Multi-brand strategy to counter the crisis

To address the economic crisis in Brazil, KION Latin America is following a decisive strategy that focuses on a multi-brand approach. Since April 2016, the Linde and STILL brands have been marketed together here. “Our revenue fell by almost 80 per cent in three years – we had to change something in order to survive,” explains Frank Bender, CEO of KION Latin America. In just three months he set up a new sales structure with his team, which sees the Barueri and São Bernardo do Campo sites combined under the name GoDirect. There was so much interest in the KION stand at the engineering expo in São Paulo that you would think Brazil was no longer in the midst of an economic crisis. Trucks from Linde and STILL were on display side by side.

Paulo Cabbia is the proprietor of Moviminas in Uberlândia, which provides customer support to the beverage manufacturer Triângulo. He had just started to build a new office and workshop when he received news of the new strategy. “The changes actually meant additional costs to begin with,” he says. “Instead of a basic exterior, we built an elegant glass facade, and the concrete floor that had been planned was replaced by a bright blue epoxy floor to allow us to showcase the premium Linde brand in an appropriate way.” Up until that time, Moviminas had sold and rented out STILL trucks and was one of the largest dealers in the country. Since April, Cabbia has visited all the Linde customers in his catchment area – an area that is larger than Germany. “We knew some of them already as, on average, eight out of 20 Linde customers buy STILL as well. Just like Refrigerantes do Triângulo, they all now benefit from our excellent service department.”

For the KION Group, the new dual-brand approach has led to an increase in market share. “It’s quite simple,” explains Frank Bender with a smile, “everyone dreams of having a Linde truck. We are now able to offer STILL trucks to those customers who are not yet able to afford the Linde brand, instead of losing them to our competitors.”