CEO / Chairman of the Executive Board (Vorstandsvorsitzender), Mast-Jägermeister SE
Moodie Davitt Video View: Jägermeister CEO Michael Volke & VP Global TR Tobias Witte
In our new video series ‘Moodie Davitt Video View’, we bring you exclusive on-the-ground coverage from the most innovative brands in travel retail straight from the industry’s most important events.
In this episode The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie catches up with Mast-Jägermeister CEO Michael Volke and VP Global Travel Retail Tobias Witte at TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition and discovers the great German brand in great shape despite the rigours of the pandemic.
The Moodie Davitt Report is one of the world’s most successful multi-media business-to-business publishers. It...
About Michael Volke
In a May 2023 interview, Michael Volke stated that Mast-Jägermeister was "back on track" after many markets rebounded in 2022. He noted that the company suspended its business in Russia and experienced a setback in China due to its zero-COVID policy, but that these challenges were compensated by the brand's presence in 150 other markets, allowing for overall growth. Volke described the Asia Pacific region as "very healthy." He also expressed optimism about a global product collaboration with Dwayne Johnson, saying, "We are very bullish about that... we are 100% bullish that this will go global at one point of time." Discussing the brand's strategy, Volke said Jägermeister's strength has been based on "great experiences, social culture and experiential" elements, and that this approach is being extended to the global travel retail channel through consumer-centric concepts and segmentation. He stated the company is "super bullish" about providing such experiences going forward.
Transcript (17 segments)
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Interviewer0:04
Gentlemen, it's great to be back with you. This is your first time of course at TFWA Asia Pacific. Monica, I'm going to start with you, just to get a big picture of how the brand, this great brand in the world of spirits, is doing. You've had of course, like everybody else, to put up with this cursed pandemic for the past few years. How's Jägermeister standing today?
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Monica0:24
Actually, so we are super happy. Obviously in 2022 many markets rebounded and we are back on track. And I must say, even with all the challenges in the world, like the Russian business which we suspended on one end, we also had some setback in China due to the zero COVID policy. So actually, it's to be compensated by the privilege which we have, which is being present in 150 markets, and other markets compensated and we were able to grow.
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Interviewer0:55
Yeah, truly a global brand. Tell us about this region in particular though, Michael. Asia Pacific, you put a lot of focus here in recent times domestically, but also on travel retail. How do you see prospects? It's a vast region, I know, and it's a generalized question, but if I asked you to give me a kind of state of the health of the region, what would it be?
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Michael Volke1:14
Actually, very healthy. So obviously we had a setback in China due to the zero COVID policy. All other markets have been growing very healthy and very nicely, and China is coming back now as we speak. So we are super optimistic about the year, and especially the fourth quarter of the year, that China will come back. So we are investing here. We have a team on site and we are super happy with what we see. GTR plays a big role to establish the brand, to build a brand here. And you see that we are investing also in our first ever booth, and so we're super proud. Yeah, Asia is the future for us.
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Interviewer1:52
I don't know if I would call it a booth actually, it's a beautiful experiential zone, isn't it? You've invested heavily and it looks great. It's very open, democratic, it's inviting people in. It's the experience which you expect from Jägermeister, isn't it? And just one final question to close, Michael. You're a portfolio of brands of course now and expressions. Just tell us how you've branched out from initially such a strong original product, but you're a bit broader now.
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Michael Volke2:22
We're a little broader now. We're a little broader on Jägermeister, as you know. So we have a portfolio of brands, some line extenders which complement actually the Jägermeister experience, and it's also trading up, very relevant for GTR, with Jägermeister Cold, Jägermeister Manifest. And on top of that, as you're all aware, we've invested also into a tequila business. So in 2020, we started the journey with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, and we are super happy. It's very focused on the Americas as we speak, but there's potential globally and also in GTR.
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Interviewer3:14
Good, Michael. Well, that's a very upbeat overview. Toby, we're going to come down now to the travel retail channel specifically. Globally, of course, it's always been a focus for Jägermeister. Tell us where you're at in the channel. As Michael and I were discussing, that channel's been through some issues over the last three years. How are you seeing prospects, and how is Jägermeister doing?
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Toby3:38
I think we had a very, very good year. We had a record-breaking year for GTR and Jägermeister last year, especially being able to drive our core business in Europe back, and passengers coming back, but especially increasing our footprint here in the Asian territory. With the domestic momentum helping us also in the global travel retail environment. And as Michael said, this is the future also for us here in global travel retail, to continue to drive the growth and be creative about concepts like you mentioned, our booth, be disruptive, consumer-centric, and show the brand from the best side at the airports around the globe.
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Interviewer4:17
Well, talking about that kind of experience, I just returned from Haikou in Hainan Province. I was at the new CDF Superstore in Haikou. Amazing place. Very strong presence there from Jägermeister. Tell us about that, and tell us about how you see the Hainan travel retail market and China more generally.
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Toby4:41
I think China has been very strong for us domestically in the past, so it is just a matter of time that we also do justice in the global travel retail environment. And then during the pandemic, having the opportunity to show loyalty and belief in the brand, even when there was a zero COVID policy domestically, with the Hainan establishment, it's the biggest mall in the world. It's a privilege for us to take a share and to be there. Unfortunately, I haven't been there yet personally, but I've heard great things, and I'm glad you feel the same.
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Interviewer5:16
Yeah, now I recommend the visit. You had, before my time there, a fantastic pop-up there. But even when I was in the CDF store, I was looking at your wall bay, and that itself is quite an investment. You're right in with the fellow heavyweights of the spirits world, and it really feels as though Jägermeister has a very strong own presence there.
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Toby5:37
Yeah, we are globally the number eight brand, so it is just doing justice in order to be there as well. Especially since APEC and global travel retail, we have just started in 2018 really, so we are just at the very beginning. And the collaboration with our partners there, we'll see great potential in the future, I'm sure about that.
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Interviewer6:03
Yeah, all right. So after this speed bump of the last few years, the pandemic, is there any message now as the rebound accelerates for the travel retail sector at large?
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Toby6:15
I think what has changed is that airports really became big retail malls. It is not just functional retail anymore, but you have the opportunity to also drive consumer-centric activations and to really engage consumers and get them into the brand through experiences, because the ground is there now. And I think by being creative and thinking outside of the box, that is one of the strongholds of Jägermeister, and we will drive this in global travel retail as well.
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Interviewer6:52
Yeah, indeed. Nice segue for the final word from you, Michael. You are an innovator by nature as an individual but also as a company. I guess that's going to continue to play a very strong role. You want to create experiences, you want to be immersive. Tell me, just to close off, how you see the brand going forward.
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Michael Volke7:13
I think the stronghold of Jägermeister has ever been great experiences, social culture, and experiential. And this kind of spills over into the GTR channel as we speak, as Toby just said. So it comes also to this kind of retail space, and that's the future for us because people want experiences. We are doing better in consumer-centric concepts and segmentation, and I think the future is ours in terms of providing great experiences on this platform. So we are super bullish and looking forward to more success.
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Interviewer7:49
What a great note to close on. Gentlemen, thanks for being with us today.