Hamburg, 14 January 2008. Hawesko Holding AG (HAW GR, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) announces that Mr Bernd G. Siebdrat has been appointed to the board of management effective immediately. As a result, Hawesko's board of management will consist of four members from now on. The main emphasis of Mr Siebdrat's responsibilities will be on the Group's wholesale activities.

 

Bernd G. Siebdrat, born in 1956, is co-founder and managing director of Wein Wolf Holding GmbH & Co. KG, which was started in 1981 and became a subsidiary of Hawesko through its acquisition in 1999. He relied on finest quality wines at Wein Wolf from the very beginning and built its business from the ground up; sales and earnings in the last ten years alone have tripled. Since 2004 Siebdrat has been responsible for the entire wholesale segment of the Hawesko Group. He was a significant force in gaining products exclusively for the Hawesko Group (for instance the wines of Baron Philippe de Rothschild S.A.) and in building up the business internationally. The wholesale segment now achieves 30 per cent of its sales outside Germany - in Austria and the Czech Republic amongst others, as well as through a global internet platform directly from Bordeaux.

 

Alexander Margaritoff, chief executive officer of Hawesko Holding AG: "Bernd Siebdrat is an important complement to the board of management. I have worked trustingly and effectively with him together for years. He has a profound knowledge of the wine business, especially in the area of fine wines; he fosters excellent relations to important producers and possesses a well-developed sense for the business."

 

Hawesko Holding AG is a leading seller of premium wines and champagnes. Its sales channels include specialist wine retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot), wholesale (Wein Wolf and CWD Champagner- und Wein-Distributionsgesellschaft) and mail order (particularly Hanseatisches Wein- und Sekt-Kontor). The shares of Hawesko Holding AG are listed on the Hanseatic Stock Exchange in Hamburg as well as in the GEX segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

 

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Published by:
Hawesko Holding AG, P.O. Box 201552, 20205 Hamburg, Germany

 

Internet:
http://www.hawesko.com (company information, English- and German-language)
http://www.hawesko.de (online shop, German-language)
http://www.jacques.de (locations and information about Jacques' Wein-Depot, German-language)
http://www.weinwolf.de (product range and information about Wein Wolf, German-language)

 

Press/Media:
Vera Maria Bau,VMB Consulting
tel. (+49 228) 4496 406
fax (+49 228) 4496 9406
e-mail: vmb@veramariabau-pr.de

 

Investor Relations:
Thomas Hutchinson, Hawesko Holding AG
tel. (+49 40) 30 39 21 00
fax (+49 40) 30 39 21 05
e-mail: ir@hawesko.com