the disgorging process (removing the lees). However, care should be taken here to ensure that with the added dosage the residual sugar content of 15 grammes per litre is not exceed. A crémant is therefore extra dry at most.

Our crémant is still in its maturation period and will be available to our customers from mid-December 2014.

The team at Sektkellerei Baum

The grape varieties for a crémant are laid down for every German winegrowing area and the yield is regulated in order to ensure top quality.

The term “Crémant Pfalz” The term ‘crémant’ may only be used as follows: • Only for sparkling wines with protected designation of origin • Harvested by hand • Must only from whole or destemmed grapes; no more than 100 l must may be obtained from 150 kg grapes • Traditional bottle fermentation and nine months maturation in the same operation • The sugar content may not exceed 15 g/l and total sulphur dioxide may not exceed 150mg/l

The raw sparkling wine is bottled by hand in Rüdesheim.

No details of the packaging have been revealed yet.

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Products Pieroth Australia

Fine Wine Project Darko Radulovic, a senior wine consultant who has been working with Pieroth Australia for 14 years, had written the biggest order ever for 96 bottles of Grand Cru wines worth $123,962 (E 85,800).

Two weeks later, he topped the same client up with a dozen bottles of 2005 Haut Brion and a dozen 2005 Lafitte Rothschild for an additional $50,000 (E 34,600) ... amazing!

Our „Fine Wine Project“ - Grand Cru wines from top producers – was introduced to offer our consultants the opportunity to tap into a different part of the wine market and to change our customers‘ buying habits. We also wanted to create strength in the value of our commercial range by offering the best wines in the world for less than any other wine merchant in Australia.

The fact that this sales opportunity was met with caution initially, with a bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild or Opus One being added to an order here and there is understandable if we bear in mind that a bottle costs more than $1,700 (E 1,000). But one Thursday after, I received the following e-mail and a copy of an order: ‘Hi Boss!

Just to bring a smile to your face’.

To date, Pieroth Australia has recorded extra sales totalling $206,625 (E143,000) with the Grand Cru wines – a successful start to the „Fine Wine Project“.

Sean Thorpe, Sales Director, Pieroth Australia

„Fine Wines“ are also a total success in Japan: In July, Ihara San from Yokohama sold Grand Cru wines worth JPY 2,576,970 (around E19,000) to a new customer in the Haneda Wine Bar, who paid in cash.

Pieroth Japan

“Opus One” – a cult wine An incredible 2,906 bottles of the cult wine “2009 Opus One”, created by Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild were sold by Pieroth Japan in just one day. Selling the 2010 vintage started at the end of July – and more than 1,700 bottles of the highest rate wine in the USA changed owner in just a few days.

Pieroth Japan is the biggest purchaser of Opus One and one of the most significant customers for the Rothschild family dynasty.

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News from the world of WIV Pieroth Japan

French cuisine in Tokyo Olivier Oddos and Christophe Paucod, two top French chefs, presented their superb “French cuisine” in the World Wine Bar in Yokohama.

Both chefs own their own restaurants in Tokyo and have each been awarded a Michelin star for their superb cuisine. We are delighted that they were happy to demonstrate their extraordinary talent to our customers for a day each.

The menu lists: Fantastic food and excellent wines from Pieroth – definitely a recipe for success!

Nicolas Scenner Director World Wine Bar, Japan

Pierre Laforest Germany

A good combination Pierre Laforest Nord, under the leadership of Thomas Bolm, has started a successful partnership with the fashion house Peek & Cloppenburg. The Pierre Laforest team serves champagne to the P&C customers at exclusive events held during the evenings.

The high-quality fashion outlet is happy, customers are enthusiastic and the fantastic PLF team is delighted: they are receiving orders from new customers too!

Several events have been held already – and there are more to follow.

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News from the world of WIV

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1. The Brazilian pavilion provided visitors with a homage to paper and literature made tangible. Film installations and a wide-ranging programme of events, with readings, discussions and music attracted thousands of visitors each day.

2. + 4. Crowd of Characters: 24 pillars made from cardboard, with pictures of Brazilian authors; each one was provided with a large pad of paper, from which visitors could tear off the biography of the authors and take it home with them.

3. Music Poetry: Visitors were able to relax and listen to Brazilian music in hammocks hanging between 17 installed tree trunks.

5. Reading Lounge: A book shelf that looked as if it had been built from Lego bricks. The cushions in the shape of human silhouettes were hand-sewn during the Book Fair by a Brazilian artist!

6. The auditorium and stage area with interpreting booths: there were readings every day here, followed later by a “happy hour” with caipirinhas and live music.

The caipirinha trolley was also made especially for this by mac.

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mac – Focus on Brazil

More than just samba, carnival and caipirinha The World Cup is over. Germany are the World Champions. It all comes down to good preparation.

That‘s what mac thought too, which is when the theme was already Brazilian last year for the trade fair experts. On behalf of Messe Frankfurt, mac built the impressive exhibition stand for the Guest of Honour, Brazil, at the 2013 Book Fair with a surface area of 1,500 m2 and an innovative, spectacular concept.

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News from the world of WIV A homage to paper and literature made tangible The unique design, a facade structure made from cardboard boxes, was created by the Brazilian architects Daniela Thomas and Felipe Tassara. The team wanted to pay tribute to paper and to bid it a spectacular farewell as a medium for books.

The material for the stand was the biggest challenge here: made from cardboard and flame resistant – a combination that has never before existed in Germany! After a long search for suppliers, an innovation-loving partner agreed to take part in the material experiment, and produced and certified the flame-resistant cardboard exclusively for Messe Frankfurt. mac was then shortlisted in the search for a strong stand construction partner. After an extensive, exciting bidding process, we and Messe Frankfurt were awarded the contract jointly – thanks not least to the great dedication shown by Jörg Tullius (mac Calculation & Construction) and the entire team. It should also be mentioned that because of currency fluctuations – from the first inquiry until the opening of the bidders’ envelopes in the Brazilian Consulate – the overall budget had shrunk by 30 per cent.

These are just some of the questions that concerned us in the planning phase: • How stable are the boxes?

• How can the structural load capacity of a facade of this type be tested?

• And how quickly can replacements be delivered if there is any damage?

It was helpful to visit the supplier of the boxes (Wellpappe Auerswalde), and we were able to gain a good impression of what is possible with cardboard boxes. The firm also suggested that we build a trial exhibition stand with initially 100 boxes, to get a feel for the facade. The board manufacturer (Halle Karton) also turned out to be a great choice for us: they were always on hand, put forward some very good solutions and finally delivered everything perfectly prepared to the trade fair. The ten-day construction period and opening in Frankfurt thus ran smoothly, with happy Brazilian faces and a relaxed mac project team.

The Brazilian pavilion was opened by Guido Westerwelle (German ex-Foreign Minister), the Brazilian Minister of Culture Marta Suplicy and the Brazilian Vice-President Michel Temer. We were then finally able to enjoy a caipirinha with a host of VIPs ...

Project carried out in just six weeks The stand area of around 1500 m² was divided into six exciting thematic areas, constructed using various materials – mainly paper and cardboard, of course. This included all the furnishings for the seating and reading area.

Next year, it will be Finland, and we want to be there too. You need a sauna built? We can do that too... mac Team Samba

Admittedly, we did not need to worry about the manufacture of the boxes, but the architecture was also a challenge; after all, 4600 boxes had to be combined to create a stand construction.

But mac also works regularly for other Brazilian exhibitors at German trade fairs. The company constructed the exhibition stand for Braskem, the world’s largest producer of biopolymers based in São Paulo, at the K Trade Fair for Plastics, and at Anuga, the Brazilian beef export agency ABIEC presented fine meat from Brazil on an exhibition area covering 700 square metres.

The orders mainly come via Brazilian agencies which develop and organise trade fair projects and joint presentations by Brazilian companies all over the world.

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News from the world of WIV

Welcome back: UK successfully reactivates 830 customers

A star for Reichsgraf von Plettenberg At Cologne-Bonn Airport, Sebastian Klimm (Regional Sales Manager Düsseldorf) signed up Hans-Ullrich “Ulli” Wegner as a new wine customer (order value over E€2,000). Wegner is a former amateur boxer and the German trainer for the Sauerland boxing team. He trained the current WBO World Champion Arthur Abraham.

Jonathan Walker, Peter King and Phil Tester (left to right) at the medal ceremony.

Hotline to the customer – successful telephone campaigns at Romanet and Pieroth.

The top telephone sales specialists from Romanet and Pieroth met together for the first “Sleeping Giants Action 2014”. Their overall objective: To inspire customers who have not bought anything from us for a long time to try wines again and to win them back as customers.

With their extensive sales experience, total dedication and stubborn persistence, the 35 sales people from the two companies jointly reached sales worth more thanDirector E 240,000 and – even more importantly – brought 830 customers back into the fold.

Extremely good results were achieved by David Henry, Alex Martin, Rob Cook, Phil Tester, Peter King, Jonathan Walker and Ben Edwards, who each recorded sales of more than E 8,000. A heartfelt “thank you” for this successful telephone campaign to everyone who took part!

Posing for the photo: Ulli Wegner and RvP employee Olivier Marceau.

Crossing borders: Austria and Switzerland At the New Customers field week in Dornbirn, colleagues from Switzerland and Austria successfully visited new customers.

The 22-person team was supported by the managers who went along on the visits, of course, which meant that the wine tasting appointments were even more enjoyable.

Together, the successful team, made up of regular and new customer sales staff, recorded 217 orders and sales worth CHF 56,554, or E 32,363.

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News from the world of WIV

Successful voucher campaign

by Pierre Laforest France As a specialist in burgundies, Pierre Laforest appeared at the Strasbourg Gastronomy and Catering Fair with a glass of “Cremant de Bourgogne” – and managed to sell 71 wine tasting vouchers in four days. In our experience, this is the equivalent of at least 35 new customers and over E12,000.

Our congratulations for a successful campaign go to project manager Anne Bailly and her charming team, consisting of Fiona Kozlow and Valérie Hamman.

Wine tasting or WIV disposes election day? of subsidiary Both are in Latvia possible!

The team from Intervinum Brussels led

by Julie Maret recorded sales worth more than E20,000 in a wine tasting on European Elections Day. Bravo Intervinum!

The subsidiary WIL Wine International Latvia, which was part of the Wholesale division, was sold to its former director Edgars Miglans with effect from 1st July. The reasons for the sale are the low market potential and insufficient sales and profit forecasts for the B2B business in Latvia.

Honor Day in Japan

Over a whole day, the top sales staff and offices were awarded for their superb achievements over the past year.

In the Cup Noodle Museum, everyone had the chance to design their own cup noodle – from painting the pot to selecting the ingredients.

Now we just need some hot water …

Some business links will be retained: WIV and Hallgarten Druitt will continue to supply the company, for example.

2013’s record sales figure of over 10 billion JPY was celebrated with a giant gateau.

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News from the world of WIV

Elmar Pieroth visits the UK How are Voucher sales developing in the UK and how are home wine-tastings run with these new customers? We were able to put these question to Elmar Pieroth on his visit to the “Motorhome and Caravan Show” in Birmingham, one of the most important trade fair and conference locations. In addition, he also took part on two evenings in home wine tastings with Voucher New Customers.

We are pleased to report a 100% result – both groups at the wine tastings placed orders. In fact, in one of the groups we actually achieved two orders and the other group also set a date for their next wine tasting. These results highlight the excellent potential of this type of customer.

Craig Michie, Head of Customer Base Development, UK

Telephone action in Poland

With the help of the two top wines Bigfeet and Ad Maiora, the 40 wine consultants from Poland managed to exceed the sales target for the telephone action by almost 40%.

Congratulations!

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APEC Trip 2014

In the jungle, the mighty ju This year, the Asia Pacific Elite Club (APEC), made up of the best wine sellers from Hong Kong, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, met on the island of Borneo. Borneo is divided between the three states of Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia and is famous for its jungle-like forests and large population of orang-utans living in the wild. To follow this theme, the final evening was also celebrated in a jungle atmosphere.

Congratulations to all the winners, who gained admission to this exclusive club thanks to the fantastic results they achieved last year: Pieroth Hong Kong: Andy Chow, Larry Lam and Cookie Wong Pieroth Japan: Masato Ishii, Shuta Suzuki, Yoshio Matsuura, Yasushi Minoda, Harumitsu Hasegawa and Risa Ciba Pieroth Australia: Beryl Hillstead, Poppy Papadopoulos, Gary Wright, Darko Radulovic Pieroth New Zealand: Robert Fowler

News from the world of WIV A good deed

, ungle…

Pieroth and Romanet UK donate “Sunshine Bus”

behalf of Dr Johannes Pieroth and Laurent Faivre, the patrons of the Club, the participants were rewarded with a trophy and a certificate and a document.

Everyone was delighted that this year’s Miss United Kingdom, Kirsty Heslewood, was present for the handover of the keys in Mirfield – not only John Dove, Pieroth Sales Manager(centre).

The generous support of Pieroth and Romanet UK meant that it was possible to buy another „Sunshine Bus“ for the youth programme run by the famous „Variety Club“ charitable organisation.

The Sunshine Buses run by the organisation first saw the light of day in 1962 and are used to given disadvantaged children and young people the opportunity to learn more about the world, to make friends and develop further through shared activities. Over the last 50 years, several thousand busses and minibuses have been donated, and they have

become a familiar site on the streets of Great Britain. They are easily recognised – they bear the logos of the Variety Club and the company supporting them.

This is the eleventh bus that Pieroth and Romanet have supported with a financial donation. The new Sunshine Bus will take disadvantaged children from the town of Mirfield to regular meetings and projects and on short trips and excursions.

Congratulations to all Pieroth and Romanet employees on this great contribution!

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News from the world of WIV New World Wine Bars by Pieroth in Yokohama and Fukuoka

The success story continues We are delighted to announce the addition of babies number 7 and 8 to the successful Pieroth family: the two new World Wine Bars by Pieroth in the cities of Yokohama and Fukuoka.

Developments are very positive – lots of new customers who try the wine on the spot, place wine orders and enjoy the unusual atmosphere and excellent food.

We would like to thank our dynamic and highly motivated wine bar teams and the sales team at Direct Sales. And we‘d like to offer our warmest congratulations on the successful openings and great effort put in so far. Keep up the good work!

Laurent Faivre and Nicolas Scenner, Pieroth Japan

Thousands of visitors came to the opening in Yokohama, Japan’s third-largest city.

The new concept skilfully combines a wine bar and a library.

Visitors can browse through countless books and magazines over a glass of delicious wine.

The bar in Fukuoka covers three storeys – guests can immerse themselves in different atmospheres and wine worlds. Cosmetics and organic wines are the latest additions to the range.

The Fukuoka Wine Bar Team.

s in 2014: Our targets for World Wine Bar food or coffee in our Bars • 200,000 visitors who enjoy wine, • 18,000 new customers x E 5.9 million) • 816,000,000 JPY in sales (appro

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News from the world of WIV Pieroth Australia

Wine Festival goes Australia…

After 16 days, the first Wine Festival in Chatswood Chase – one of the most attractive shopping centres in the heart of Sydney – came to a successful close: 295 new customers were acquired and sales of $131,008 (around E 92,000) achieved. It was a great success, thanks to Drew Donaldson, Daniel McIntyre and their outstanding sales team.

…and China In September, the “Wine Festival” made its Chinese début. The six employees of Pieroth China welcomed the large numbers of visitors for three days on their stand in front of the exclusive “Grand Gateway” shopping mall in Shanghai.

The more than satisfactory result: 61 new customers and sales worth 81,000 CNY (more than E 10,000)

The event was publicised beforehand by more than 1,000 invitations in the form of fans – a practical idea in the very warm temperatures.

After the fantastic success of this event, a next Wine Festival is already being planned.

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News from the world of WIV President Club 2014

Best of the Best

Even if the weather didn’t always play ball, the 5-star hotel outside the gates of Palma de Majorcas and the special flair of the island provided some wonderful experiences. It was an unforgettable trip which was superbly rounded off with a gala dinner and the presentation of awards to the

Once again the wine consultants in the international WIV family fought an exciting yet fair battle for admission to the exclusive President Club. The 34 participants and their partners enjoyed the fruits of their personal triumph on the sunny island of Majorca.

“Best of the Best” in the Bodega Santa Catarina. Goodbye – and welcome to Sardinia next year.

We would like to congratulate the following colleagues for the outstanding performance:

Robert Cook VBR, Great Britain

Marco Muratori Piccolomini, Italia

Jason Minshull Pieroth, Great Britain

Jackie Dove Pieroth, Great Britain

Aymeric Cachier La Grande Cave, France

Michael Klesmith PRP, USA

Peter King Pieroth, Great Britain

Marcel Mötzing Bacchus, Deutschland

Dirk Reising Pierre Laforest, Deutschland

Pascal Chabrefy Pierre Laforest, France

Sabrina Gerke Bacchus, Deutschland

Maurizio Mileto Pieroth Romanet, Schweiz

Rossella Bruni Piccolomini, Italia

Shoji Nishijima Pieroth, Japan

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News from the world of WIV

Robert Stahl PRP, USA

Thomas Wustmann Reichsgraf von Ingelheim, Deutschland

Thierry Dumont Pierre Laforest, France

Thomas Heunicke Pieroth, Danmark

Domenico Ricciuto Laforest, Schweiz

Bernd Meklenburg Bacchus, Deutschland

Rene Weber Pieroth, Österreich

Anthony Eusebio Pieroth, Hong Kong

Dean Korkis Pieroth, Australia

Angelika Hitzelberger Gerd Bringewat Fürstl. Weingalerie, Reichsgraf von Plettenberg, Deutschland Deutschland

Jochen Schrey Fürstl. Weingalerie, Deutschland

Hanspeter Diem Pieroth Romanet, Schweiz

Stefano Calegari Piccolomini, Italia

Alexandra Brunel Métairie, France

Luca Santini Piccolomini, Italia

Benjamin Edwards Pieroth, Great Britain

Kenzo Todo Pieroth, Japan

Taner Yilmaz Pierre Laforest, Deutschland

WIV World Cup – a brilliant success, as ever

Sales samba at the WIV World Cup Around 2,800 employees and sales staff from all over the WIV world wanted to be sales world champions and qualify for some great non-cash prizes.

Everywhere in the WIV world, energy, dedication and telephone activities were mobilised to compete with colleagues in an international competition – and, as ever, the WIV World Cup was a fantastic success.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Steven Jackson, a young wine consultant at Pieroth UK (centre of picture) who won the top prize – a trip to Brazil for two people, worth E 3,500 – was particularly delighted.

WINE WORLD 10 / 2014

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own The E-Team, kn IV as Elena Stilz (W gars Ed d an Germany) ia) tv La Miglans (WIL llye Ra during the 2CVoccain Nice, on the sion of the MYC

Busy phoning custo mers from my hotel , bottle of red on the go an d Sky Sports on the ipad.

Perfect!

Peter King, Pieroth

UK

2014.

Apes and astronauts do it. Princes, the Pope and presidents do it too: stretch out one arm, look into the mobile phone and click – you‘ve got a „selfie“, the self-portrait photo that you take yourself.

Selfies are extremely popular on social networking sites and the trend is the same all over the world. Now the Wine World editorial team asks: What kind of selfies can the WIV world produce?

Even after a long moving weekend in and Richard a good moo Chamberlain d: Nick Best ch eck the teleph offices of VBR one system in London Sout the new h in Romsey Now let’s ge near Southam t selling. pton.

Join in: Pick up your camera or smart phone and document a typical situation from your everyday working life. What are your daily challenges, what does your day involve and who do you meet? We‘re looking for stories and pictures from everyday life.

Don‘t stop to think about it – it doesn‘t need to be perfect, it doesn‘t matter if it‘s wobbly. The main thing: it must be authentic. Send your selfies with a few brief words about who you are and what the selfie shows to: info.wineworld@wiv-ag.com