Press releases

Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei KG, Wiesbaden

Henkell & Söhnlein to become Henkell

The new name recognises the internationalisation of the Group

The Henkell & Söhnlein Sektkellereien KG, Wiesbaden, is trading as Henkell & Co. Sektkellerei KG since the 1st of January 2009.

Following the merger of two companies Henkell & Co. and Söhnlein Rheingold KG that had been competitors for many years, the Group has operated under the name of Henkell & Söhnlein Sektkellereien KG since 1987. Today the increasingly international status of the Group is being recognised with a change of name as of January 1st, 2009. The additional “& Co.” makes clear that Henkell sparkling wines find themselves in good company both nationally and internationally. Within only a few years, through top-class acquisitions and brand innovation strategies geared to their target markets, the Group has developed itself from a national provider to a leading European supplier of sparkling wines, wines and spirits. After the last acquisitions in Ukraine and Italy, the group is represented by its own subsidiaries in ten European countries.

“Henkell is the most exported German brand of sparkling wine and is drunk today in more than seventy countries throughout the world, so internationally we have already been perceived as the ‘Henkell Group’ for a long time,” said Dr Hans-Henning Wiegmann, spokesman for the board of directors. “Consequently the board of directors, together with the owner family, have decided on this corporate name change henceforward.”

In the 2007 fiscal year, the Group achieved double-digit growth both abroad and on the domestic market. Sales volumes increased by 7.4 per cent to the equivalent of 18.3 million 9 l cases; this breaks down into 11.8 million 9 l cases of sparkling wine, 2.6 million 9 l cases of wine and 3.9 million 9 l cases of spirits. Sales have climbed by almost 11 per cent at a disproportionately rapid rate to 569 million euros, with above average growth in central European markets. In 2007, Henkell & Söhnlein employed 527 people within Germany and 1,088 people in other European countries.

Press and Public Relations
Biebricher Allee 142
65187 Wiesbaden
Germany