The Experts in Modern Office Equipment
Interview with Andreas Bensegger, Managing Director of BENSEGGER GmbH
Around 6,000 customers and partners in southeastern Upper Bavaria rely on the Rosenheim traditional company BENSEGGER for their office work. Andreas Bensegger, as the 5th generation managing director, spoke with Wirtschaftsforum about old and new products, the challenges of digitalization, and the various reasons he advises other entrepreneurs to actively support the local economy in their region through associations and similar formats.
Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Bensegger, for 165 years your surname has been known in southeastern Upper Bavaria as a strong partner for the office. How do you bring performance to your clients' companies today, true to your mission?
Andreas Bensegger: The cradle of our company history is indeed in a printing press that was founded here in Rosenheim in 1860. Even today, we operate a retail store for office supplies in the city center, even though the sales share from this B2C business is now negligible. But I find it nice to have roots, and we gladly maintain them. However, the bulk of our business activity has long been in the B2B sector, where we provide our clients with everyday office supplies from pens to copier paper, as well as the corresponding office furniture like chairs and tables. In addition, our team takes care of the relevant office technology and ensures that copying, printing, and digitizing can always be done smoothly. We are also growing accordingly here.
Wirtschaftsforum: You now also distribute what might be the most important fuel of modern office life with coffee – does this represent a different business area?
Andreas Bensegger: Indeed it does, because this product naturally sells primarily through its taste and aroma. A Leitz binder always looks the same, only has one purpose to fulfill, doesn't need to stimulate the senses, and is very comparable in terms of its pricing for customers. With our coffee products, we work a lot with regional roasteries to really offer a particularly high-quality product – accordingly, our customers do not necessarily calculate down to the last cent here. Given that we are generally in a declining displacement market but still want to grow, we see this product range as an important addition to our assortment.
Wirtschaftsforum: How do you want to continue to assert yourself in this difficult market environment?
Andreas Bensegger: We have always pursued a clear corporate direction and offer a market-appropriate price, but not necessarily the cheapest. In doing so, we convince our customers with personal and immediate support, which we implement, among other things, with a ten-member field sales team. More than half of our total of over 65 employees have been with us for more than a decade – this also underlines the personnel continuity through which we can always present a personal face externally. When our customer faces a problem or a new challenge, they can simply call us to get immediate support – and do not need to first google, search, and compare prices.
Wirtschaftsforum: Many other companies also strive for the kind of employee retention that BENSEGGER has – how can adequate office equipment support them in this goal?
Andreas Bensegger: The issue of ergonomics in the workplace is becoming increasingly important for most employers, both to highlight their attractiveness in the market and to reduce the downtime of their employees. Because fewer tensions and concentration deficits occur at an ergonomically sensible workplace with comfortable chairs and the right table height. To always find the best possible solution, our employees first take a very close look at our customers' premises and then play through several options with digital 3D plans. Subsequently, the corresponding equipment is installed on site by our assembly teams.
Wirtschaftsforum: How important is tradition to you?
Andreas Bensegger: I have been running our family business now in the 5th generation; our stationery shop is located right in the pedestrian zone – BENSEGGER is likely a familiar name to many people in our area. We are original Rosenheimers and we live out of and for our city. Accordingly, I am always personally committed to giving back to this region beyond my purely business activities. To this end, I volunteer in various capacities at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Munich and Upper Bavaria. I would also like to recommend involvement in associations to many other entrepreneurs, if time resources permit. This way, one can not only gain important insights, but also gradually step out of the consumer attitude towards the state and the market. Of course, through volunteering, you can't change the world overnight, but you can achieve a lot in concert with other partners and have a sensible impact on some conditions. Here too, the principle holds: If many do something together, much improves. What would generally make life easier for us would of course be significant debureaucratization and a moderate move away from an overly tormenting perfectionism: It is better to simply start and improve along the way, rather than looking too long for the perfect way!