AIRLINE NEWS SPECIAL
New dawn for Heinemann inflight as Scorpio transfer ‘75-80% complete’
Gebr. Heinemann announced in March an agreement to complete the purchase of subsidiary Heinemann Scorpio International Holdings Ltd. Luke Barras-Hill is briefed exclusively on a business that adds fresh clout to the Hamburg-based firm’s burgeoning inflight business and a transaction that is being pursued with a tremendous amount of trust, respect and goodwill on both sides.
T
welve years after taking a 51% share in Scorpio Distributors Ltd. (as it was known then), Gebr. Heinemann
announced in March this year it was to acquire the remaining shareholding in the UK-based inflight specialist. Six months on and the transfer process
is almost finalised, with 75% to 80% of the Scorpio business now shifted from the UK and Hong Kong to Hamburg. “All our customers and suppliers (the vast
majority of customers and suppliers will continue, with the exception of two or three that Heinemann chose not to continue business with) have been informed about the move and everyone is very positive,” says Stuart McGuire, who has taken on a consulting role for Gebr. Heinemann since stepping down as CEO at Scorpio Worldwide.
A new inflight retailing era beckons for Gebr. Heinemann
A futureproof team John Baumgartner, Sales Director Inflight & Catering, Gebr. Heinemann adds: “We are now taking in re-directed orders for suppliers that have been pre-listed and placed by Scorpio and new purchase orders. The transition for inbound orders is basically done.” Viola Denke, Head of Buying, Watches
& Jewellery, Inflight & Licensed Brands at Heinemann, is charged with managing the company’s purchasing function with regards to buying, product development and long-term client management. Together with McGuire as consultant,
Heinemann has enlisted the buying services of Scorpio’s Ella Marcham, who has re- located from the UK to Germany. Marcham joins the buying team under
Denke in a clear signal of the importance Heinemann places on the transaction. All Heinemann’s suppliers exclusive
to the airlines are being handled by Denke’s team. “We are increasing the competence
and focus of airline-specific products and suppliers in the buying department by forming a particular team managing
OCTOBER 2019
these suppliers, items and brands only,” explains Baumgartner. The merging of 25 new accounts –
“We are increasing the competence and focus of airline- specific products and suppliers in the buying department by forming a particular team managing these suppliers, items and brands only.”
John Baumgartner, Sales Director Inflight & Catering, Gebr. Heinemann
including the likes of 3Sixty – and a substantial 70 airlines from Scorpio into the Heinemann business means the company requires additional expertise and resource to understand and service new contracts, particularly outside of Europe – there are very few airlines in the region not partnered with Heinemann – in the Middle East and Asia. Nathalie Benham, International Sales Manager at Scorpio, is assisting with that
process, working with Heinemann as part of Baumgartner’s team. She remains based in the UK. Trips have already been made by the
teams to the Middle East to meet with key accounts such as Emirates, Traveller and flyDubai. Importantly, Neil Stephenson, Operations
Manager at Scorpio has also begun a ‘hybrid’ assignment for six months in August, splitting his time between Germany and the UK to aid Heinemann’s demand and supply order management team to liaise on existing and new purchase orders and ensure inbound fulfilment, logistics and quality control. On the Heinemann side, Baumgartner
has organised a team including Head of Sales Georgia Müller and Jakob Barte as Senior Sales Manager, the latter of which is responsible for Asia customers. In total, Heinemann now possesses close
to 150 direct or indirect (via concessionaire) airline customers. All this means that Heinemann can now
greet customers with an enlarged brands portfolio, through an entity that remains
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