On its 20th anniversary, as a wholly owned subsidiary of the International Hafele Group (headquartered in Germany), Hafele India went through a significant personnel change. Mr. Jurgen Wolf chose to retire and hand over the management of the company to Mr. Frank Schloeder on February 1, 2023, after 21+ years of managing all Business Operations of the Hafele Group in South Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal.
With a long-standing company motto of being ‘future ready’, Hafele India intends to assertively underline its entry into the future with this shift in leadership. Mr. Schloeder has been closely inducted into the culture, operations, and management of Hafele over the last few months. This was done initially at the company’s headquarters in Nagold (Germany), and then by Mr. Jurgen Wolf in the context of the region of South Asia. With Hafele’s now-retired MD, Mr. Jurgen Wolf, stepping down on January 31, 2023, the passing of management reins happened strategically.
Paving way for the future
With his skills and interest in setting up new markets, Mr. Wolf took Hafele India from just a liaison office to the multi-regional brand that it is today. He has been key to creating new markets for Hafele in various parts of South Asia in the past 21 years. He achieved this via an established trade network and an exclusive Hafele franchise set-up. Additionally, he started with a team of 10 employees in 2021. Over the years, he has recruited and developed a talented workforce of over 1500 employees. They cater to all possible customers through their individual competencies in the business.
Under his shrewd leadership and management, Hafele India successfully positioned its product and service offerings to suit the consumption patterns and lifestyles of South Asia, recognising their unique wants and preferences and delivering solutions that cater to the requirements of the local market. This resulted in the introduction of innovative products such as the Altius FS Hobs, which are engineered to be sealed completely, reducing seepage (a regularly occurring problem faced by Indian households), Terra Quartz Surfaces, which host a wide range of modern colours and textures, Hafele’s Space Square Transformable Furniture Fittings Range, that virtually multiplies the available space, and services such as Meister, which offers complete installation of technical products from Häfele, by skilled technicians.
Furthermore, Mr. Wolf led the growth of Hafele India’s product range. It currently includes not only luxury offerings but also premium and reasonably priced premium options. All the Hafele products comply with the company’s hallmark quality standards.
Talking about his successor, Mr. Jurgen Wolf said-
“After working closely with Frank for the last 2-3 months, I have discovered that we hold very similar outlooks and value sets. In essence, are very similar people. We are confident that he is the right person to lead the company forward and I am very excited to see what the future holds.”
Shaping a formidable future for Hafele in India
Mr. Frank Schloeder, the current Managing Director of Hafele South Asia, has worked for the BMW Group (a German multinational company of luxury vehicles and motorcycles) for over 25 years. He has a truly international career that has taken him to countries such as Germany, France, and India. Furthermore, he graduated with honours from the University of Munster in Germany and the Montpellier Business School in France, with a dual degree in International Business Administration.
He had the great fortune of acquiring experience in various fields. These include marketing and sales, product management, business planning, strategy, and operations. This gave him an in-depth understanding of business. His extensive experience has been pivotal in unlocking market potential, developing strong business strategies, exploring new revenue channels, and establishing a strategic brand presence and sales in emerging markets for the automobile giant. During his 4-year tenure in India (through his previous organisation), first as Director-Marketing and later as President, Mr. Schloeder was able to understand the unique complexities of Indian culture, devise market-fitting strategies, and build an impactful brand positioning in India.
His comprehensive yet diverse career path has provided him with substantial exposure to various cultures and value systems. His curiosity and eye for detail, as well as his ability to encourage those with whom he works, have all contributed to his overall professional outlook and backed his business success.
Hafele in India – The way forward
Mr. Frank Schloeder looks forward to leveraging his competencies in unlocking market potential, customer experience, brand management, and digitalization to establish future capabilities of building a robust value chain and developing a strong connection with the end consumer.
Speaking about shaping a formidable future, Mr. Schloeder states-
“I truly believe that the entire business process should pivot around the customer, and it is this unified customer-centric approach that will eventually deliver sustainable success for any organization.” He further added “ I am grateful to Jurgen for supporting and guiding me in the past few months. I admire and respect him for the company he has built from the ground up and take this responsibility of nurturing it and driving it to excellence very seriously.”
