Georg Kofler buys Marken-Reich from Ralf Dümmel

Both are jurors and investors in the founder show “Höhle der Löwen”: Georg Kofler buys the brand empire from Ralf Dümmel for a rather low price.
Both are jury members in the Vox founder show “Die Höhle der Löwen” and will in the future also go together in business: Ralf Dümmel (54) is selling his DS Group, an international brand, and trading company, to Georg Kofler (64). The former media manager’s Social Chain AG pays around 220.5 million euros for the DS Group – around 100 million euros of which in cash, the rest in new shares. Dümmel becomes a board member of Social Chain AG. The contracts were signed on Tuesday.
According to the information, the DS Group has more than 700 trademarks, registered designs, patents, and utility models. One of the best-known brands is the German grill manufacturer Landmann. The group supplies discounters and drugstores, but also hardware stores and hypermarkets, predominantly with promotional goods, some with groceries. The company with 550 employees and headquarters in Hamburg expects sales of more than 270 million euros for the current year. Together, both companies want to achieve a turnover of around 620 million euros this year, it is said.
Although the DS Group does not publicly report any profits, the low takeover price raises questions. As a rule, a multiple of the turnover is paid as the purchase price in the industry for takeovers. The parties did not comment on the purchase price on Tuesday.
Social Chain now wants to sell the brands from Dümmels Group more intensively via social media. “The brand and product portfolio of the DS Group is predestined for direct marketing to end customers via social commerce,” says social chain boss Wanja S. Oberhof . Social Chain specializes in the direct sale of products to end customers, especially via social media with the help of influencers. According to the information, the shares of Social Chain AG will be listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange this year. The papers climbed by 12 percent in the morning.

What’s next for “The Lion’s Den”?

Ralf Dümmel, managing partner of the DS Group, was fully convinced of the new connection: “Together we will show how a perfect interaction between retail and social commerce can be achieved.” For the DS Group, the deal is a “bridge to the future”. As a member of the board, Dümmel will be responsible for the areas of product, purchasing, trade marketing, logistics and sales. In addition to Dümmel (CPO), Oberhof (CEO) and Christian Senitz (CFO) run Social Chain AG.
Kofler, chairman of the supervisory board and largest single shareholder of Social Chain AG, is pleased that “with Ralf Dümmel we are gaining an extraordinarily skilled and motivating entrepreneur as a board member.” The former Pro-Sieben boss is convinced: “Through social media we can To develop brands and products in a more targeted manner, to advertise and sell them more efficiently. ”
The question that has not been answered is whether Kofler and Dümmel, who are now pulling together on business, will continue to appear together in the founder show “Die Höhle der Löwen” and argue about deals there.