Uli Hoeneß has personally been overseeing the correct placement of sausages from his factory in supermarkets. According to Hoeneß, he conducts a “store check” three times a week. During these visits, he ensures that all items within the crates supplied to the major retail chains-which now carry several products from the company he established-are properly organized. If he finds anything amiss in a crate, he takes action to correct it.
Although the effort is described by Hoeneß as both consistent and somewhat extreme, he noted the immense scale of the operation, stating there are “thousands of branches” but he can only physically visit two or three per week.
A recurring issue often concerns the so-called mixed crates, which contain several different sausage varieties. Hoeneß described a typical problem: a crate might contain both chicken bratwurst and organic pork bratwurst. He pointed out that if he notices the organic pork is consistently present but the chicken sausages are frequently missing, the store manager will stop ordering that particular mixed crate.
Instead of appealing to the market, the solution, he explained, must come from changes made within the sausage factory itself. The method involves finding ways to modify the mixture in the crates. Hoeneß passes these suggestions on to his son, who then relays them to the retailers. He noted that through this process, they have often succeeded in getting the retailers to change the quality and composition of the mixed crates. The sausage factory, located in Nuremberg, is currently managed by his son.
