Where do we want to go?
Internationalization
In the years 2013 and 2016, Dr. Wolff opened their own locations in Asia. First in Singapore, where ten employees work today, and in 2016 also in Shanghai to serve the Chinese market. Eduard R. Dörrenberg himself lived in Singapore for a while to personally drive the growth in Asia. Due to cultural conditions, the Asian market offers great potential. In particular, full male hair is considered a status symbol of strength. In addition, there is great confidence in German products. Accordingly, not only the slogan “German Engineering for Your Hair”, but also the product quality of Alpecin caffeine shampoos is well received by Asians. The brands Plantur, Linola and, more recently, Vagisan were successively launched in Asia, too.
Digitisation
The increasing digitisation is changing Dr. Wolff’s business enormously. Especially in Asia, digitization is already well ahead of the European level. Whether a restaurant bill, a consumer item or the monthly rent – almost any amount can be paid via online platforms.
Examples of the success of the digital business model are Alpecin and Plantur: In China, the products are not only represented in several thousand stationary retail outlets but are also predominantly offered in the company’s own online shop on Tmall and marketed on several online platforms. As an innovative family-owned company, Dr. Wolff sees digitisation as a challenge and above all as an opportunity and established the eWolff business unit in 2016. With the help of the new business unit, Dr. Wolff wants to open up new target groups and business models in digital channels globally.
The digital specialists of eWolff create a connection from the offline to the online world, expand the social media presence, advertise the brands online and digitalize the sales channels. They also provide support for word-of-mouth campaigns or collaborations with bloggers and they accompany colleagues on international online projects. As a result, many of the brands have international social media presences that are adapted to the respective countries.
“Digitisation is everything,” Dörrenberg announced at the opening of the eWolff space – the new working environment of the company’s own digital unit at their headquarters in Johanneswerkstraße. In order to sustainably promote the marketing of cosmetics and medical products, the digital unit “eWolff” was expanded this year. For more than 20 digital specialists, Dr. Wolff has created a new working environment in the style of modern co-working. “What is decisive is the spatial proximity of our digital unit to the various departments in the company and the resulting speed in an ever faster changing world,” says Dörrenberg.