Georg Kofler buys Ralf Dümmel's DS Group

Georg Kofler's Social Chain AG is taking over 100 percent of Ralf Dümmel's group, which specializes in consumer goods. Both entrepreneurs are jury members of the TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen".

Georg Kofler and Ralf Dümmel both sit on the jury of the start-up TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen", where they invest in start-ups. Now Social Chain AG, whose supervisory board chairman and largest single shareholder is Georg Kofler, has acquired 100 percent of DS Group from Ralf Dümmel. Social Chain AG claims to have paid a total price of 220.5 million euros for the purchase. With the acquisition of DS Group, Social Chain AG now expects total sales of 620 million euros for 2021.

Ralf Dümmel will not disappear from the day-to-day business despite the acquisition: He will now be appointed to the company's Management Board. There, as Chief Product Officer (CPO), he will in future be responsible for the areas of product, purchasing, trade marketing, logistics and sales.

Until now, the two companies had completely different business models. These are now to be combined. Social Chain AG is a social media marketing agency. DS Group is a trading company that distributes food or consumer goods, among other things. The company offers about 4,000 articles. Now Social Chain AG wants to build a social commerce platform.

"Together, we will show how a perfect interplay between retail and social commerce can be achieved. We are looking forward to contributing our many years of expertise in sales, purchasing, product development, marketing and logistics to the new overall group," says Ralf Dümmel. "Consumption has always been a social experience," says Georg Kofler, explaining the move. "Through social media, we can manage to develop brands and products in a more targeted way, to promote and distribute them more efficiently."