“We are back again in full force”

Founded in 2015, Vonmählen GmbH established itself as a supplier of self-developed, high-quality electronic lifestyle products on the B2B and B2C sector within a few years. Last summer, the rapid ascent came to a sudden halt when a high-volume order of masks wasn’t paid for. The company had to apply for insolvency under self-administration. The restructuring of the company was successfully completed after taking a new strategic investor on board – Social Chain AG. So now, the company from Luneburg can take off again. In an interview with eppi magazine, Alexander Nolte, Sales Director of the Co-Branding Department and one of the founders of the company reported about the many things Vonmählen has learnt from the past and outlined the plans for the future.

Mr. Nolte, Vonmählen took off as a success story that experienced dynamic growth. What happened that forced you to apply for insolvency under self-administration in the crisis year 2020?

Alexander Nolte: Unfortunately, we didn’t receive payment for an order that we delivered for the value chain of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG). It is hereby important to stress that neither we nor the BMG were the direct contract partners. Since we had pre-financed the goods, but the goods were ultimately not paid for, we had no choice but to apply for insolvency under self-administration.

So, you have had a nail-biting year behind you. Could you briefly outline the current status quo: What is Vonmählen’s position at present?

Alexander Nolte: We have had a new, strategic partner on board since February 22, 2021: Social Chain AG. The strategy and claim of The Social Chain is “Digital first – direct to customer”. Since our aim is to further establish Vonmählen as a brand and at the same time become more international, this partnership is very valuable and promising for us. As a young firm, we are very proud that we have succeeded in becoming part of such an ambitious company as The Social Chain. This means that having resolved all difficulties, we are now in a stronger position than ever to move forward, concentrate on our core business and push new developments together with our team of around 50 employees.

On top of this individual, tricky situation, you now also find yourself in the midst of a fundamental economic crisis. What effects has the pandemic had on your core business?

Alexander Nolte: Like unfortunately nearly all companies within our industry, we too have suffered losses in turnover due to the Corona crisis. Our figures are pretty much in line with the surveys carried out by the German Promotional Products Association, GWW. It was thus important to be creative and combat the impact of the pandemic with targeted tools, especially in the digital sector.

It is continually being stressed how important it is to signalise one’s appreciation to employees and customers during the pandemic. And in addition to this there is also the significant theme home office: Are people showing a special interest in your highquality electronic lifestyle products?

Alexander Nolte: Absolutely. And this is precisely what we have picked up on. We launched the Vonmählen Digital Roadshow to underline the significance of these themes to many partners and distributors. Our products create the perfect synergy between functionality and branding. Particularly our premium products that we also placed on the retail market recorded very good sales figures in the months November and December. Tools like the Digital Roadshow were very important for us especially during this period. Since the feedback from the distributors was also thoroughly positive and the concept went down very well, we will carry this format on in future too.

What are the next important steps?

Alexander Nolte: We are placing a clear focus on the distributor business, which we intend to completely reinvigorate now. We intend to actively engage in communications, have already exhibited at digital trade shows for this purpose to signalise that we are still there – and what’s more that we are stronger than ever. It is now essential to position our strengths correctly: For instance, that our delivery periods of two weeks are excellent, that we are talking about a high-quality customisation in Germany and that we are intensely pushing the entire theme of sustainability. Moreover, we offer all of this at a very fair price/performance ratio.

You mentioned the subject of sustainability, one of the market’s most important trend topics. What is your alignment here?

Alexander Nolte: We are committed to the topic of sustainability in the scope of a very long-term project. Together with the support of the Leuphana University here in Luneburg, which is considered to be one of the leading universities in the field of sustainability, we are presently defining the areas of activity, the scope and the duration of the project. The goals are on the one hand to implement a stateof- the-art compliance management system. The other aim is to show how and by when CO2 neutrality can be achieved. The reduction of waste and the implementation of sustainable materials is to be significantly increased short to mid-term. Furthermore, we will start choosing and monitoring the suppliers and service providers across the supply chain based on the demands of the Human Rights Charta, the Standards of International Labour Organisation and in compliance with the guidelines of the OECD.

Is there pressure from the market in this direction – from the promoting companies or the consumers?

Alexander Nolte: We have not sensed any pressure, but we have recognised the trend and the necessity. It is therefore our obligation and our conviction to take an holistic, long-term approach to the theme corporate social responsibility.

You have announced several new co-branding products. Can you already tell us more about them?

Alexander Nolte: As much as I would love to already divulge some information here, all of the market players will have to be patient until the summer. I can only reveal this much, they are totally innovative products that will especially take on a significant role in the haptic advertising sector.

The past year has really underlined how difficult it is to plan ahead. All of a sudden, a pandemic crops up for instance. Do you dare make a prediction in spite of this: Where do you see Vonmählen in a year’s time?

Alexander Nolte: First of all, we want to focus completely on the further development of our B2C business. We hope that this will have a leverage effect on the promotional products sector, because we are talking about true brand products, that are already highly-appreciated by many of our buyers in the end-customer sector: Functional products of daily use that really look good too. One could not hope for more – especially in terms of promotional products. Of course, this is how we intend to win back the trust of the distributors 100%, which we had earned over the past years. Of course, we are also looking forward to the fact that trade shows, which are so important for our industry, will be able to take place as physical formats again soon. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that we will be able to exhibit at trade fairs like HAPTICA® live in September already and present our products in haptic form. Because that is what distinguishes us. The time has come – and I am sure we are all in agreement here – for everything to take off again soon.

// Dr. Mischa Delbrouck spoke with Alexander Nolte.

photos: Vonmählen